Regaining Control

Recently, a well-known flooring manufacturer’s first quarter sales performance was publicly released. The results were not good for wood. Net sales were down 2.7% year on year. This net sales result was comprised of a 1.9% gain in resilient flooring, but a 9.8% loss in hardwood flooring. As with many things, the actual impact of what we know is occurring doesn’t sink in until we see stark numbers like these. 

For most of my career in the hardwood industry, hardwood flooring has enjoyed increasing market share. However, it is safe to say that is over for now and rather than being able to count on consumer preference for wood products, we have to gear up for battle to sustain and regain control of the markets we used to be able to take for granted. 

I love this industry and honestly cannot see myself doing anything else, because I have a passion for the business. I love the personal interaction that is so important still in this business. I love that a lot of business is truly still done with a handshake and a promise, with very rare betrayals of trust. I enjoy the fact that you must possess a level of knowledge to succeed in this business that you cannot fake. But for all that I love about this business, I do get frustrated with the hardwood industry’s stubbornness at pulling together proactively to move in one direction to control its own destiny. The green movement and third party sustainability are issues that we have come to accept with various levels of irritation, but should have been marquee moments for us to author the next chapter for the hardwood industry. Instead of controlling a movement, we let it happen to us. But, it is never too late for a fresh start. While we didn’t own the green movement as we should have, we can embrace it and use it to combat the onslaught of non-wood competitors that are gaining market share in industries we used to dominate. 

Take flooring for example. Composite, vinyl, concrete, and other materials have qualities we cannot necessarily beat in terms of performance and often cost. But, wood is still greener. Look around your area. If it is like mine, organic farmers markets, coffee shops, and shops are cropping up repopulating downtowns that had previously been decimated by big box stores. Small local organic farms selling on the internet are actually making farming profitable. This is product based but also marketing based in that it is tapping into a sector of the consuming market that wants to feel like they are contributing to a greater good when they make a purchase. So, wood floors don’t necessarily resist moisture as well as a concrete tile, they take a local artisan sometimes to install and finish correctly, they can cost more, but they also impact the environment less than the alternatives because they come from trees which are renewable without incurring extra energy to renew them. 

I submit that we have to abandon head to head traditional marketing and take an aggressive stance to communicate that while a lot of things look like wood nowadays there is only one original that is as good for the environment as it is for the aesthetics of a home. I would also submit that while we must all do this individually, we cannot hope to achieve the success individually that we could collectively.