FOCUS ON WOOD & LAMINATE Talking Points: What Wood You Recommend?


Armstrong Flooring, expert in a variety of floorcovering choices, discusses the key things you need to know about hardwood flooring to ensure your customers are as happy as possible with their purchase.


Talk LIFESTYLE


Whether a home feels like an oasis of calm or Grand Central Station, choosing the right hardwood floor that meets customers’ expectations for durability is key. Some species of wood are naturally harder than others, and thus more resistant to dents, dings and natural signs of wear. The hardness of a species can be increased by adding acrylic to the wood, such as with Armstrong Flooring Performance Plus Hardwood. For active homes, advise customers to choose floors with residential finish warranties of 25 years or lifetime.


Talk VALUE


Converting shoppers into happy purchasers is every retailer’s goal. Hardwood is a powerful tool to help reach that objective.


For most people, there is great value in hardwood. The value, beauty and inherent quality of real wood floors is important to homeowners.


Solid wood floors have been in use for hundreds of years and are still the flooring of choice for many people. Solid hardwood is 100% hardwood milled from lumber and is the most natural flooring choice.


Solid hardwood typically tends to be thicker than engineered so that all solid hardwood can be sanded and refinished if needed over the years.


Engineered hardwood is built up of layers of wood. It consists of three to ten layers, called plies, which are glued together. Engineered wood can be installed below ground level making it a great choice for finished basements.


As a retailer, you can guide customers through the selection process with a few simple talking points:


Talk STYLE


There are hardwood floors to complement any style — traditional to trendy, rustic to refined. Smooth floors have a timeless appeal, but check to see if your buyer prefers high or low gloss to help determine which collection to shop. Distressed floors mimic the weathered look of aged or reclaimed wood. Hand-scraped floors offer a range of textural variations designed to create the look of handmade vintage wood floors. You should also offer to show how the width of a plank can change the look of a room dramatically.


32 | Tomorrow’s Retail Floors


Hardwood is available in a wide range of price points. What makes one cost more than another? The laws of supply and demand determine the relative pricing of different species. Abundant American species like Oak and Maple are the most affordable, while high-demand exotics will often have the highest prices. Within a species, price varies based on the grade of the lumber. Premium grades have a more refined appearance, with fewer knots and dark mineral streaks and less colour variation. Of course, added treatments like distressing, hand- scraping, colour washing or acrylic infusion are more labour intensive and therefore impact the price.


Talk PREFINISHED Vs. SITE-FINISHED


Factory-prefinished wood flooring remains the selection of choice over actual onsite installation and finishing. Reasons include faster completion schedules, as the flooring is ready to be used immediately instead of waiting for finishes to cure. Additionally, prefinished warranties are very difficult to top traditional onsite ones.


Talk CHOICE


Use engaging merchandising displays that are easy to navigate and support regional preferences. Show customers variety. Even if they just come in for a specific item, give people a chance to view all products in the category. Use the power of brands to highlight quality (and profitable) products. Brands like Armstrong, Bruce and others are tremendous assets to retailers – they help bring people into the store, and give them confidence that they are making a smart buy. Your customers will be confident and feel comfortable with the value. They will get their dream floor.


www.armstrong.com/flooring/floors.html www.tomorrowsretailfloors.com


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