Lancaster, Pa.—FashionSmart, a builder-oriented program bundling Armstrong hard surfaces and Beaulieu of America soft surfaces, offers a coordinated, six tiered system across all flooring types exclusively for homebuilders to help builders convert shoppers into buyers.
Aside from price advantages and Armstrong’s brand name, the FashionSmart program eases the purchase of large ticket flooring for female homeowners by providing six levels that make it easy to trade-up and select a floor that meets any lifestyle or budget.
“It helps homebuyers streamline product selection. Builders get an efficient and effective sales process that can contribute to greater conversion of prospects at a faster rate,” said Dawn McElfresh, builder channel manager, Armstrong.
With FashionSmart, builders have a single product portfolio encompassing all their flooring needs, from premium flooring at the right price to price fighter options that reduce costs in entry level homes. FashionSmart includes Armstrong’s quality offerings in vinyl sheet, vinyl tile and plank, laminate and hardwood, and a rich assortment of over 60 carpet collections made by Beaulieu. FashionSmart offers builders the industry’s largest, most comprehensive flooring program.
Builders can not only count on FashionSmart products for Armstrong and Beaulieu’s quality, but they also can trust that the Armstrong brand will help home buyers recognize the builder’s product as being a high quality offering.
Prospective home buyers report their perception of the quality of a new home is most strongly influenced by the quality of the floors, and they recognize well known, trusted brand names.
“Builders have an opportunity to leverage a quality brand consumers know and trust to attract home buyers,” McElfresh said. “FashionSmart means our builder partners have the assurance that they have the best program possible to offer their prospects and that they can meet the needs of every home buyer.”
FashionSmart also provides builders with a compelling trade-up story in each product category. Case in point, Duality, Armstrong’s newest vinyl sheet flooring. Realistic, 3D visuals on an ultra-durable structure withstand the most active lifestyles, and the floors offer best-in-class warranties including lifetime limited and up to 15 years light commercial.
“As the housing market moves forward in the near term, with low mortgage rates, stabilizing home values and changing demographic trends, more households will enter the market in the coming months,” said Patricia Flavin, vice president, marketing, Beaulieu. “Prospective buyers are in over their heads; they need help. They need someone they can trust to provide a quality home.”
On the carpet side, Armstrong’s carpet solutions allow the builder to trade their customers up with the looks and features they want for their new home. “A cleaner, healthier home is on the mind of virtually every female consumer. That’s why Armstrong added ‘Silver Release Technology’ anti-microbial to its carpet and ‘Magic Fresh’ technology that removes pet, cooking, and even smoke odors from the home, to give customers the cleanest, freshest indoor environment possible,” said Flavin. “The consumer of today is looking for added value and solutions for her busy lifestyle.”
How does FashionSmart work?
The program groups products into six levels across hard surface and soft surface flooring categories driven by consumer benefits, warranty coverage and price points. Color-coding makes it easy to visually connect all samples, across all categories. Upon choosing the level of flooring which best suits her taste, lifestyle and budget, the customer easily can find the corresponding color on each product sample.
FashionSmart products and features compete at all price points. Samples and merchandising systems can be tailored for each builder. A single template is used so that all vehicles and product categories tell a consistent story. In the builder showroom, customized merchandising systems present samples by level for all product categories, highlighting consumer benefits.
“We have the ability to produce custom samples to design showroom specifications,” McElfresh said. “That means salespeople can clearly and easily represent the choices to the customer. The homeowner gets value and the builder gets a satisfied buyer,”
What’s better about FashionSmart?
FashionSmart focuses on the needs of the female buyer; research shows that 85% of woman buyers control purchase decisions for the home. Consumer research revealed that women are not particularly comfortable or confident about shopping for floors. FashionSmart enables them to approach the flooring decision from a more comfortable position and puts the emphasis on two things: 1) Home Fashion, and 2) Comparison (Smart) Shopping.
“It eliminates the ‘redundancy’ that frustrates many women in shopping for floor covering and makes it simple for her to compare and select,” Flavin said. “It helps her navigate the shopping process and makes selection fun. And it helps the builder salesperson up sell.”