Kraus 'Forces of Nature' Collection Featuring Natiq

By Steven Feldman
Las Vegas—Kraus, the integrated global manufacturer of carpet and fiber and a leading North American distributor of hard surface flooring, has launched a new corporate identity while streamlining its branding program. At Surfaces it was announced that all divisions and private-label collections will now be branded solely as Kraus, replacing an array of product-line and geographic division names.

Until now, the company’s commercial carpet line was branded Kraus, but its residential carpet and flooring were dubbed Lifestyles. On the distribution side, after Kraus made a series of purchases over a six-year period, the Pacific Northwest division was known as Kraus Sound, the Northeast division Kraus Sorce, the Midwest division Kraus Royal Scott and the Southeast division Kraus Orders. “Now it’s all Kraus,” said Brad Vollrath, head of Kraus’ Distribution Group. “Simple.”

The new corporate identity includes the tag line, “Kraus. Floors With More.” The phrase conveys that Kraus markets more than just carpet, and all Kraus products have unique features that distinguish them from commodity products. “We chose our new tag line to better communicate our product scope and differentiation strategy,” said Walter Eckhardt, senior vice president of marketing. He added that the differentiated features include a lifetime commercial stain warranty. “For other mills it’s a niche,” he said. He also cited a no-exceptions stain warranty that, according to Eckhardt, covers what others exclude—like bleach, mustard and herbal tea—on selected products, both commercially and residentially.

Other differentiators, he said, are Kraus’ ZipperLock backing, more warranty coverage and more local stock. “Kraus doesn’t aim at the lowest price; we aim to offer the unique product features across a broad spectrum of price points.”

Kraus at one point was a commercial carpet manufacturer, but today, Vollrath said, the company sells nearly as much on the residential side. As well, Kraus’ total product mix is just about a 50-50 blend of hard and soft surfaces.

Eckhardt added that although carpet is the profit engine of the company, the flooring business gives Kraus economies of scale and scope in logistics, sales and marketing. “We are in hard surface for the same reason as Shaw and Mohawk,” he said.

But unlike Shaw, Kraus does not manufacture any hard surface product. Rather, it follows the Mohawk- Congoleum distribution model. “We partner with branded manufacturers, like Congoleum in Canada and Tarkett in most of northern U.S.,” Eckhardt said. The company also sells Kahrs across Canada and in the Northwest; Alloc in Canada, the Northeast and Midwest; Armstrong hardwood in the Southeast, and Anderson in the Northeast. “We love great brands and feel our logistical system and sales force of 200-plus does a good job for them.”

The company also markets Kraus-branded laminate, hardwood and luxury vinyl tile that it imports from Europe and the Far East. “We are a global sourcer,” he said.

The hard surface business was built via the purchase of regional distributors. “We did six deals two years apart—one every two years,” Eckhardt said. “And we didn’t purchase the next one until we fully integrated the previous one.”