Flooring Podcast

Carpet One’s Evan Hackel and the New CarpetOne.com – Part 3 (12:55)

August 27, 2006—Evan Hackel, president Carpet One Floor & Home in the third part of a four-part series, discusses the re-launching of the new carpetone.com website, a site that will permit consumers to purchase installed carpet via the internet. Hackel discusses the interaction between Carpet One retailers and consumers via the redesigned website, his expectations for the site in both the long and short-term. Also discusses is Carpet One’s promotional plans for the site, his expectations for internet advertising in the years to come, and how co-op members can become involved in the new site.

Lew Migliore, The Industry’s Troubleshooter and the Case of the Running Carpet Dye (13:50)

August 27, 2006—Lew Migliore, The Industry’s Troubleshooter and president of LGM & Associates, discusses a problem he was called out on in the field, where it appeared that the dye in the carpet in question ran, causing a washed-out appearance in certain areas of the installation. Migliore discusses the facility managers complaint, the severity of the problem, various methods he called upon to ascertain that there was a problem and the recommended solution for the problem.

Barker on the Market

August 24, 2006—Mike Barker, Investment & Retirement Management discusses the recently released numbers showing a slowdown in the nation’s housing sector and the downside risk from a larger slowdown than was expected. Barker talks about using homebuilder and housing related stocks as a means of reading the sector, the situation created by increasing interest rates and rising levels of housing inventories and the pending problem of mortgage resets. Also discussed is the potential problem of stagflation, oil prices and the positive aspects of the market and the current economy.

Carpet One’s Evan Hackel and the New CarpetOne.com – Part 2 (12:40)

August 24, 2006—Evan Hackel, president Carpet One Floor & Home in the second part of a four-part series, discusses the relaunching of the new and improved carpetone.com website, which will permit consumers to purchase installed carpet via the internet. Hackel talks more about the research behind the development of the new site, the growing popularity of the internet as a consumer research and purchasing vehicle for floor coverings.

Mone & Calandrino – Exploring the Laminate Consumer – Part 3 (12:53)

August 23, 2006—Steve Mone, president, Kaindl Flooring USA and Sonna Calandrino, publisher, Fabulous Floors magazine, in the third part of a four-part series, discuss the findings from a Fabulous Floors/FloorRadio consumer focus group talk about how consumers research floor coverings on the internet prior to entering a retail store, some of the shortcomings of working with retail salespeople, and what laminate should evolve into.

Carpet One’s Evan Hackel and the New CarpetOne.com – Part 1 (10:56)

August 23, 2006—Evan Hackel, president Carpet One Floor & Home, in the first part of a four-part series, discusses the CCA Global Summit and the Carpet One Summer convention, which were recently held in Denver. Hackel talks about the re-launch of the carpetone.com website, which will permit consumers to purchase installed carpet via the internet, and the research to that went into the development of the new and improved site.

Floor Focus Co-Publisher Frank O’Neill and the Events of the Week

August 22, 2006—Frank O’Neill, co-publisher, Floor Focus magazine discusses: the confirmation of Armstrong’s fourth amended plan of reorganization, the structure of the new company after it emerges from bankruptcy and chairman and CEO Mike Lockhart’s statement that the company will focus on acquisitions once emergence has taken place; The naming of David Duncan and Brad Matthaidess to marketing VP posts at Mohawk; Congoleum’s new reorganization plan and the competing plan filed by insurers and bondholders. Carpet One’s new e-commerce website and; Larry Jones’ reentry into the flooring business with the launch of a FloorCo Design Center in California.

Mone & Calandrino – Exploring the Laminate Consumer – Part 2 (11:32)

August 21, 2006—Steve Mone, president, Kaindl Flooring USA and Sonna Calandrino, publisher, Fabulous Floors magazine, in the second part of a four-part series, discuss the findings from a recent Fabulous Floors/FloorRadio consumer focus group touching on consumer wants and expectations during a flooring purchase. They also discuss what consumers expect from retailers to meet their needs, and consumer's environmental mind-set and concerns for corporate responsibility and how these feelings influence flooring purchases. Mone and Calandrino discuss consumers’ inclination toward a perpetual state of remodeling and how much of their energy is directed to the kitchen and consumers desire to try new products and looks, they also look at consumer attitudes toward durability and cleanability.

Lew Migliore, The Industry’s Troubleshooter, Claims Resolution -- Advisaries or Partners

August 21, 2006—Lew Migliore, The Industry’s Troubleshooter and president of LGM & Associates, discusses the ever-changing relationship between retailers and floor covering retailers in the arena of claims and claims resolution.

Mone & Calandrino – Exploring the Laminate Consumer – Part 1 (10:56)

August 20, 2006—Steve Mone, president, Kaindl Flooring USA and Sonna Calandrino, publisher, Fabulous Floors magazine, in the first part of a four-part series, discuss the findings from a recent Fabulous Floors/FloorRadio consumer focus group. Mone and Calandrino talk about the timing for the focus group, how consumers view the laminate category and the motivating factors behind consumer choices and the features consumers most often seek in floor coverings.