Every two weeks, FCNews seeks out flooring retailers across the country to offer their advice on hot topics of the day. This week we asked: Which product has surprised you the most in 2022?
Here are their responses:
Because of the negative connotation laminate flooring has held over the past years we were surprised to see this category increase its share of our flooring sales. The laminate visuals are great, and the price point seems to be lower than vinyl tile. It has been a great addition to the waterproof category.
—Ben Boss, Boss Carpet One Floor & Home, Freeport, Ill.
Carpet has surprised me the most in 2022. It has been steady, stable and predictable, which drives sales. Plus, lots of nice roll specials throughout the year and introductions over the summer have made it easy to please customers and close sales. Carpet has remained large and in charge here at Frazier’s. It still represents more than 42% of our total sales.
—Kevin Frazier, Frazer’s Carpet One Floor & Home, Knoxville, Tenn.
The product that is still doing well is RevWood. Customers are not married to LVP; they want a waterproof option that doesn’t sound loud and one that the mill will stand behind, all while being a solid product that is scratch resistant. The fact that [RevWood] is thicker than SPC gives it a higher perceived value.
—Don Lovato, CarpetSourceUSA.com, Albuquerque, N.M.
The products that are surprising are some of the new LVP-LVT products and how realistic they look to real wood and/or tile. We are getting a lot of positive feedback from our customers which turns into sales.
—Don Cantor, Lake Interiors Chelan, Chelan, Wash.
We have noticed more people asking for real hardwood. That’s good for us in terms of profit margin; customers don’t want to tackle it themselves and would rather have us install it.
—Mike Foulk, Foulk’s Flooring America, Meadville, Pa.
