January in Dallas may pale in comparison to springtime in Paris, but don’t tell that to the mills, local distributors, retail groups and dealers who sold, bought and learned during the first week-and-a-half of the new year. Between the 5th and 10th, within a two-mile radius, an array of mini markets and conventions— for some an alternative to Surfaces, for others a supplement— blanketed the town.

The big draw during the week were the Shaw and Mohawk regionals, which traditionally attract retailers from as far as Denver. Despite the tough economic landscape, not only did both mills expect to see around 1,500 people, but they came to the table with impressive packages of introductions.

In illustration, Mohawk was implementing the 130-plus hardwood SKUs introduced last spring, while Shaw was pushing the envelope on new tile, wood and laminate visuals—specifically, a linen-concrete tile look, enhanced realism in laminate and unique colors in hardwood. As both companies profess, “We cannot stop innovating.”

Companies like Beaulieu and Karndean were just a few who capitalized on the regionals with showrooms in neighboring hotels, while other manufacturers relied on their distributors to show their wares. Those would include Swiff- Train, T&L and Adleta. Adleta was trumpeting that it had picked up Bruce hardwood and laminate, and expanded its distribution of Armstrong hardwood.

John Sher, president, admitted that he started his event five years ago piggybacking on the Shaw and Mohawk regionals. “We realized there’s a large group of customers who want to see all the new products and see it closer to home than Surfaces. So this is really a service to our customers.” Last year Adleta saw about 350 customers and did more than $1 million.

On top of the mini-markets were the Carpet One and Flooring America conventions. A few points here:

1. Members of both groups were down in purchases for 2008, but much less than the industry average. This was confirmed by no less than three suppliers.

2. Despite the doom and gloom that seems to envelope all media outlets, retailers of both groups were anything but downtrodden.

3. Rather than overwhelm their members with new programs, the conventions took more of a business approach dealing with topics like driving traffic, closing more sales and increasing profit margins.

4. With the battle for those remaining consumers intensifying, both groups requested that FCNews’ coverage refrain from divulging specific details of programs and strategies.

Next up: Surfaces.