WELCOME HOME: After a three-year hiatus, the inimitable Warren Tyler has returned to Floor Covering News and his avidly read column, “Salesmanship,” is back in the line-up. The nonpareil author and speaker is the industry’s foremost authority on retail selling, marketing, merchandising and advertising. It is during times like these, when the economy is depressed and business is slow, that he is most valuable. When the system breaks down, he steps up and his strategies and programs have been a lifeline for countless retailers. His aggressive approach to sagging sales and melting morale is unique, practicable and a mandatory read. So, get ready for the Sovereign of Salesmanship, the Maven of Marketing, ‘cause once again it’s Kelly, Lew and Tyler, too!

DOPEY WOOD: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have found illegal drugs in strange places— inside tires, the fuel tank, quarter panels, seat compartments, bumpers and in the clothing of some travelers. They effectively stop drug smugglers from bringing marijuana through the Ysleta port of entry and recently they found a huge stash in the most surprising place—inside sealed boxes of wood flooring. The seizure, 55 packages of the drug, was made from the trunk of a car that entered Texas from Mexico. The driver looked suspicious, so a drug-sniffing dog searched the car and went straight to the box of flooring. The moral of the story: Installed wood floors hide drugs better.

GOOD DEAL: The World Floor Covering Association ( WFCA), in partnership with the Ternian Insurance Group, is making available to its members affordable voluntary medical and discount plans to offer to their employees. Ternian’s limited-benefit medical plans and supplementary buy-up and buy-down options are designed for the uninsured or underinsured employees you have. The plans are voluntary and can be 100% employee paid, or employers can contribute a portion or all of the cost. Programs start at under $10 a month up to limited-benefit plans costing $200 a month. It can be billed directly to the employee or you can payroll deduct. No administration fees, no payroll deductions, no COBRA, etc. To learn more or sign up, go to the association’s Web site at WFCA.myt ernian.com, or call 877.214.0022.

CHANGE: A British research project determined that the luxury retail sector will become “significantly different” as a result of the global economic crisis. It claims the downturn has affected the real income of wealthier consumers and has fundamentally changed their attitudes. “An era of consumer frugality has set in and has left its mark on the luxury sector,” said Verdict Research. One aspect of the new frugal viewpoint is “considerate consumption with a focus on quality.” The study was done in the U.K., which allows for the possibility that in America the outcome would have been different. I think our “wealthier consumers” may have had their income diminished a bit, but not enough to alter their lifestyle. And as for “focus on quality,” our consumers have been doing that even in good times.

QUESTIONS: A retailer in Georgia was planning a 4th of July cookout in his parking lot as part of a holiday Barbeque sale and he found that hot dogs come in packages of 10 and buns in packages of eight. And that made him think how strange we are. A pizza can get to your house faster than an ambulance…Why are there handicap parking spaces in front of a skating rink? ...Drug stores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store for prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front… People order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet Coke. At least we can solve the hot dog problem, Buy eight packages of them and 10 packages of the buns.