Flooring Podcast

Barker on Bernanke, Oil, 3rd Quarter Earnings and the Market

October 27, 2005—Mike Barker, Investment & Retirement Management reviews the market and its unease during the month of October, it’s view toward Ben Bernanke, the candidate to replace Alan Greenspan as the chairman of the Fed and how this is likely to play out, the CIA leak situation and how the market may react, the ongoing situation with oil, natural gas and gasoline and how it is affecting the market. Barker also discusses the upcoming Fed meeting next week, third quarter earnings and the guidance given by many reporting companies and seasonal adages concerning the market during this time of the year.

Trivers on Competition of the Future, Technology and Trading-Up

October 26, 2005—Jon Trivers, Marketing Wit and Wisdom, columnist with Floor Covering Weekly and a popular industry speaker looks into the future sharing his views on the competitive nature of the floor covering industry’s retail sector in years to come, discussing the expansion of Lowe’s and Home Depot in the installed arena as well as the growth of the mid-tier and online retailer players. Trivers also discusses the reluctance some retailers have toward adopting technology and the inevitable cost this stance may take, plus trading consumers up to the high-end.

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

October 25, 2005—Floor Focus magazine publisher Frank O’Neill discusses: Mohawk’s third quarter earnings; Bear Stearn's upgrade of Home Depot and the firm’s comments on margins; Coverings' move to Chicago's McCormack Place on alternating years; Deutsche Messe’s launch of Domotex Middle East in Dubai; Congoleum’s naming of a new insurance counsel; The intellectual property situation with Chinese laminate producer; And, the expansion of Bentley Prince Street’s Reentry Reclamation program with Invista.

John McDevitt on the Economy

October 24, 2005—John McDevitt, former 3M Corporate Economist now is semi-retirement discusses the new Fed chairman nominee Ben Bernanke and the current state of the economy as he shares his thoughts on the prices of petroleum products, natural gas and chemicals, the affects they are having on the economy and where these prices will likely be in the future. McDevitt also looks at the US dollar, the housing and commercial construction markets for 2006 and the danger zones to watch for in 2006.

Scoble & Simonson on Using Blogs as a Marketing Tool

October 23, 2005—Blogging expert Robert Scoble, Technology Evangelist at Microsoft and John Simonson, President, Webstream Dynamics explain the concept of blogging, defining it and discussing its dramatic expansion and the total number of blogs and bloggers in the U.S. and how it is has found it way into nearly every area of interest. Scoble discusses how some of the nation’s largest corporations, manufacturers and retailers use blogging to their marketing advantage, and offers some insights on how flooring companies can incorporate weblogs into their overall marketing strategies. To learn more about blogging see www.FloorTechies.com.

Mohawk Industries 3Q Conference Call

October 20, 2005—Excerpts of Mohawk Industries third quarter earnings conference call, featuring an opening statement from Mohawk Chairman & CEO, Jeff Lorberbaum followed by a question and answer period with answers provided by Lorberbaum and CFO, Frank Boykin.

Mohawk Industries 3Q Conference Call - Financial Report

October 20, 2005—The financial report segment of the Mohawk Industries third quarter earnings conference call delivered by Frank Boykin, Mohawk Industries’ CFO.

Perpetual Machine President Danny Morgan on Producing Machinery for the Flooring Industry

October 19, 2005—Danny Morgan, President, of machinery and engineering company, Perpetual Machine Co., discusses the just completed acquisition of LESSCO and the series of acquisitions that the company recently completed and the company’s focus on the flooring industry. Morgan talks about the company’s structured growth plans, its global reach, the environment for capital spending, today’s and tomorrow’s technology and working in an industry that continues to see accelerated consolidation.

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

October 18, 2005—Floor Focus magazine publisher Frank O’Neill discusses: The Law.com story of an appeals court reversing Congoleum’s pre-packaged bankruptcy plan; Feltex’s rejection of Godfrey Hirst’s merger plan; A preview of Floor Focus magazine’s Top 100 Retailer list, looking at the changes at Home Depot, Lowe’s and the nation’s largest floor covering retailers; NOFMA numbers on September hardwood flooring sales; And the death of Alfred I. Halpern, founding member of the steering committee for the International Standards and Training Alliance (INSTALL) and executive director of the Northeast Flooring Contractors Association.

Crossville’s Jim Dougherty on Cersaie and Trends in Ceramic

October 16, 2005—Jim Dougherty VP, Marketing and New Business Development, Crossville, looks back at the ceramic tile show Cersaie offering his take on the show and discussing its exhibitors, attendees and new products. Dougherty also discusses trends within the global ceramic industry, their traditional points of origin and how those traditions have been changing in recent years. Also discussed is the North American ceramic industry in 2005 and expectations for the future.