By Louis Iannaco
Today’s cork flooring products are hot. Not only are they gaining in popularity due to their inherent green appeal, the shades/colors offered are more varied than ever before. Retailers who have added cork to their portfolio of products are finding it is a hot commodity, especially with end users wanting to bring in something different and yet environmentally responsible into their homes.

Joe Bell, proprietor of Bell Floor Covering in Philadelphia, which carries products from APC Cork, said his business sells cork flooring mostly by way of in-store displays. “I do find a lot of our customers who are looking for cork are somewhat educated. Our salesmen could always learn more about any kind of floor but it seems to be more important for cork since the customer has already done the research on the Internet and think she knows everything.”

Pete Nazarenko of Planet Hardwood in Vermont, said his company sells the product the same way Bell does, through “in-store displays of our own making, and education, education, education...both our customers and our salespeople.”

Nazarenko, whose business sells cork from Natural Cork/US Floors, said while the Internet has educated some end users on the topic of cork flooring, more in the area of expertise and education needs to be done, so arming his sales staff with as much knowledge on the subject as they can get can only help.

“People are learning from the Internet to some degree,” he said, “but people are learning that everything on the Internet is not gospel truth, so they try to get a foundation of information but look for validation from someone with experience.

“We put an enormous emphasis on education,” Nazarenko explained. “Cork is a great story in that it is a finite sustainable harvest, looks great, is now user friendly with the click panels, and is ‘kind’ underfoot. Additionally, like wood, it goes with any décor.”

Jack Dean, sales manager for G. Fried Flooring in Sarasota, Fla., said he has a fairly large selection of cork flooring at his showroom. “All of the cork has literature to go with it. I find most consumers are unaware of the many options available to them and that they probably go to the Internet after they have been exposed to the product in the showroom.”

Green is the word

“I find it is most important for my sales staff to be able to tell the consumer of the many benefits of cork,” Dean explained. “It’s non-allergenic, no bugs eat it and it has a very soft walk that is great for anyone with bad knees or hips. I’ve called on orthopedic surgeons to tell them of its health benefits. We also have many styles and designs for the discriminating buyer with great fashion sense.”

Bell noted, “The most important thing we like to tell our customer about cork is its environmental aspect. The most asked question is whether it can stand up to the traffic. What we love about cork is that it brings together comfort and durability. Our business has grown in the last couple of years, so much that we have become a stocking dealer.”

According to Mari Strain of Flooring Alternatives, an APC dealer in Berkley, Calif., ”Our cork business has absolutely grown in recent years. In fact, it has been a driving force in the direction our business has gone. The green building movement is a major factor. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, it was rediscovered as a highly renewable flooring material 10-plus years ago, and I began to offer it literally due to popular demand.

“Now,” she explained, “with green building having crested its tipping point, cork is very popular. It’s hard for me to judge its demand in the conventional flooring market (as our niche is specifically green) and outside the progressive Bay Area. However, in the past two years or so, cork in particular (with or without the green marketing angle), is in more ads and signage for conventional flooring stores and installers. It has definitely moved from specialty market to common staple.”

Future looks bright

According to Dean, the cork business has been booming, and he sees no reason why it would slow down any time soon. “We’ve grown [our cork business] by 25% in the past few years, and I think the reason is the sales staff is more comfortable with it and they see how well it wears.

“Our best-selling styles are anything except the dark colors,” he added, “and the cork that looks like it comes from bottles.”

As Nazarenko noted, Planet Hardwood’s cork business has grown “by an average of 20% a year. It performs well and satisfies the growing eco-consciousness as an ingredient in the decision. Also, people are looking more at non-traditional [if cork indeed falls in that category] floor coverings like cork and rubber.”

Commenting on his bestselling styles, he observed, “Interestingly, it morphs. We used to sell quite a bit of the ‘marble-y’ looking patterns, but lately things seem to be getting more geometric. Whatever goes on up here in Vermont, it’s rarely a pulse on the rest of the country. Usually it goes this way: Whatever we bring in for inventory, they’ll want something else.”

Bell concluded, “We stock two patterns in tile and two patterns in floating. Approximately 85% of our cork sales are that of the floating variety. The market from green building materials has taken off in the past couple of years, and I believe it has come time for it to be in the mainstream. You hear it in the news every day about the human footprint on the world, and I think people are finally taking notice.”