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"Our distributor members have weathered the worst of the storm and are now seeing their businesses continue to grow each month," commented Kevin Gammonley, NAFCD executive vice president. "The negative impact of the shutdown has not been as severe as initially feared." Read More

In 2019, the ceramic floor and wall tile segment performed at a rate comparable to the previous year. According to Catalina Research, the category posted sales (in manufacturer’s dollars) of $3.9 billion, accounting for 14.1 percent of the total floor covering sales in 2019 — a 0.7 percent increase.  Read More

Daltile invented the manufacturer/distributor/sales office hybrid. It is a manufacturer, distributor with warehouses and has more than 200 sales offices selling to contractors, end users, etc. Emser has 78 regional locations and MSI has 25. All are pretty much national in scope and carry mostly its own brands. They are exceptional companies and continue to outpace the industry.   Read More

U.S. floor coverings manufacturer dollar sales (U.S. factory shipments minus exports plus imports) could have increased by only 1.1 percent to $27.6 billion in 2019. This is down from a 5.7 percent increase in 2018. Square foot sales could have declined by 1.8 percent to 23.5 billion as rising average selling prices dampened demand. Read More

Despite many retailers shutting their doors to curb the spread of COVID-19, shopping hasn’t stopped. In May, retail sales made a remarkable rebound after two months of record-setting lows, spiking 17.7 percent according to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s monthly report. Read More

Current spending levels have likely been boosted by expanded unemployment insurance benefits as well as the result of small business loans under the Payroll Protection Program which provide incentives to for businesses to keep their employees on their payroll during these weaker economic times. Both programs are likely to end soon. Read More

“By the fourth quarter of 2019, housing starts and home improvement construction spending were increasing at double digit rates in response to the 20 percent decline in interest rates in the third and fourth quarter of the year. As a result, U.S. floor coverings dollar sales increased by 2.8 percent in the second half of 2019, while square foot sales began to rise.” – Catalina Research Read More

Catalina’s latest analysis of floor coverings industry trends indicate that the company's March predictions of a double-digit sales decline in this year’s second quarter did not occur. On the other hand, the sharp spring back in demand could be held up with the rising number of coronavirus infections in recent weeks. So, let’s review what did occur over the past three months and what the “new normal” may look like. Read More

ccording to an article on CNBC online, there are approximately 618,000 Millennial millionaires  today and, “by 2030, Millennials will hold five-times as much wealth as they have today and are expected to inherit $68 trillion from their predecessors (their parents) in the great transfer of wealth.” Read More

Catalina Research has released its newest report on flooring, furnishing and home improvement e-commerce trends.  According to the report, e-commerce sales for the leading online retailers of flooring, furnishing and home improvement products soared as the coronavirus shelter-in-place orders accelerated the shift to e-commerce business. Read More