Flooring Podcast

Sean Boyle, Director of Business Development, Laticrete (18:54)

April 12, 2006—Ffrom Coverings 2006, Sean Boyle, Director of Business Development, Laticrete, discusses the company, its rich history and the host of products the company furnishes to the ceramic and stone industry. Boyle discusses the company’s extensive product development program and it’s website, laticrete.com, which provides technical assistance to retailers, contractors, installers and others. Also discusses is the role the company plays in assisting floor covering retailers get up to speed in the ceramic and stone sector.

Tamara Christian Reviews Coverings 2006 (33:58)

April 10, 2006—Tamara Christian, President, National Trade Productions (NTP), discusses Coverings 2006, the ceramic tile and stone show, held last week in Orlando. Christian talks about the attendance at this year’s show, NTP's anticipated increase in attendance over last year’s show, overall attendance goals specifically in the retailer and architect and designer areas. Also discussed are exhibitor responses to the show, the conference program and keynote speaker and the show’s plans to move to Chicago’s McCormick Place for the 2007 version of Coverings and the possibility of the show moving to a third city at some point in the future.

Floor Focus’ Frank O’Neill on Coverings 2006 (33:58)

April 10, 2006—Frank O’Neill, Publisher, Floor Focus’ Frank O’Neill discusses the ceramic tile and stone show Coverings 2006, held last week in Orlando. Topics include, the estimated increase in traffic and the additional retailers, architects and designers attending this show, the major exhibitors and their presence at the show, the extensive variety of products and some of the more unusual products launched at the show. Also discussed is Mohawk’s announcement that it had cut its first quarter earnings per share guidance to $1.03 to $1.05, from 1.17 to $1.26, the result of higher than expected LIFO accounting charges and lower than anticipated sales growth.

From Coverings 2006 – RFMS, CEO Terry Wheat (14:25)

April 9, 2006—From Coverings 2006 – Terry Wheat, CEO, software provider RFMS, discusses the company’s newest offering, an estimating tool that permits retailers, retail salespeople or anyone to accurately measure any space, from a room to a shower, for any flooring product, ceramic tile, stone, wood or carpet. The tool, works with RFMS management tools or independently and it provides a complete materials list. Wheat also discusses the show coverings.

From Coverings 2006, Steuler’s Paul Heldins and Tile with LEDs (5:55)

April 6, 2006—From Coverings 2006, Paul Heldins, Managing Director, Steuler Fliesen, a ceramic tile producer based in Muhlacker, Germany discusses the newest development in the ceramic industry; ceramic tile with embedded light emitting diodes (LEDs). Tiles with LED’s, which are available in a variety of colors, are used in both floor and wall tiles as a decorative accent or as a safety device.

From Coverings ’06 - Donato Grosser on Changing Channels of Distribution, Product Development & Cove

April 5, 2006—From Coverings ’06 Donato Grosser, President, D. Grosser & Associates, a New York-based marketing and management firm and consultant with Italian Ceramic Tile Manufacturers Association discusses shifts within ceramic industry’s channels of distribution and the impact Home Depot’s slowdown in store expansion. Grosser also discusses the inroads made in the ceramic arena by traditional floor covering distributors, potential shifts in ceramic pricing in the future, the evolution of product development and Coverings and its level of retailer-friendliness.

From Coverings ’06 - Graziano Verdi, CEO of Graniti Fiandre and StonePeak Ceramics (13:32)

April 5, 2006—Graziano Verdi, CEO of Graniti Fiandre and StonePeak Ceramics discusses the company’s expansion into the U.S. the capacity of the new U.S. facility and the company’s long term goals. Verdi discusses the distribution channels that the company developed, the products it has launched at Coverings 2006 and the process it calls upon to develop new products.

From Coverings - Edson Gaidzinski, CEO, Eliane (18:11)

April 4, 2006—On the opening day of Coverings, Edson Gaidzinski, CEO, Eliane, Brazil’s largest ceramic producer, discusses the show, Eliane’s channels of distribution in the U.S., how the company works with floor coverings distributors and retailers and how the show serves floor covering retailers. Gaidzinski discusses the company’s broad product line, Chinese imports, programming a retail sales floor how retailers can best profit from selling ceramic.

From Coverings 2006 – Jim Dougherty (24:55)

April 4, 2006—Industry veteran Jim Dougherty comments on the first day of Coverings 2006, which open yesterday in Orlando. Dougherty also reviews the traffic on the opening day of the show and the surprises that he has seen so far, he also discusses the shifts in the channels of distribution in the tile and stone industry, how a retail can get the most from the show and he also shares his expectations for Coverings 2007 in Chicago.

Archives Presentation – WFCA Roundtable on Marketing Via the Internet – Part 2

March 31, 2006—A FloorRadio archives presentation, this is the final part of a two-part roundtable discussion, sponsored by the World Floor Covering Association that looks into marketing floor coverings via the internet. Panelists: Scott Sandlin, VP, Marketing, Shaw Industries; Evan Hackel, President, Carpet One; Mark Burson, Principal, Burson Consulting Group; and John Simonson, President, Webstream Dynamics examine the internet consumer, how their knowledge level differentiates them from non-internet once they enter a retail store and the importance of building efficiency into websites and consumer attitudes toward the information on manufacturer, retail and third party website. The panelists also compare the website of big box and independent retailers in terms of efficiency and product knowledge and discuss the role internet retailers play and multi-channel retailer play in the shopping process, the future of multi-channel players and the importance of blogs.