Environ II by Warmly Yours is helping retailers heat up their sales.

By Louis Iannaco
As October turns into November, most of the country is beginning to feel the autumn crisp. And with the cold blast of winter not far behind, many new home builders and remodelers are beginning to think more and more about radiant heating, thanks to the decorating shows that flood the television and subsequent visits by consumers to the Internet.

Accordingly, many flooring dealers are experiencing a surge in sales of radiant floor heating systems as they continue to learn more about the product themselves and homeowners desire ceramic tile while enjoying the comfort of warmth underfoot.

“Sales of the radiant heating systems have been excellent,” said John Psyhos, owner of Performers Flooring & Design Gallery Flooring America in Bloomingdale, Ill., whose store carries the Warmly Yours system. “The way we have the product displayed has helped market it. We display it on a panel under Floor Tile with an engraved message that says, ‘Touch me, feel me.’ People touch it, then have questions about it and we start the conversation. It’s definitely been a value-added item.”

In addition to the display, Psyhos said more shoppers are familiar with the product. “There are definitely more consumers who, before they walk in the door, know more about radiant floor heating systems than they did years ago. We just help that with the way we display the product. So it’s a combination of both. We are selling this product three, four, five times per month versus three, four, five times a year in the past.”

Herb Goedecke, owner of Goedecke Decorating Center, a Flooring America store in the Manchester suburb of Bedford, N.H., which also carries the Warmly Yours brand, is also doing well with the category. “While it’s not something we sell every day, we have a display where people can feel it and touch it, and once they do that it’s often a done deal. It helps that we are in a more affluent area, although we did sell two systems yesterday to someone who is a little more middle income. She wound up upgrading about $1,500 to put the system in two bathrooms.”

Goedecke added that some people in the Northeast are initially afraid to purchase ceramic tile because they think it will be cold to the touch because of lower temperatures. That’s when he and his sales team pitch the product. “We tell them, ‘You can have tile and we can make it nice and warm.’ They think it’s great. For bathrooms it’s not so expensive. With the Warmly Yours system, we do a lot of spot heating.”

He noted that it works in kitchens as well. “In a kitchen where the wife might not want tile because it’s cold, we tell her we can add heat in front of the cabinetry and work areas, in front of or around the island, and under the kitchen table. We will do systems where we heat around the cabinetry and under the kitchen table, and the rest of the kitchen we will leave unheated because it makes the overall job a lot more affordable.”

Goedecke has gotten a lot of feedback from people who love their systems. “I have one in my own house, and it makes a huge diffeence on those cold days.” He also agreed with Psyhos that an increasing number of people are educated about the systems before visiting the store. “People are more aware of it. It’s not uncommon for people to say, ‘Hey, I was looking at [radiant heating on] a Web site. What do you think of this product? Have you installed it?’ ”

He confirmed his store sells 20 to 30 systems a year. “We do pretty well. I’ve talked to retailers who are lucky to sell a couple a year. But the vision of that warm floor, especially after she feels it, can close a sale. In our store we have it in all of our three bathrooms. People can feel it first-hand, see that it works, see that it’s not expensive to run and feel the benefits of it.”

Richard Keller of Carpet Etc., a Carpet One store in Newport, Ore., said radiant heating sales are growing in his market as well. “Last year we had a banner year. And I’m sure we are up at least 25% in sales this year. The market knowledge of it has been a big thing. People hear about it from other people. We do a good job using it as an add-on sale to our installed ceramic tile sales.”

Like Psyhos, Keller also has a display that allows people to put their hand on a warm piece of tile. And he uses his store’s location to help move product. “Where we live, on the coast of Oregon, it’s a fairly cool climate,” he said. “When people think of ceramic tile, they think it’s going to be cold for their feet. So the climate, too, might be part of our success. We also have several salespeople, as well as myself, who have systems in our own homes, so we can talk fairly intelligently about it.”

Keller has also noticed shoppers armed with more knowledge about radiant floor heating systems before coming to the store.

“Most people who buy them already have some idea about them,” he said. “Where they got that information, whether it be the Internet or a person they know who has the system, or HGTV, I’m not exactly sure. But I think the idea sounds appealing to a lot of people. We can then take it from A to Z. We have electricians who can do the electrical part of it and then our tile people, who obviously know how to install it, do the rest. So we can take care of it from point A to point B to the finished product and give them a total package on the deal.”

Keller noted that Warmly Yours is part of the Carpet One program, so he gets get additional benefits. “The way they protect you on the Internet, if you register the name of the customer, the person can actually buy the product. So, if I register Mrs. Jones, send her a drawing and I want a price for a heated floor, they put that down. If that person ends up going on the Internet and buying it directly through Warmly Yours, it will send us our profit on the job. It’s a pretty cool deal.”

Goedecke, who used to carry another company’s heating system, carries Warmly Yours because they’re “fantastic. Any time we’ve had to change the system they answer every question. We’ve been putting it under laminate flooring as well as several jobs with carpet, and with Warmly Yours having different systems to go with different types of flooring, they’ve been great to work with.”

While Goedecke doesn’t actively advertise the radiant systems, he is actually considering it because of its success. “We’ll probably advertise it in the future. It might be something we do since it is another way of expanding business. Just because we have done so many of them we would feel very comfortable advertising.”

Psyhos, who also doesn’t advertise the systems, said, “We probably should do it but we don’t.”

And Keller said it might come to that point. “We haven’t done so to this point. It’s a luxury item, obviously, and though I would not consider it a draw item advertising-wise, it certainly is a nice feature. I think when people are shopping for tile and someone is offering it, then it just makes you look that much more professional if you know the scoop on it.”