January 22, 2009—Rita and Monica discuss the traffic and highlights of this year's Domotex show in Hannover Germany - the largest flooring trade show in the world. Listen to the interview to hear more about the U.S. companies that exhibited, the new acoustic forum and the Contract World annual awards.
January 21, 2009—Frank Hurd, VP at the Carpet and Rug Institute, and Kemp Harr discuss a new coalition of trade associations that represent the interior furnishings market sector here in the U.S. Listen to the interview to hear their proposal to offer consumer and commercial tax incentives as part of President Obama's new stimulus package. At this stage of the process, the group is asking industry leaders to contact their Representatives and communicate their support for this stimulus initiative.
January 19, 2009—Aaron Pirner, owner of Cap Carpets (based in Wichita but with stores in 5 other markets) discusses his expansion in St. Louis. Listen to his interview with Kemp Harr where he talks about what it takes to be success at retail in this economy.
January 15, 2009—Rock Hardin, co-owner of PadTech, and Kemp Harr discuss a new outdoor rug product that PadTech has developed called Patio Artistic Designs. PadTech is a Dalton based company that has traditionally made underlay products for carpet, laminate and engineered hardwood. Listen to the interview to hear more about this new product.
January 14, 2009—Scott Humphrey, Shaw's Manager for their Aligned Dealer Program, and Kemp Harr discuss this week's meeting in Orlando. Held, every other year, this family oriented gathering allows Shaw to nurture their relationship with the retailers that have chosen to join this network. Listen to the interview to hear the highlights of the meeting including Warren Buffet's comments on the U.S. economy.
January 12, 2009—Wendy McIlquham, VP of Marketing, ArborCraft explains their decision not to attend Surfaces. Listen to the interview to hear more about this decision, their marketing plans and new products for 2009.
January 9, 2009—Vinnie Virga, President of Flooring America, and Kemp Harr discuss Flooring America's continued membership growth, the highlights from this week's winter convention and what retailers should be doing to survive this current economic depression.
January 8, 2009—Jim McIntosh, VP/GM of Tuftex of California, and Kemp Harr discuss the launch of their new Disney Carpet Collection. Listen to the interview to find out why this may be one of the most visionary carpet collections introduced this year. For those dealers that pick it up, it offers differentiation that if properly promoted will increase store traffic.
January 7, 2009—Eric Demaree, President of Carpet One Floor & Home, and Kemp Harr discuss the highlights of their winter convention held this week in Dallas, Texas. Listen to the interview to hear more about the convention and what it takes to be successful at retail in the current economy.
December 23, 2008—Kermit Baker, chief economist with AIA and a senior research fellow at Harvard University, discusses the economy with Kemp Harr. Listen to the interview to hear more about the commercial construction market, government bailouts and what needs to happen in early 2009.