July 9, 2020--Michelle Carpenter, Director of Education and Government with Shaw Contract, and Kemp Harr discuss the recently published Return-to-Schoolbook providing guidance for floorcovering during this virus era. Listen to the interview for more details.
July 8, 2020--John MacLellan, President of Broadway Carpets and Broadway Flooring in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Kemp Harr discuss how surprisingly strong the retail flooring business is in Knoxville in the wake of the virus shutdown from earlier in the year. Listen to the interview for more details. Broadway is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
June 30, 2020--Deb Degraaf, Co-owner of Degraaf Interiors, and Kemp Harr discuss the robust recovery in store traffic and sales with the Grand Rapids, Michigan retailer. Listen to the interview for more details as well as hear Deb’s perspective on the new rigid-LVT factories that are being built in northwest Georgia.
June 29, 2020--June 29, 2020--Keith Spano, President of Flooring America, Flooring Canada, International Design Guild (IDG) and Floor Trader, and Kemp Harr discuss how the coronavirus has affected his retail members. Listen to the interview to hear more details on why some retailers have been more impacted than others.
June 26, 2020--John Gilbert, President of Carpet One Floor and Home, and Kemp Harr discuss the impact the virus has had on the Carpet One members. Listen to the interview for more details as well as a quick summary of the group's virtual summer meeting called CCA Lift 2020.
June 25, 2020--Dave Thoresen, SVP of Product and Innovation at Armstrong Flooring, and Kemp Harr discuss Armstrong’s resilient flooring strategy. Listen to the interview for more details on mix, sourcing strategy and growth initiatives.
June 24, 2020--Santo Torcivia, an economist focused on the flooring market, and Kemp Harr discuss the just published U.S. FlooReport, that provides the industry with extensive data on the economy, channel shift, share shift, product shift, end use market dynamics, advertising spending, and a long list of market factors that affect the U.S. and Canadian flooring market. Listen to the interview for more details and a few of the highlights.
June 22, 2020--Robert Dietz, Chief Economist with the NAHB, and Kemp Harr discuss effect the Covid Virus has had on the housing market and the outlook in the single family market moving forward. Listen to the interview for more details as well as few housing trends that have shifted due to the virus.
June 18, 2020--Kevin Sanders and Paul Young, with Shaw’s Hospitality business, discuss the impact the virus has had on this commercial flooring sector. Listen to the interview to hear more details of the impact, how long it could last as well as a few flooring trends in the lodging sector.
June 17, 2020--Don Finkell, CEO with American OEM Wood Floors, and Kemp Harr discuss demand for hardwood post virus shutdown as well as two new marketing ideas related to water resistance and co-promotion. Listen to the interview to hear more details on business conditions, WetWorx and a tie-in with Swiffer.