By Matthew Spieler
When sales are slow retailers are urged to diversify and expand their product offerings. But experts also suggest a strategy equally as important: Make sure your assortment includes a good showing of the products that are driving the bulk of sales. In the case of wood flooring, where, in some regions, sales are down up to 15% from last year, the rustic, distressed look continues to be the exception.

“If you look across the industry at the new products introduced over the past two or three years,” explained Dewevai Buchanan, Columbia Flooring’s hardwood division vice president, “roughly 50% have presented the attributes of the more character or rustic looks.”

John Woolsey, vice president of marketing and merchandising, Anderson Hardwood Floors, noted, “Someone once said about fashion, ‘what comes around goes around, it just changes a little.’”

He points out rustics have been around since Anderson first introduced them to the market in 1996 with its Mountain Series. “Up until that time all hardwood flooring was smooth, clear and free from knots and mineral streaks, and shiny.

“When everyone else followed,” he added, “Anderson reinvented rustic with handscraped planks introduced in 2001 in our Virginia Vintage collection. We reinvented the rustic look again in 2003 with wire-brushed textures in our Colonial Manor collection and again this year with Olde Paint, the first plank floor with a true painted, antique crackle finish.”

Dan Natkin, hardwood product manager, Mannington Mills, noted, “Rustics continue to grow at a very healthy pace, and have done so for the past several years. In particular, Mannington’s handscraped and distressed products have seen the most significant growth.”

Buchanan noted Columbia recently conducted “extensive research on current consumer tastes and buying habits in the wood market, and the results clearly show the majority of the population is trending toward more ‘natural product designs.’”

Also popular are styles that bear uniqueness where no two planks are alike. “Purchasing results show consumers are seeking out rustic character designs that enhance the depth and texture of a hardwood floor, adding richness and character,” he added.

How popular is the rustic look? From a pure sales point it depends on who answers the question, but most will say it represents at least 30% and up to 45% of all wood category sales.

From sea to shining sea

Helping to fuel sales are the fact this look is being sought after by consumers in all regions of the country, something that wasn’t so just a few years ago. Sales are still strongest in the regions where the trend started— the South and West—but consumers throughout the U.S. are gravitating toward this style.

“Rustic character wood products are popular in all regions of the country,” Buchanan explained. “In the southern part of the U.S., where engineered wood is predominately sold, there is a higher sales rate on handscraped and textured items, such as Columbia’s Amelia Roan Maple.

“In the North,” he continued, “where sales for solid woods are stronger, there is a preference for more of the natural version of the rustic character look. A good example is our Silverton Saddle Back Hickory that features natural knots, sapwood, heartwood and rich mineral streaks.”

Woolsey added, “Surprisingly, the last region of the country to embrace rustic was the oldest part of the country—the Northeast. Up until recently consumers there still wanted traditional smooth, clear and glossy floors. This has begun to change and rustics along with exotic looks make up a good part of our overall mix in all regions.”

Another indication of the popularity of the distressed look is how consumers of all budgets have expressed interest in these products. As such, manufacturers have broadened their offerings to include multiple price points.

“We traditionally introduce new looks at the upper end of the price spectrum as these customers have shown the most acceptance to new looks,” Woolsey explained. “As the market for a look grows and copycats bring out reproductions we then feed the retailers with price points that become more mass market.”

Because Anderson is highly customer driven, he noted, the mill now has rustic products in entry level, mid and upper price points. This steady trend in consumer preferences is so strong, Buchanan said, that during the past year, Columbia responded with a total reinvention of its line to feature a full range of 98 rustic character woods as the cornerstone.

“Early on,” he explained, “rustic character wood products were predominately higher end, but prices have come down due to the use of different wood species and manufacturing techniques, making rustic woods more available to a greater number of consumers.”

More than one rustic type

With the help of technology, companies are able to do more, and this is true with rustics as new equipment, species and innovations are allowing manufacturers to expand the look into something that now represents its own sub-category.

“The rustic look continues to evolve,” Woolsey said, “to include any grain-enhanced, machine-distressed, wire brushed, handscraped, hand-sculpted, antiqued or painted style.”

Buchanan agreed, “Our assortment of rustic woods includes products with some form of character and texture, including surface treatments such as hand-sculpted, recovered, weathered, distressed and time-worn looks, as well as wood featuring natural knots, hammer dents, nail holes, splits and mineral streaks.”

Wirescraping has become a popular way to create the rustic look and Canadian manufacturer Preverco has recently introduced a “Wirescraped finish” Original Series and Engenius Series of engineered hardwood, noted Jean-Sebastien Roy, marketing manager.

Through effective use of technology, Buchanan said Columbia has been able to both increase the options available to the consumer and make rustic character woods accessible to more consumers.

He pointed to Columbia’s new Character Woods assortment as the first hardwood flooring products to offer a myriad of surface treatments prefabricated from the factory. “Previously, expensive on-site finishing was required to achieve these rustic character looks.”

Roy said Preverco’s two-color Wirescraped finish is available in six shades that can only be achieved through state-of- the-art technology. They include cool gray and silver tones; chameleon colors that show hints of brown, green and gray, depending on how the light strikes them, and the Zebra finish, which features a bold and distinctive black and white scheme befitting of current furniture and design trends.”

Technology has also helped manufacturers expand the type of wood they can use to create the distressed look.

Different species

The most popular species being used to make rustic character products are domestic exotics such as hickory, maple and walnut, Buchanan said because the consumer views these as an upgrade over oak. “Right now, hickory, maple and walnut are the most prevalent choices in the U.S.—these products are what resonate with the American consumer.”

He noted Columbia’s Silverton Chocolate Walnut is a good example of the currently popular walnut boasting rustic character features “such as the natural knots, sapwood, heartwood and rich mineral streaks that run throughout its planks.”

But by harnessing the right kind of technology, Buchanan said Columbia has been able to offer almost all of its new 98 rustic character products across multiple species and multiple colors, in both solid and engineered hardwood. “No one else in the industry is offering such a large number of designs and styles in both solid and engineered. By effectively employing the right kind of technology, Columbia has been able to significantly increase the rustic character options available to the consumer and keep prices within the budgets of a greater number of consumers.”

While hickory is most popular for texture and character, and oak and maple for painted products, Anderson’s Woolsey pointed out the distressed look can now be found on the more expensive exotic wood species, such as Brazilian Cherry.

This is one reason why the market share spread for rustics is so large because each mill classifies sales differently. “It all depends on your definition of rustic,” he added. “Is a handscraped Brazilian Cherry rustic or exotic?”

Regardless of how it gets labeled, the fact remains the rustic look is one area where sales are holding their own in a tough economy. And considering things are projected to get worse before the market makes a turn for the better, it is in the best interest of retailers to tailor their offerings with products and styles those in the market are seeking. In the case of wood flooring, the rustic look is clearly one area not in distress.