Education is set to be an essential part of the attendee experience at Mohawk’s Edge Summit this year, to be held in Dallas Dec. 1-4. Organized around the Edge Summit theme of “Listen. Adapt. Win.,” each education track is designed to move retailers from insight to action.

“For instance, ‘Listen’ will help attendees better understand today’s consumer — the questions shoppers are asking, the factors influencing their decisions and the experience they expect throughout the purchasing journey; ‘Adapt’ will translate those insights into practical actions they can apply across their business, from how they present and sell flooring to how they communicate their value and serve customers more effectively; and, ‘Win’ will focus on putting the right tools and resources to work,” explained Laura Bartley, Mohawk’s vice president of customer loyalty. “Attendees will leave with actionable ideas for generating demand, strengthening customer engagement, improving productivity and supporting long-term profitability.”

The curriculum, Bartley explained, is driven by retailer feedback, consumer insights and current market conditions. “It features a thoughtful mix of Mohawk leaders, industry partners and external experts who will address the challenges retailers are navigating right now, such as changing shopper expectations, increased pressure on profitability, rapid shifts in technology and the need to differentiate in highly competitive markets,” she reported.

The sessions are also designed to help Mohawk Edge retailers respond with greater confidence. “Sessions will focus on practical ways to better understand the consumer, strengthen the in-store and digital customer experience, improve operational effectiveness and turn Mohawk’s programs and resources into measurable business growth,” Bartley said.

Edge Summit allows Mohawk to move beyond being simply a product supplier and serve as a true business partner. “By bringing together consumer intelligence, industry expertise, proven business practices and Mohawk’s scale, we can give retail partners access to insights and resources that may be difficult, or costly, to obtain independently,” Bartley explained.

And, just as importantly, the education curriculum creates a two-way conversation. “We are sharing knowledge with our retail partners while also listening to their challenges, learning from their experiences and using that feedback to make our support more relevant,” Bartley said. “That exchange strengthens the partnership long after Edge
Summit ends.”

Bartley explained that the consumer insights programming is foundational because it establishes the “why” behind the broader Edge experience. “Sessions focused on profitability, the evolving customer journey, digital effectiveness and emerging business tools will also be particularly valuable,” she said. “Together, these sessions connect what is changing in the marketplace with what retailers can do next.”

Reflecting the Listen. portion of this year’s Edge Summit theme, Jessica White, senior director of design strategy and channel at Mohawk, will be leading a session on current consumer shopping habits and design trends.

“I think one of the biggest shifts is that today’s consumer is walking into the store with more information and inspiration than ever before. Think about how much that has changed,” she said. “There was a time when the salesperson was really the expert. Then model homes became a huge influence. HGTV came along and started educating consumers about design and products. Pinterest and Instagram gave us the ability to curate exactly what we liked. And now consumers have TikTok, creators, Google, Pinterest, AI and their own personalized algorithms feeding them inspiration constantly.”
To prepare for her session, White shared that she started by partnering with Mohawk’s product designers and looking at the trends they were seeing for 2027 and 2028.

“But instead of stopping at what was trending, I became really curious about why,” she said. “I went back through five decades and started looking at what was happening outside of the home during each one — how families were changing, how and where we worked, technology, the economy, housing, what we valued, who influenced us and even how we shopped. And this really clear pattern started to emerge.”

And homes, she said, didn’t change because design changed but rather homes changed because life changed. “Design simply followed,” White stated. “In the 80s, home was very much a symbol of success. In the 90s, we started craving comfort and family. Then our homes became more open and connected. Social media came along and suddenly our homes were being photographed, saved and shared. Then 2020 happened, and home had to become everything — our office, school, gym, restaurant, gathering place and sanctuary.”

Now, she said, we’re in another interesting shift. “People are overwhelmed. They’re more selective. They want authenticity and meaning. And increasingly, they want home to be the place where they can finally exhale. That’s why I think this connects so naturally to the ‘Listen.’ theme at Edge.”

But to understand where design is going, it’s important to listen to what’s happening in people’s lives. “What are they worried about? What do they value? How are they living? What do they need their homes to do for them? Because when we listen to people, the trends start to make a lot more sense,” White said.

Planning Ahead

Andrew Oxley, founder of The Oxley Group, will once again return to Edge Summit and this year will be leading a session on succession planning.

“We like to say the succession planning process starts years before the handoff of the business,” Oxley said. “Often, retailers look at the legal and financial implications and that’s when they talk about succession planning. Legal and finances do matter but they’re the last little bit in the succession plan. We focus on people and process not legal and finances.”

A successful succession plan comes down to five critical elements, Oxley said. “1. The leadership bench — who is going to make leadership decisions if you’re not here? When we talk about succession planning, we’re not talking about 30 or 90 days; we mean permanent. 2. Who owns the relationships with key customers and vendors? 3. Is there financial clarity? A lot of times we look at the financials with the new owner and they won’t understand the financials. If the previous owner isn’t there to explain them then there isn’t any clarity. 4. Brand identity. What does the business stand for in the community? 5. Timelines and intentionality. We believe you can go from a lifestyle business to a sustainable business in less than 3 years.

At Ege Summit, a 25-question succession planning readiness questionnaire will be shared. “It’s a simple rating scale on where people are in the process,” said Oxley.

“We are in a very difficult economic environment for retailers. A lot of times people say ‘I can’t worry about succession planning right now. I’m worried about the economic climate I find myself in.’ But a lot of the things they need to do don’t necessarily take a lot of capital in order to do it. There are things they can be doing that are proactive that would help them build momentum because economies go through cycles,” said Oxley. “It may be slow right now but in six months there could be a boom. Then owners will think ‘I don’t have time to focus on succession planning.’ A good time to start planning ahead for what needs to be done is when economic times are tough — it could be one of the best times to be thinking about this.”

“Rather than identifying a single universal must-attend session, we are helping retailers build an education path based on their individual business priorities. The curriculum is intentionally connected, allowing attendees to listen to the market, determine where they need to adapt and leave prepared to win.”
— Laura Bartley, Mohawk