MILESTONE: Cersaie, the five-day international ceramic tile exhibition just concluded in Bologna, Italy, set three records to mark its 25th anniversary edition. The show drew almost 92,000 visitors, actually 91,935, an increase of 1.1%; it attracted 27,121 foreign visitors, an increase of 3.7% and another record, and 632 accredited journalists covered the event, a boost of 4.6%—that will surely get the word out. Participating in Cersaie’s silver anniversary show were 1,078 exhibitors from 32 countries, and they enjoyed the attendance of more than 27,000 international professionals and more than 59,000 Italian professionals. Various conferences and panel discussions, which drew SRO crowds, rounded out the landmark occasion of Cersaie’s silver anniversary.

WHAT ARE THE ODDS?: What’s better than winning the lottery? Being Armstrong World Industries (AWI) and receiving a tax refund. Not just a refund, a $180 million refund. Armstrong has reported that it received a majority of the windfall, which was for federal income taxes paid over the preceding 10 years and the result from the carry back of a portion of tax net operating losses created by funding of the Asbestos Trust under AWI’s Plan of Reorganization in October 2006. Don’t try to understand it, just cash the checks. These refunds are in addition to approximately $50 million of 2006 taxes refunded earlier this year. That brings the number up to $230 million. And there’s about $830 million of tax losses that remain available to carry forward from Dec. 31, 2006. The company “is evaluating how the cash proceeds will be used. Suggestion: send a thank you gift to the IRS.

SHIFT: The pendulum seems to be swinging from the big box operation to the smaller retailer. TNS Retail Forward, a retail research firm in Columbus, Ohio, at its annual conference made predictions for the next five years of what’s in store for the nation’s two largest home improvement retailers—Home Depot and Lowe’s. Slower growth was forecast for both the giants but, more important, the market conditions that will prevail in that period will favor those retailers who are better at catering to a more specialized clientele. “Homeowners are now shifting to smaller, focused projects, said Nick McCoy, senior consultant with Retail Forward. “Long story short is we’re probably not going to find a bottom this year [in the housing market]. There’s far fewer home equity cashouts happening these days. [Market conditions are] favoring small category specialists rather than the massive warehouse retailers.” The patience and fortitude of the floor covering specialty retailer will finally pay off.

NO KIDDING: A growing number of consumers are factoring social responsibility into their rug purchases by selecting rugs with the RugMark certification label. RugMark announced that certified rug imports to the U. S. have grown from $0 in 1996 to $8.9 million in 2006. Sales of child-labor-free rugs have increased by nearly 30% per year since 2004, outpacing the overall U.S. rug industry sales. RugMark’s mission is “to raise consumer and industry awareness about the child labor problems in the rug industry, which currently exploits nearly 300,000 children. The number of rug importers and retailers who have committed to RugMark membership has grown exponentially since 2004 as more industry participants recognize the affiliation has a positive effect on business. It proves consumers have a conscience and so many being parents themselves, they will do the right thing once aware of the problem. RugMark is an international nonprofit organization working to end exploitive child labor in the carpet and rug industry and give educational opportunities to children in India, Nepal and Pakistan.