| Flooring America
Introduces New Hard-Surface Product to Meet Rising Consumer
Demand
Manchester, NH (March 4, 2004) – Flooring America introduced
additions to three hard-surface floorcovering categories at
its Houston, TX, convention on March 4-6. “Members have
told us they were eager to stay competitive in the increasingly
popular hard-surface categories,” said Mike Englert, Flooring
America’s Vice President of Merchandising. “Two
of our new additions are exclusives for the CCA Global family
of companies. Plus, we’re offering a highly marketable
mix of styles at very attractive price points.”
Strong sales in ceramic and stone led to the first additions.
The number of SKUs in Flooring America’s Terra del Sol
line for 2004 will be increased by nearly 50%. Nearly half of
the updated line, 181 different tiles of ceramic and stone,
will be value priced. Responding to other requests by members,
more largeformat (exceeding 14" _ 14") tiles will
be included wherever they are available.
The second addition is Naturcor Flex Floor from Balta, new
in the vinyl category. Naturcor was previously available only
in Europe. This heavyweight flooring is nearly twice as heavy
as traditional vinyl sheet goods at over five lbs. per square
yard. Its weight allows for a simple, loose-lay floating installation
that needs no gluing and is guaranteed not to curl. It can be
installed over any existing flooring except carpet. Because
of its 13' 2" width, it creates fewer seams in large installations.
“It’s extremely flexible and soaks up a lot of
foot-fatigue with a separate foam layer that offers both comfort
and warmth,” said Englert. “Naturcor is approved
for all grade levels, and can be installed over two existing
vinyl-floor layers. Laying it down requires no specialized training.”
Naturcor will be available in two collections. Woodmark features
13 realistic hardwood looks; Stonemark features 13 stone and
ceramic patterns, including flagstone and slate. All are moisture-
and slip-resistant, with an engineered fiberglass interlayer
that provides strength and flexibility.
Living Art, the final hard-surface addition, is a 5/16"
_ 2-1/2" hardwood product imported from China. It is versatile
enough to be glued over concrete subfloors or nailed over wood
subfloors. A full range of transition products for Living Art
is available. It is offered in oak and kempas, with an aluminum
oxide finish that is backed by a 30-year warranty. Living Art
will be warehoused in sufficient quantities so that it will
be available to all members within five days of their placing
an order.
About Flooring America
Flooring America, with a sales volume of $1.4 billion, consists
of more than 500 member-owned floor covering stores throughout
the United States and Canada. Flooring America provides members
with exclusive brands and warranty programs, comprehensive multi-media
advertising programs, complete showroom merchandising packages,
plus training in management and sales. It operates as a division
of CCA Global Partners, the world's largest flooring group.
For information on becoming a member of Flooring America, contact
Tom Heffner, National Membership Director, at 800-466-6984,
ext. 1501.
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