Flooring Podcast

Sandlin, Hackel, Burson & Simonson - Marketing on the Internet - Part 3

December 11, 2005—This is the third installment in a four-part roundtable discussion, sponsored by the World Floor Covering Association, that looking at marketing floor coverings via the internet online. 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 and how their knowledge level differentiates them from non-internet once they enter a retail store. Also discussed is the importance of building efficiency into websites, the role product knowledge plays in consumer searches and consumer attitudes toward the information on manufacturer, retail and third party website.

Jim Motter on Recycling Carpet into Backerboard Part 2

December 11, 2005—Jim Motter, Chief Marketing Officer, Nycore in the final part of a two-part series, discusses Nycore the company and Nycore the product. The product is a material made from recycled carpet, which is extruded into tile backerboards and synthetic slate roofing. Motter talks about how the material was developed, the manufacturing process and the physical properties of the material and its level of acceptance within the contractor and DIY communities. Also discussed are the companies’ collection system, its plans for the future and the backerboard’s distribution system.

Paul Friederichsen Looks at the Industry’s Advertising

December 8, 2005—Paul Friederichsen, President, Brand Biz discusses politically correctness in advertising and the current debate over the use of the word Christmas verses the word holiday. He also looks at some of the most affective and least affective ad campaigns. Friederichsen also discusses some of the floor covering industry’s most recent advertising and the placement of print ads as he compares the industry’s approach to advertising with those of other home products industries. He also discusses the probable goals of some of the ads and offers some recommendations to make industry ads more affective.

Jim Motter on Recycling Carpet into Backerboard - Part 1

December 7, 2005—Jim Motter, Chief Marketing Officer, Nycore in the first part of a two-part series, discusses Nycore the company and Nycore the product. The product is a material made from recycled carpet, which is extruded into tile backerboards and synthetic slate roofing. Motter talks about how the material was developed, the manufacturing process and the physical properties of the material and its level of acceptance within the contractor and DIY communities. Also discussed is the distribution system for th ebackerboard material, the companies’ carpet collection systey and its plans for the future.

Floor Focus’ Frank O’Neill - The Week in the Floor Covering Industry

December 6, 2005—Floor Focus magazine publisher Frank O’Neill discusses the Mohawk FloorScapes convention, which was held last week in Florida, and the company’s strategic alliance with Wear-Dated and 3M Scotchgard and the additional alliance between Mohawk Hardwood and Scotchgard. O’Neill discusses the brand-oriented marketing thrust the company plans to take as a result of these alignments and the products that will result, as well as the other new products and programs launched at the convention. Also discussed the naming of Walt Hubbard to the Dixie Group board and the expansion of Turman Hardwood.

John McDevitt on the Economy

December 5, 2005—John McDevitt, former 3M Corporate Economist discusses the 4.3% GDP growth in the third quarter and his expectations for fourth quarter and year-end GDP growth and the affects the Gulf hurricanes had on GDP. McDevitt also evaluates last week’s unemployment and jobs creation report and also discusses his views on poll data reflecting consumer’s somewhat downbeat view of the current economy. Also discussed, the housing market, his housing forecast for the fourth quarter and next year as well as his thoughts on consumer confidence numbers, retail spending and the manufacturing sector.

Sandlin, Hackel, Burson & Simonson - Marketing on the Internet - Part 2

December 4, 2005—This is the second-part of a four-part roundtable discussion, sponsored by the World Floor Covering Association looking at marketing floor coverings online. Roundtable panelists Scott Sandlin, VP, Marketing, Shaw Industries; Evan Hackel, President, Carpet One; Mark Burson, Principal, Burson Consulting Group; and John Simonson, President, Webstream Dynamics, in this segment panelists discuss the importance of manufacturer and retail brands in consumer internet searches, how marketers can best harness search engines to maximize web traffic. Panelists also discuss the number of websites internet shoppers normally visit and the types of website features they find most user-friendly as well as the importance of specialized web-based tools such as room visualization software.

Barker on the Dow, Mohawk Shares, Housing and the Market

December 1, 2005—Mike Barker, Investment & Retirement Management discusses the Dow’s 3.5% increase in November and some of the historical adages about the market and the month of November and December. Barker looks at the reasons behind the recent jump in Mohawk’s share price and talks about the Dow’s 80 point drop this week on the same day the 4.3% hike in GDP growth was announced and the significance of the Dow passing the 11,000 mark. He also discusses the anticipated slowdown in the housing market and the upcoming Fed meeting and its potential affects on the market.

Julius Shaw of Shaw Industries on 2005, its Acquisitions and Price Increases – Part 2

November 30, 2005—Julius Shaw, Executive VP, Shaw Industries, in the final part of a two-part series discusses the company’s performance in 2005 and its efforts in each of the basic product groups. Shaw talks the strategy behind the company’s acquisitions of Honeywell Nylon and SI and its plans for each including the EverGreen recycling operation. Also discussed is Mohawk’s acquisition of Unilin and its impact on the laminate sector and the rising cost of raw materials and its effects on the manufacturing and retail sectors.

Floor Focus’ Frank O’Neill - The Week in the Floor Covering Industry

November 29, 2005—Floor Focus magazine publisher Frank O’Neill discusses: Mohawk exclusive deal with 3M to offer Scotchgard Advanced Repel Technology on hardwood floors; The growth over the past year in Cargill’s bio-based fiber Ingeo and the notching up of sustainable products in the consumer marketplace; The Focus 100 Retail list and the growth among the top and mid-tier players on the list and what this means for smaller retailers.