Denver—Mohawk is focused on supporting its Edge retailer with programs, products, plans and initiatives designed to prepare them for the upcoming selling season and take advantage of emerging opportunities. That was the overarching message delivered to attendees here on day one of the company’s biennial Edge Summit.
“We’ve all seen a lot of changes in our industry from the consumer preferences to product innovation to merchandising, and we’re all proud of the success that we’ve built together—which is why we’re constantly working to find new ways to improve your results,” Jeff Lorberbaum, Mohawk chairman and CEO, told attendees in his keynote speech on opening day of the summit. “You’re our best retail partners and the preferred flooring providers in each of your communities. You set yourselves apart with your expertise, your commitment to service, your successful management of all the changing times through the years, which is not easy. This summit is really designed to provide each of you with competitive advantages, including different selling strategies, marketing best practices and ways to inspire your customers so that you have higher sales.”
Roughly 550 Edge dealers representing 250-plus locations were on hand for the event, which gave retailers a first look at Mohawk’s broad array of new product launches for the new year, while offering retailers a host of relevant educational sessions designed to build their business. “While these sessions offer you many ideas for your business, this event also provides you with an opportunity to learn from each other,” Lorberbaum added. “Each of you have unique experiences in the industry and I hope that you’ll make new connections with everyone here that’ll inspire you and create new benefits for your business as well. Our goal is always to increase your sales and improve your profits. We’re committed to giving you what you need to deliver better results and you’re going to be impressed by the new products, market ideas and strategic insights we’ll present to you this year.”
In keeping with tradition, Lorberbaum shared his outlook on not only the floor covering industry but also the key drivers impacting the U.S. economy in general. “When gathered at these events, I always try to give you some view of perspective of what I think the present and future is going to look like in our industry,” he told the audience. “I can tell you it’s not getting any easier to see what’s going to happen. For the past couple of years, our industry has faced so many different headwinds. It’s really tough for anyone to gain any clarity into what the future’s going to look like. All of us at Mohawk during this time, like you have been focused on all the aspects of our business which we can control. These include, and same thing you’re looking at how to reduce your costs, improve our efficiency, streamline the businesses and processes, try to use technology better. At the same time, we’ve devoted more resources during this time to improve our product development, bring new merchandising ideas to you and improve logistics and service level to get the products through.
“One of the best lessons I can share with you is just what we’re trying to do, which is to take advantage of the slower environment and make the choices and the actions that will really benefit your business for the long term, not just to get through tomorrow. We hope that it’s going to prepare us and you for even better times when they come about as they always do.”
To work in this industry, Lorberbaum shared with attendees, we really all have to be optimists given the flooring industry is highly cyclical. “I’ve been around long enough to know that every time our industry has slowed down, we always bounce back even stronger from all the things we’ve been most pumped by the consumer,” he said. “For the past couple of years, we’ve all been waiting for the housing market to recover. Though the inflection point is really impossible to predict, the recovery seems to be just around the corner with improved existing home sales, new home construction and residential remodeling in 2025 and beyond going to really come back again. This event will emphasize how you can take advantage of this improving environment and maximize your sales and profits over the next few years. As we close out 2024, I really see a lot to be optimistic about for the long term, the Fed’s recent actions to stimulate the economy will be a catalyst for our industry and foreign sale.”
(Look for more coverage of the Edge Summit in an upcoming edition of FCNews.)
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