FLOORtalk

John Simonson, president Webstream Dynamics and 5-star Store Reviews talks about Ecommerce and the potential for success for floor covering retailers in the sector. Simonson talks about the investment and technology required to be successful in the space as well as the marketing and logistics required to become successful.

Jeff King, Legal Counsel WFCA talks about the importance of converting websites to be accessible to the handicapped including hearing, vision and physically impaired. King discusses the explosion of lawsuits that have been filed recently for this reason and recommends ways retailers can review their situation.

Industry consultant Jim Buckles, discusses how retailers should allocate space on the sales floor. He advises retailers to seek to be the source for the type of flooring consumers are looking for and determine what products have sold during the past year. ​

Tom Jennings, chairman, WFCA Services discusses the concept of salespeople selling quality installation on the sales floor while selling flooring. He notes that many retailers shy away from the concept because is it the root of many problems but that many retailers have decided that it is time to control their own destiny and elevate their level of installation.

Doug Chadderdon, president and CEO of Great Floors, a chain of 22 retail and commercial showrooms across the Pacific Northwest, talks about social media and how it’s utilized at Great Floors.

John Simonson, president of Webstream Dynamics, and 5-Star Store Reviews, discusses a seminar he will be presenting at TISE in Las Vegas, entitled Digital Marketing Strategies for Retailer in 2020, scheduled for Monday, Jan. 27 from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. In it, Simonson will talk about the mind shift that is necessary for floor covering retailers to become totally involved in the digital environment, to grasp the reality that the sector is and has been losing market share, and the necessity to develop a product strategy for 2020.

Stuart Hirschhorn, research director, Catalina Research, talks about floor covering industry growth during 2019 being the result of LVT and how other sectors have been negatively impacted. Hirschhorn looks at the negative impact on carpet and rug sales during the year.

Tom Jennings, chairman, WFCA Services, talks about the appropriate level of installation knowledge he believes salespeople should have. Also discussed is the concept of selling installation.

John Simonson, president, Webstream Dynamics and Five-Star Store Reviews, talks about a change recently launched by Google, Neural Marching, which permits the company to better interpret the intent behind search questions instead of relying only on keywords.

Stuart Hirschhorn, research director, Catalina Research, talks about the commercial sector of the industry which has been up in 2019. Hirschhorn talks about the effect LVT will have on both the commercial and residential markets in both dollars and square feet, as a result of the longer replacement cycle.