Must-have product introductions of 2021

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By Ken Ryan—For many flooring retailers, 2021 represented their best sales year ever, and it’s no wonder as the product pipeline continued to deliver innovative offerings that were in high demand. Following are some of the top must-have product introductions of 2021, along with their key selling points.

Anderson Tuftex: Pet Perfect Carpet

As consumers increasingly desire durability and cleanability, Pet Perfect carpets from Anderson Tuftex offer innovative performance and style, designed to remain beautiful for years to come. Performance innovations include Shaw’s Anso high-performance fibers that are designed to release pet hair while vacuuming and promise built-in stain protection, thanks to R2X technology and advanced fade and bleach resistance.

Selling Point: Offer innovative performance and style, designed to remain beautiful for years to come.

Armstrong: Essentials Plus Rigid Core

Essentials Plus channels the popular Japandi design influence with a 20-SKU assortment of realistic wood and concrete visuals. Built to withstand active lifestyles and households, Essentials Plus’ 5.5mm SPC core offers superior indent resistance. Essentials Plus is available in 60-inch planks with 7- and 9-inch width options.

Selling point: Planks are protected by a 20-mil commercial grade wear layer.

Cali Vinyl: Legends

To hold a Legends plank is to understand its value. Planks measure 60 inches long by 9 inches wide with a substantial WPC core delivering an overall thickness of a full half inch—ideal if you want to avoid cutting or replacing existing baseboards and door jambs. Highly authentic wood grains in signature coastal colors elevate any home design.

Selling point: Extra-thick boards are lightweight but communicate a higher value product.

COREtec: Advanced+

COREtec Advanced+ is touted as a consumer favorite thanks to its next-level performance designed to withstand whatever life throws at it. A recent breakthrough in core technology results in a 100% waterproof mineral core that offers extreme dimensional stability and advanced scratch resistance, backed by a 15-year residential scratch warranty.

Selling Point: 100% waterproof mineral core offers extreme dimensional stability.

Create Flooring: Lofts

The Lofts collection from Create is designed to withstand most moisture-related accidents without fail, allowing consumers to live and work without the worry. Lofts features a 14mm overall thickness and comes in random long lengths of 2, 4 and 6 feet.

Selling point: Checks all the important boxes for flooring dealers—lifetime waterproof warranty, EIR, wide and random long lengths, attached pad and multiple on-trend colors.

Daltile: Defend

Daltile’s new Defend is a distinct product line of high-performance porcelain tile featuring Microban technology. The new Daltile product with Microban eliminates 99% of bacteria on the tile surface, 24/7.

Selling point: The surface protection is built into the tile and will not wash or wear off.

Engineered Floors: Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo III from Engineered Floors introduces an elevated yet casual aesthetic for all designer needs. Featuring 12 earthy neutrals with subtle variations, the plush, 80-ounce carpet offers comfort and a soft velvety feel underfoot.

Selling point: The solution-dyed yarn is engineered to ensure extreme durability for busy households.

Flooring Lines: Christina Collection

product introductionsChristina Haack from “Flip or Flop” and “Christina on the Coast” used her expertise in design and flooring to launch her new waterproof line, the Christina Collection. Her goal is to help people find quality flooring that is stylish, durable and affordable.

Selling point: Scratch+ and stain-resistant flooring features a 20-mil wear layer for added protection in residential or commercial traffic.

Happy Feet: Rescue with ZeroMark

Featuring Happy Feet’s proprietary Stabilicor Plus core and Green EVA pad, Rescue is the thickest SPC product in the Happy Feet family, providing comfort, quiet and durability. All six colors come with painted bevels.

Selling point: ZeroMark uses proprietary compounds specially formulated for demanding environments.

i4F: i-Click4U

product introductionsi4F has launched a water-resistant, one-piece, drop-lock flooring installation system. Complementing its Click4U technology, i-Click4U has exceeded NALFA (North American Laminate Flooring Association) requirements relating to water-resistant flooring.

Selling point: I-Click4U technology eliminates the need for chemical sprays or additional sealing substances normally required to prevent water leaking into panel joints.

Karndean: Van Gogh Rigid Core

The 7 x 48 Van Gogh glue-down range has evolved to meet market tastes and trends, including a selection of Van Gogh visuals in a dual rigid core format. Recent rigid core additions were developed from native Australasian woods.

Selling point: Van Gogh multi-format visuals allow homeowners to choose the format that addresses their needs in the color that suits their style.

Inhaus: Lamdura

product introductionsInhaus has seized the opportunity to merge contemporary design and innovation with its heritage in laminate flooring to produce Lamdura. With three collections—Visions, Inspirations and Landmark—Lamdura boasts 39 designs along with superior water resistance.

Selling point: Durability, sustainability, ease-of-use and design authenticity.

Lions Floor: Natural Essence Plus

Natural Essence Plus offers rich, distinct colors and textures with the latest registered embossing technology that looks and feels like natural wood. The Uniclic system creates an impenetrable tight lock and allows for easy, fast and affordable installation. Natural Essence Plus represents both luxury and supreme craftsmanship.

Selling point: 100% waterproof with 20-mil wear layer and aluminum oxide UV coating, providing comfort and superior stability.

Mannington: CraftedEdge bevel

product introductionsCraftedEdge bevel is the next generation in LVT bevel technology, making Adura floors look more like real hardwood. Mannington’s exclusive beveling technology simulates a chiseled, hand-crafted bevel found on today’s luxurious hardwood floors. CraftedEdge is currently available on select Adura Max and Adura Rigid designs.

Selling point: These great looking LVT floors now look like authentic hand-crafted hardwood.

Phenix: FloorEver PetPlus featuring Microban

Bring on pets, wine, tomato juice, heavy traffic—whatever is spilled or stomped on, Phenix carpets featuring SureSoftSDN solution-dyed cationic nylon have the best performance in stain resistance and crush resistance.

Selling point: This stain-and-crush-resistant carpet will soon feature Microban protection.

Mercier: Atmosphere

product introductionsThe light shades of Mercier’s Atmosphere collection blend with natural highlights to showcase wood’s awe-inspiring texture and grain. Floors from this collection are offered in hard maple, red oak, hickory and white oak—on engineered and solid platforms—in a choice of widths ranging from 3 ¼ to 8 1⁄8 inches and four neutral colors.

Selling point: Red oak and white oak come with a matte-brushed gloss option that provides more texture to the floor and helps hide dust and everyday marks and scuffs.

Shaw Floors: Repel

Repel splash-proof hardwoods are designed for the traditional hardwood consumer who needs extra protection from an active household where scuffs and spills are prevalent. Innovative in beauty, durability and service, Repel splash-proof hardwoods are made in the U.S., ensuring retailers can get the floors they need—fast—to keep turning jobs in a supply-strained market.

Selling Point: Hardwoods treated with Repel splash-proof technology promise natural beauty that’s built to last.

Stanton: Safari King

The Kilimanjaro collection took off in 2019 with Serengeti and King Cheetah. Based on the success of the first introductions, Stanton grew the collection in 2020 with two dramatic designs—Dottie and King Tiger. This year, Safari King has been added as the epitome of statement carpet. The lush cut pile shows off the complex detail and color livens up the linear animal-like pattern.

Selling point: Safari King gives an artful touch to any staircase or runner and is designed to be a showstopper in custom fabricated area rugs.

Mohawk: UltraWood

product introductionsMohawk’s UltraWood is the ultimate performance hardwood that offers proven waterproof performance, long-lasting durability, simplified delivery and installation. With no acclimation time, UltraWood can be installed as soon as it’s delivered while Mohawk’s Uniclic glueless locking system makes installation quick and easy.

Selling point: UltraWood utilizes Mohawk’s WetProtect waterproof technology and CleanProtect antimicrobial flooring protection.

Tarkett: Triton Tuff

product introductions

Tarkett Home’s new waterproof flooring option, Triton Tuff, features a textile backing, making it stronger than traditional luxury sheet flooring products. Its 18 on-trend designs include traditional tiles and woods, modern herringbones and unique ceramic tiles.

Selling point: The 18 on-trend designs include traditional tiles and woods, modern herringbones and unique ceramic tiles.

MSI: Smithcliffs Hybrid

MSI’s Smithcliffs Hybrid—the next big thing in rigid core—is a worry-proof floor that features CrystaLux Ultra technology, which helps protect against scratches, stains and dents.

Selling point: Ultra-high density fiber core makes it extremely durable while offering the highest scratch protection.

The Dixie Group: Trucor

product introductionsIn today’s sea of sameness, Trucor 3DP offers true differentiation in rigid vinyl. Start with digitally printing the wood or tile visual directly onto an SPC core, which virtually eliminates pattern repeats found in SPC film-based products. Make it easy to install with the i4F locking system and finish it off with the TruArmor Advance Performance coating.

Selling point: Digitally printing the wood or tile visual directly onto an SPC core virtually eliminates pattern repeat.

Unilin: Unicoat

Unilin Technologies recently introduced Unicoat as licensable technology. This coating upgrades the water-resistant properties of a floor enormously. The coating technology, known as Hydroseal or WetProtect, prevents water from penetrating between the joints of two flooring panels and forms a shield on the floorboard edges.

Selling point: Water-repellent edge-coating for wood-based flooring.

Urbanfloor: Timbertop

product introductionsFeaturing eight curated SKUs available in both a 9.5-inch-wide plank and a 4.75-inch-wide herringbone, the premium Timbertop collection stands out. Each 13⁄16-inch-thick plank boasts the strength of a cross-finger core, 6mm wear layer and the latest in complex reactive stain technology that produces multi-dimensional colors simply not able to be recreated by traditional staining methods.

Selling point: A robust 6mm wear layer of European oak, premium reactive stain and coordinated herringbone selections distinguish Timbertop.

Wellmade: HDPC/SPC Waterproof Hardwood

product introductionsThe performance virtues of rigid core flooring coupled with the unique character of real hardwood. HDPC Waterproof Hardwood is available in popular oak, hickory and birch wood species. Low-luster, wire-brush finishes along with distressed textures augment the collection. Choose from traditional 5 x 48 planks or 7 x 84 premium planks.

Selling point: HDPC/SPC is ideal for use in areas prone to moisture—kitchens, baths and below-grade basements.

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Dec. 6/13, 2021

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