Dec. 9/16, 2019: Volume 35, Issue 12
By Lindsay Gonzalez
Resilient manufacturers are cautiously optimistic moving into 2020, citing the election year and uncertainty around tariffs as possible challenges. Despite potential hiccups, the category is expected to grow double digits next year with rigid and WPC products leading the charge. Innovations in rigid, WPC and LVT are expected to continue stealing market share from soft and hard surface alternatives alike.
Bill Anderson
CEO
Karndean Designflooring
What is your projection for category growth next year?
We expect the double-digit growth the industry has seen in LVT for the past several years will continue. What segments and/or products will fuel this growth?
With the continued advancement in design and technology, we anticipate LVT will continue to take market share from other categories. In retail, rigid core will continue to be a strong market driver, while in commercial there is a preference for glue-down and loose lay. What is the predicted growth of your company in 2020?
We are very fortunate that, despite the tariffs, we continue to break sales records month after month. We look forward to building on that momentum in 2020, anticipating double-digit growth. What is the “X” factor that will impact your business next year?
We’ve been in this industry for decades, we know we have the best-looking visuals in the market and a high-performing product, but what really sets us apart and keeps customers coming back are the people behind the Karndean Designflooring name. Where do you see opportunities for next year? Challenges?
Because we lead with design, we believe that no matter what product a customer chooses, we have the ability to customize and deliver a floor that is unique. Competition for us is the main challenge because companies are trying to drive LVT into the commodity area. What are some of your biggest initiatives for 2020?
We will continue to diversify our product selection with new and innovative designs in four of our ranges. Whether it’s glue-down, loose lay or rigid core, we always lead with design and develop original visuals, each with a unique story. 
Thomas Baert
President
CFL
What is your projection for category growth next year?
SPC will grow 25%. What segments and/or products will fuel this growth?
There is a trend starting to go toward products with less PVC or none at all, with more and more innovations that will come—such as Tenacity, with mineral core and no PVC. What is the predicted growth of your company in 2020?
Being the largest producer and innovator of SPC-based hybrid products, we are optimistic for the year ahead. What is the “X” factor that will impact your business next year?
CFL’s success has always been thanks to its ability to offer solutions to successfully develop and launch first-to-market products along with the guidance and support of our trusted distributors. Where do you see opportunities for next year? Challenges?
Our goal is to be able to continue to provide flexible solutions that are above geopolitical risks thanks to our increased capacity in countries not concerned by tariffs. What are some of your biggest initiatives for 2020?
Expanding production capacity while becoming a global player through production in different continents. We also have breakthrough innovations in the pipeline. 
Chris O’Connor
President and COO
Congoleum
What is your projection for category growth next year?
We expect flooring to grow 2%-3% as long as the economy continues to grow. The growth in resilient will be higher than that as it has the last few years. The trend away from other products will continue but at a slightly slower pace in 2020. What segments and/or products will fuel this growth?
WPC and SPC. The continued trend toward multi-layered flooring will be most of the growth in resilient. What is the predicted growth of your company in 2020?
In 2019, we made some changes with our group of distributors that will help us grow double digits next year. We’re aiming for at least 10%, and most of that is driven by new product introductions and a strong group of distributors. What is the “X” factor that will impact your business next year?
We should have architect portfolios at the end of 2019 for CLEO Contract. We will also continue to push our CLEO Home product and grow that business. Overall, I think working in the commercial space, which the company has not significantly participated in for a few years. Where do you see opportunities for next year? Challenges?
There are opportunities to move product lines to less expensive constructions, from WPC to SPC. Sourcing from countries that are not involved in the Chinese tariffs could be an opportunity. As for challenges, the economy is slightly an unknown right now with an election year. What are some of your biggest initiatives for 2020?
CLEO contract, CLEO home and moving our products into new, more popular constructions—specifically taking our WPC designs and offering them in SPC construction. 
Steven Ehrlich
VP of sales and marketing
Novalis Innovative Floors
What is your projection for category growth next year?
We expect consumer spending as a whole to be slow moving into 2020, which is typical of an election year. However, we also expect to see continued growth during the year as a whole due to a rise in the residential replacement market. What segments and/or products will fuel this growth?
The industry is driven by the continued unprecedented growth of rigid core. More than ever before, residential consumers are putting hard surface flooring in their homes. Commercial consumers are following suit with more Main Street commercial, hospitality and multi-family units putting in LVT as well. What is the predicted growth of your company in 2020?
We are strongly positioned in 2020 for an unprecedented year with NovaFloor. Our market penetration combined additional sales staff and with the knowledge and footprint of our partners sets us up to see brand growth like we’ve never seen before. What is the “X” factor that will impact your business next year?
The X factor that will impact our business in a very positive way is the groundwork we put down this year. We have added additional sales and support staff, increased our presence in specialty retail, ramped up our marketing and developed brand new, on-trend products in 2019. Where do you see opportunities for next year? Challenges?
Our biggest opportunity and challenge are one in the same—keeping up with the demand of the ever-growing luxury vinyl market. With over 30 years in this business, we have the knowledge, talent and manufacturing skills to not only keep up but to rise above the rest. What are some of your biggest initiatives for 2020?
Our biggest initiatives center around four pillars: capability and talent development, product, merchandising and marketing. In 2020 we are looking to increase the overall NovaFloor presence at retail. 
Michael Raskin
CEO
Raskin Industries
What is your projection for category growth next year?
We predict the category will grow by 10%. What segments and/or products will fuel this growth?
Rigid click and loose lay. What is the predicted growth of your company in 2020?
We anticipate 20% growth. What is the “X” factor that will impact your business next year?
2019 was a big investment for Raskin Industries on the residential side of our business with luxury displays. We placed more than 3,000 displays in 2019 that we anticipate will return dividends in 2020. Where do you see opportunities for next year? Challenges?
We offers diversified production in Korea, China and the U.S. This is important because there is still uncertainty with the tariffs, which are due to expire in August. We will be positioned in 2020 to offer rigid manufactured both in Korea and the U.S. should the tariff war escalate. What are some of your biggest initiatives for 2020?
Investing in social media to promote our message to end users. We also launched a room scene application called the FlorLab, where you can select any of our floors and see them in any room by simply taking a photo and inserting our floor. 
Herb Upton
VP of hard surface
Shaw Industries and USFloors
What is your projection for category growth next year?
We anticipate positive sales and rapid growth in the coming year. The resilient category will remain the highest growth flooring category in North America and will continue to take market share from other flooring categories. What segments and/or products will fuel this growth?
Rigid core will continue to be incredibly popular, due to its versatility, ease of installation and numerous benefits for both residential and commercial applications. What is the predicted growth of your company in 2020?
We anticipate continued high demand, and our team plans to remain the leading innovator in this exciting category. With the rapidly evolving nature of resilient, and especially LVT, new advancements are on the horizon. What is the “X” factor that will impact your business next year?
Disruption through innovation is key in this segment for products to stand out in the market. Our work in developing new cores and new surface treatments, as well as understanding consumer trends to provide the highest quality visuals, set us apart in this category. Where do you see opportunities for next year? Challenges?
Opportunities include further innovation, which we are at the forefront of with COREtec. One challenge is ensuring RSAs have the information they need to successfully sell the product. We were very diligent in 2019 in regard to educating our RSAs, which we will continue in 2020. What are some of your biggest initiatives for 2020?
We will continue to innovate our industry leading Floorté and COREtec product lines for 2020. We have some exciting introductions in both these brands that are sure to impress consumers and drive sales for this category. 
Michel Vermette
President and CEO
Armstrong Flooring
What is your projection for category growth next year?
Across the industry, we expect the resilient category to continue to show strong growth as hard surface flooring continues to take over spaces once reserved for carpet. What segments and/or products will fuel this growth?
LVT and rigid core have been the growth engines driving not only resilient but also the flooring industry. We expect that to continue going into 2020. Resilient products offer tremendous advantages to customers in terms of beautiful designs, durability and ease of installation. What is the predicted growth of your company in 2020?
Our focus for 2020 is to optimize our product portfolio, expand our customer reach, streamline processes and implement best practices to better take advantage of market opportunities and leverage the strength of the Armstrong brand. What is the “X” factor that will impact your business next year?
There are a couple factors that could generate uncertainty, including any fluctuation in tariffs on imported flooring. Another is the presidential election. Although we can’t control these factors, we will continue to offer solutions that provide style, durability and value. Where do you see opportunities for next year? Challenges?
In addition to residential flooring, our traditional areas of strength in the commercial market are education and healthcare. We see strong potential to expand our reach further into hospitality, office, single-family and multi-family segments. What are some of your biggest initiatives for 2020?
We’re hiring more people to service customers, investing in the development of in-demand products and simplifying processes so it’s easier to work with us. We’re also developing new selling tools and increasing digital marketing and demand creation.