By Sarah Zimmerman
While 2008 winds down, top resilient manufacturers reflect on what’s worked this year aiming to build business in 2009. So, what exactly were the key features catching consumers’ attention and cash flow? FCNews talked to several category leaders who pointed to style, performance, affordability and overall value as four differentiators in ’08.

Armstrong

Though the market remains difficult, Allen Cubell, vice president of resilient for Armstrong, said new technology in the category— exclusive to the company— has taken the mill’s products to a different level. “Masterworks Technology provides the great looks, VTx supplies the great texture and new CleanSweep Plus provides great performance.”

Specifically, Cubell highlighted two products as Armstrong’s category leaders this year: CushionStep and StrataMax. “Our CushionStep offers comfort, style and flexibility in fiberglass floors with designs in Wood, Stone and Impression categories, while StrataMax—our revolutionary and uniquely layered sheet floor—offers the perfect combination of durability and performance as well as ease of installation.”

CushionStep is a comprehensive glass-backed line offering 120, 100 and 80mm products with corresponding trade-up features in 60 designs across three price points. StrataMax can be installed loose lay and offers the maximum stain and scratch resistance of CleanSweep and the durability of ToughGuard II.

For more information on Armstrong and its products, call 877.276.7876.

EarthWerks

Don Evans, vice president of sales and marketing for EarthWerks, said style, service, quality and inventory have given the company an edge in 2008. He said its luxury vinyl tile (LVT) remains the high hitter on the market today, and nature-inspired visuals are still trendy frontrunners. “We’ve seen wider wood plank looks and grouted tile become popular styles this year,” he said, naming Soledo Plank and Sorrento Stone as high sellers for the company.

Soledo Plank is a 4-inch wood plank with an aluminum oxide finish, available in many designs such as cherry, maple and hickory. Evans donned the product “sharp, a look that can go anywhere.”

Sorrento Stone is a tile design featuring Real Edge— double-sided grout—for a more natural, realistic stone floor visual, “just like real ceramic.”

For more information on EarthWerks and its products, call 800.275.7943.

Mannington

Company research shows, said David Sheehan, director of resilient and laminate business for Mannington, that consumers continue to choose product based first on its styling and then look to other features. “Mannington offers its customers a variety of beautiful products that have added benefits, such as superior durability, easy maintenance, affordable pricing and environmentally friendly attributes.”

Sheehan listed Sobella (Mannington’s fiberglass-backed product), Adura Luxury Floors and Jumpstart RE (the first residential resilient with recycled content) as the mill’s top-selling resilient styles of the year, noting, “our top sellers stand out because they have unique benefits other manufacturer’s can’t offer.” For example, he pointed to Adura Elements—a new program with Adura that features a modular LVT collection— which allows installation customization just like with real tile, but with the affordability and performance of resilient.

For more on Mannington and its products, call 856.935.3000.

Tarkett

“Times are tough, and in tough times consumers want the best value for their dollar,” said Gary Finseth, marketing direction for Tarkett Residential. “When it comes to performance, value and design, Tarkett FiberFloor is a great consumer value.”

New FiberFloor designs, which rolled out this spring, have already taken the market by storm, Finseth said. With a new display system and a near-endless range of designs and colors, the product has already been pegged as a winner. “The variety of FiberFloor designs and colors along with an entirely new display that showcases each SKU without having to turn page frames definitely make the consumer selection process easier and more enticing across the board.”

The company also supports the collection with a 54-page catalog showcasing how the designs can be incorporated into consumers’ everyday lives.

For more on Tarkett and its products, call 450.293.3173.