August 10, 2007—Keith Hughes, Managing Director in Equity Research, SunTrust Robinson-Humphrey in the second part of a four-part series, discusses Mohawk performance in the second quarter assessing the Unilin, Mohawk and Dal-Tile divisions and the European economy that was responsible for much of Unilin’s growth during the quarter. Hughes also discusses is shifts within the laminate sector, Unilin’s intellectual property.
August 9, 2007—Keith Hughes, Managing Director in Equity Research, SunTrust Robinson-Humphrey in the first part of a four-part series, looks at the second quarter in the floor covering business analyzing the housing and builder sectors as well as the remodeling and commercial sectors, comparing the floor covering industry with the furniture industry. Hughes talks about his expectations for the third and fourth quarters and evaluates the Mohawk’s performance.
August 8, 2007—Greg Pittman, VP, GM, Retail Sales, GE Money in the final part of a three-part series discusses Pittman reviews some of the credit products offered to retailers in the floor covering industry including the GE credit card program, credit cards issued under the retailers own brand and establishing a credit line for consumers. Also discusses is how retailers can use each of the available tools with maximum efficiency, recent trends in credit as Pittman shares his expectations related to the credit tools of the future .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.