Article Number : 835 |
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| Date | 1/30/2006 10:58:09 AM |
| Written By | LGM & Associates Technical Flooring Services |
| View this article at: | //floorbiz.com/BizResources/NPViewArticle.asp?ArticleID=835 |
| Abstract | Dalton—When it comes to consumers buying broadloom, it has long been noted the most important features to her have always been color, style and texture. These have generally been followed by ease of maintenance, price and durability though their order fluctuated in importance... |
| Article | Dalton—When it comes to consumers buying broadloom, it has long been noted the most important features to her have always been color, style and texture. These have generally been followed by ease of maintenance, price and durability though their order fluctuated in importance. But, with energy prices continuing to soar at record levels and the costs of everyday items rising almost daily, there ap-pears to be a shift in what she views as the most critical component when making such a large purchase like floor covering. This and other findings from an extensive consumer and industry research initiative by Beaulieu of America will be shared with the industry at Sur-faces ’06, where the industry’s lar-gest privately-held carpet manufacturer plans to unveil a host of products and programs tailored to better meet the needs and desires of both the end user and retail operation. “Knowledge is the most important tool,” said Ralph Boe, president of Beaulieu’s Residential business, during an exclusive interview with FCNews, which was given a preview of the company’s findings. “When Beaulieu set out to be the best company,” he explained, “we knew we needed to take our retail and consumer insight to new levels. Millions of people purchase carpets, but in order to be the best, we knew that we had to listen to dealers and their customers better than any other manufacturer.” First, Beaulieu retained Frank Lane & Associates of Atlanta, one of the nation’s elite research companies with clients such as Microsoft, Pepsi and Johnson & Johnson. In mid 2005, Frank Lane spent three months using a three-pronged approach to better understand purchasing motivators when it came to carpet: It conducted extensive interviews with 2,245 homeowners who had purchased carpet during the past several years; it interviewed store owners, sales managers and salespeople at the largest 1,000 Beaulieu retailers across the U.S., and researchers “mystery shopped” 50 retail outlets across the country in both large and small markets. “It was a very exhaustive project,” Boe said, “and gave us a great deal with which to work. Especially because there were some definite surprises.” The biggest was that 60% listed price as the “most critical factor” when choosing a carpet. “This was really a surprise,” he noted. “Color and texture have historically always been in the top two or three along with performance. Price is usually four or five.” He attributes two key influences: rising everyday prices and the popularity of hard surface flooring, particularly wood. “There are certainly concerns about everyday prices, especially with winter upon us. We’re hoping this is just temporary. If the stock market rises and things begin to stable off, it will create more consumer confidence. Also, people typically have budgets when they are remodeling. And, where all that used to go just to carpet, it is now being divided among other, more expensive flooring products, so there is less to spend for carpet, which means she has to be more concerned with the price.” Color and texture are still among the top three priorities with 50% saying color and 45% noting texture as the most important characteristic. “There’s no surprise she still places a great deal of value on these attributes,” Boe said. Especially when one considers how hard surface flooring has taken on a bigger role in what is typically referred to as the “downstairs” of the house. This has put even more emphasis to have stylish, comfortable carpeting in the upstairs bedrooms. Performance has also become more important with 45% listing it as a top priority. This finding makes sense in light of the feelings about price. Because she is conscious on what she is spending, she wants to make sure her purchase will stand up to her family and continue to look and feel like new for many years. Within this group of questions, consumers overwhelmingly wanted products to have added-value performance attributes. Of all the characteristics mentioned, one emerging trend stuck out: products that contribute to a fresher home environment. “Air freshness is definitely an emerging attribute,” Boe said. “In fact, we have seen tre-mendous demand for carpets featuring our exclusive Magic Fresh odor-destroying treatment. It eliminates common household odors including those from pets and cigarette smoke.” The final piece of the equation came from dealer input. Whether owner, manager or salesperson, all wanted products perceived to be different from the competition while also meeting consumer needs. While this is something Beaulieu has been doing the past three years in terms of the products it has introduced, Boe said, there are opportunities to provide even more meaningful information “so dealers will be able to sell smarter by providing the best possible fit for each customer.” This is important, he said, because one of the other major surprises that came from the research is how consumers shop: On average, they visit only one-and-a-half stores before making a purchase. “Twenty years ago it was four. Today’s two-income family doesn’t have a lot of time to shop, plus many people, especially the younger ones, are using the Internet to shop and do research.” Boe noted Surfaces will be the first place to showcase how it is offering both new and differentiated products with the kinds of features and benefits consumers desire at the price points they want. Not only is Beaulieu bringing a revamped offering of its designer-oriented Vizani Stainmaster Carpet Mosaics System to the U.S. (FCNews, Jan. 9/16), it will unveil Fashion Essentials. This new collection of 20 SKUs features the company’s ex-clusive PermaTwist and PermaSoft fibers, Magic Fresh and Perma-Shield stain protection, yet at a price that emphasizes value. In addition, five SKUs are being added to its popular Ultimate Per-formance collection, bringing it to 27. The new styles, Boe said, are “unique looks from a new fiber twisting system. It has a very rich look and feel and still has the best features of the original styles—the ability to resist soil and clean up very easy. In fact, you can use a 50/50 bleach solution; that’s how durable this product is.” “This is just a sample of everything we’ll be showing,” he concluded. “We’ve got a tremendous amount to offer, as well as a tremendous amount of knowledge to share with our customers. And, this is just the start, because we will continue to do research to see if and where attitudes change as well as get more targeted in specific areas such as styling and texture.” To learn more about Beaulieu’s extensive consumer research project and see how the results translate into products and programs, visit its Surfaces booth 2521, or call 800/227-7211. - Matthew Spieler |