Flooring Podcast

Floor Focus’ Kemp Harr, the Week in the Flooring Industry (33:42)

August 8, 2007—Kemp Harr, Publisher, Floor Focus magazine looks back that the past week in the floor covering industry discussing: Unilin’s $30 million expansion at its facility in Thomasville; Pfleiderer’s first-half earnings, its current marketshare position in North America and its integration plans for Pergo; A Global Industry Analysis study concerning the size of the global laminate market in 2010 and; What Retailers Really Think, the Floor Focus magazine’s 2007 retail survey of floor covering retailers.

GE Money’s Greg Pittman on Credit and the Floor Covering Industry – Part 1 (10:32)

August 7, 2007—Greg Pittman, VP, GM, Retail Sales, GE Money, in the first part of a three-part series, discusses the history of GE Money in the retail and floor covering markets, the importance of credit in retail purchases and in the floor covering industry and the percentage of durable and non-durable retail purchased made in the U.S. using some type of credit product comparing consumer credit purchases verses purchases without credit.

Economist John McDevitt, Assess the Economy – Part 2 - (20:41)

August 6, 2007—John McDevitt, former 3M Corporate Economist, in the second part of a two part series discussed is the state of the consumer, the consumer confidence index and his forecast for retail spending, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and the Fed’s stance as it related to altering rates, the affects of the new minimum wage, the manufacturing sector and McDevitt’s forecast for the 3rd and 4th quarters.

GE Money’s Greg Pittman on Credit and the Floor Covering Industry – Part 2 (11:53)

August 6, 2007—Greg Pittman, VP, GM, Retail Sales, GE Money in the second part of a three-part series talks about the most popular consumer credit vehicles and the loss factor experienced by retailers who do not take advantage of some of the most popular credit options. Also discussed are some of the most frequent mistakes retailers make relating to credit.

Economist John McDevitt, Evaluates the Economy – Part 1 (20:41)

August 3, 2007—John McDevitt, former 3M Corporate Economist, evaluates today’s economy, discussing the housing market, if the bottom has been reached as well as how a recovery might play out. He also talks about the subprime lending situation, its potential for expanding into other segments of the economy, the commercial construction sector and its long-term prospects for growth. Also discussed is the state of the consumer, the consumer confidence index and his forecast for retail spending, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and the Fed’s stance as it related to altering rates, the affects of the new minimum wage, the manufacturing sector and McDevitt’s forecast for the 3rd and 4th quarters.

Barker on the Market (38:09)

August 2, 2007—Mike Barker, Investment and Retirement Management discusses yesterday's extreme market volatility, its causes and what the possibilities of it continuing are going forward. Barker talks about some of the events that set up the current cycle of volatility and the definition of a correction verses a crash. Also discussed are the continuing problems in the housing and subprime mortgage markets, the recent increase in crude oil prices and softening in gasoline prices, the possible market reaction to tomorrow’s unemployment report and an historical look at August.

Floor Focus Co-Publisher Frank O’Neill, The Week in the Flooring Industry - (34:41)

August 1, 2007—Frank O’Neill, Co-Publisher, Floor Focus magazine looks back at the events of the past week in the floor covering industry discussing the second-quarter earnings reports and the quarterly performance of Armstrong, Interface and the Dixie Group. Also discussed: Armstrong auction and reports that several players have dropped out of the bidding and what might be next; Shaw Living’s decision to exit High Point; And Legacy Commercial Flooring acquisition of the flooring unit of OCP Contractors.

Floor CEO Steve Simonson – Internet Shopping for Flooring – Part 4 (11:07)

July 31, 2007—Steve Simonson, President & CEO Smooth Corporation, the parent of iFloor.com, the floor covering industry’s largest online retailer, in the final part of a four-part series talks more about the company’s brick and mortar locations, his expectations for those locations and the product selection at these locations. Simonson discusses his advertising plans, both online and offline and his long-term growth plans for iFloor.

iFloor CEO Steve Simonson – The Expansion of iFloor – Part 3 (11:26)

July 30, 2007—Steve Simonson, President & CEO Smooth Corporation, the parent of iFloor.com, the floor covering industry’s largest online retailer, in the third-part of a four-part series talks more about the Supreme Court decision involving minimum pricing and what it could mean for online selling. Simonson also talks about iFloor’s program of opening brick and mortar locations, having opened more than 30 in the past three years. He talks about the the primary function these locations serve and the type of areas in which these stores are located.

Barker on the Market (35:51)

July 27, 2007—Mike Barker, Investment and Retirement Management discusses yesterday’s 311 point drop on the Dow and the general volatility of the market over the past few weeks and its causes. Barker talks about the steady market gains since last summer, its relationship to the current cycle of volatility as he shares his expectations as to when the volatility will dissipate. Also discussed are this week’s new and existing housing numbers, the losses reported by several major home builders, the threats of the housing slump and subprime mortgage problem bleeding into other areas of the economy and the recent jump in crude prices.