June 29, 2006—John McDevitt, former 3M Corporate Economist in the final part of a three-part series discusses the debate over the differences in executive and rank-and-file worker pay. He also discusses the consumer, his expectations for retail spending for the remainder of the year, the commercial building marketplace and its anticipated growth into next year and his views on how much the housing market will slow.
June 28, 2006—Ken Dempsey, President, Masland Contract, in a conversation recorded at NeoCon 2006, discusses NeoCon the show, the traffic at this year’s show, the upscale nature of projects across all market segments including health care and educational markets. The role service plays in architect, designer and facility manager decisions. Dempsey also talks about Masland’s entry in the modular carpet arena with the rollout of 14 new tile products, the company’s goals in developing the offering, the reaction it received at the the show and the advantages of offering tile along with the company’s broadloom.
June 27, 2006—Frank O’Neill, Publisher Floor Focus magazine discusses: The addition of Kemp Harr as a partner in Floor Focus and FloorDaily.net; Final NeoCon 2006 attendance numbers; Tarkett AG’s first quarter earnings; Home Depot’s incentives for good service; The closing of Tarkett’s Brookneal Virginia hardwood plant; The passing of Galaxy co-founder Irv Harvey and; Stock Building Supply’s acquisition of Coleman Floor.
June 25, 2006—From Fabulous Floors Magazine, Publisher Sonna Calandrino and Director of Consumer Research, Lis Calandrino, in the first part of a four-part series, discuss consumer likes and dislikes learned during a recently held consumer focus group, a joint-venture of Fabulous Floors and FloorRadio. Discusses is the need to hold focus groups as a means of constantly checking the pulse of the consumer, how floor covering consumers prepare themselves for shopping for floor coverings, how they view the shopping experience, how they assess the comfort level of a retail store and they feel about a salesperson who tries to change their minds.
June 25, 2006—From Fabulous Floors Magazine, Publisher Sonna Calandrino and the Director of Consumer Research Lis Calandrino, in the second part of a four-past series reveal some of their findings from a recently held Fabulous Floors/ FloorRadio consumer focus group. Discussed are the strong feelings these consumers have for their homes, how these feelings are reflected in their approach to shopping, their stance on working with designers, and the kind of help they want and expect from a retail salesperson. Click here to view a photo album that goes with this interview..
June 25, 2006—From Fabulous Floors Magazine, Publisher Sonna Calandrino and the Director of Consumer Research, Lis Calandrino, in the third part of a four-past series talk more about their findings from a recently held Fabulous Floors/ FloorRadio consumer focus group. Discussed in this segment is the attitude these female consumers have toward price during a trip to buy floor coverings and their knowledge level with regard to available credit promotions. Also covered are the views that these group members have about environmentally friendly product and what they want and expect from samples, vignettes and layout in a retail floor covering store. Click here to view a photo album that goes with this interview..
June 25, 2006—From Fabulous Floors Magazine, Publisher Sonna Calandrino and the Director of Consumer Research, Lis Calandrino, in the final part of a four-past series talk more about their findings from a consumer focus group, which was a Fabulous Floors/ FloorRadio joint venture. Discussed in this segment is the strong commitment group members have toward finding the perfect flooring product, their likes and dislikes about salespeople and the prime points retailers might want to consider to ensure more of their customers have a positive shopping experience in their store. Also discussed is how listeners can arrange for a focus group of their customers. Click here to view a photo album that goes with this interview..
June 22, 2006—Mike Barker, Investment & Retirement Management discusses the “Catch 22” situation that created the environment for the volatility the market has experienced in the past few weeks. Barker talks about the anticipated environment going forward and shares his thoughts on whether the market has completed it down side movement. Also discussed is Ben Bernanke and the seeming edginess in the market over the Federal Reserve. Barker also discusses the recent upgrades of Mohawk and Interface.
June 21, 2006—From NeoCon, Dan Frierson, Chairman & CEO, The Dixie Group talks about the company’s Masland Commercial unit, NeoCon 2006, the launch of the company’s first carpet tile line, and expectations for carpet tile industry-wide. Frierson talks about the rapid growth the company experienced last year, the problems that ensued and the resulting actions taken in the form of a new tufting operation and distribution center to resolve those problems. Also discussed is the company’s focus on the high-end in both the residential and commercial sectors.
June 21, 2006—Paul Pierce, Product Design Manager, Armstrong World Industries, from NeoCon 2006, discusses the show, the company’s message to architects, designers and facility managers at the show, the dramatic changes in resilient flooring over the past decade and the impact the growth in ceramic, wood and other hard surface categories have had on vinyl during that time period. Pierce talks about new looks in vinyl and the integration of a range of styles, colors and textures in today’s installations and the new products being introduced by the company at NeoCon.