Las Vegas—There was a sense of optimism that permeated Mandalay Bay Convention Center during Surfaces ’25 that was hard to miss. Coming off two lackluster years for the flooring industry, manufacturers and retailers are clearly ready to turn the page and embrace improving conditions.
As such, they arrived at Surfaces with a renewed sense of purpose and did not leave disappointed. “The general feeling surrounding Surfaces this year was an optimistic and excited feeling,” said Sam O’Krent, president of O’Krent Floors, San Antonio. “There was a consensus that there is pent-up demand from consumers and it’s truly a question of whether we’ll start to feel that uptick in the second or third quarter. If the last week of January is any indication, though, our traffic counts show that it’s already started.”
O’Krent’s optimism was shared by fellow retailers. “Everyone was definitely upbeat and there was excitement in the air for 2025,” said Ted Gregerson, president of Ted’s Floors & Beyond, Anniston, Ala.
Raffi Sarmazian, co-owner of Sarmazian Brothers Flooring, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, added, “Surfaces felt busier than last year with a sense of optimism that business conditions will improve.”
It wasn’t just retailers talking about the good vibes. Exhibitors cited the quality of their booth visits, which led to some brisk business in some cases.
“We’re ahead of last year by 14%, up pretty much across all categories,” said Al Boulogne, senior vice president, residential product & marketing, Mannington. “This has been a tremendous show, very well attended at our booth.”
Echoing that sentiment was Chet Graham, president of Marquis/Gulistan, who said, “The quality of the flooring dealer here was the best I’ve ever seen.”
Of course, that’s music to the ears of Informa Exhibitions, owner and operator of The International Surface Event (TISE). Informa reported that 700 global brands across 25 countries exhibited at Surfaces. This year’s show returned to a Tuesday-through-Thursday format, with the first two days ending at 5 p.m., as opposed to 4 p.m.
Surfaces kicked off with Scott Humphrey, chairman and CEO of the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA), moderating a state of the industry panel with top flooring executives.
According to Surfaces show director Amie Gilmore, that keynote helped kick off the show in a big way, and it continued from there. “All the big players and small players were really happy,” Gilmore told FCNews. “It was hard to get into some booths there was so many people. Overall, the buzz on the floor was really positive.”
With the pandemic further fading in the rearview mirror, Surfaces is seeing more international visitors as well as first-time vendors compared to prior years. Gilmore said rebookings for the 2026 show are already going strong. “That says a lot,” she said, noting the interest. “The long-term commitment is there.”
Several retailers said they were impressed by the bevy of new offerings and the way technology advances have played a key role. “The flooring industry never ceases to amaze me, even after almost 40 years,” said Michael Longwill, president of Airbase Carpet and Tile Mart, Chadds Ford, Pa. “Products just keep innovating. Surfaces is like a playground, a candy shop to admire and enjoy.”
CARPET
It’s been a growing trend, and it played out again this year: Carpet mills increasingly want to compete at the high end. That’s because the affluent customer is less impacted by inflation and is more than willing to purchase better goods for their home or bedroom.
Another trend on display: The dominance of hard surface has forced mills to market their own custom rug programs. The Dixie Group, for example, boasts that any of its carpets can be made into a rug. Karastan, meanwhile, estimates that three-quarters of its broadloom products from the new Black Label collection will end up as a rug.
RESILIENT
There was a shift in the resilient category heavily felt at TISE 2025, and that was the resurgence of WPC flooring as well as—surprisingly—flex LVT. It’s no secret that SPC has had its fair share of challenges over the last few years and has even experienced failures in the field due to shoddy product flooding the market. That doesn’t mean SPC is out of the game—on the contrary, it’s still the largest subsegment of the most sought-after category in flooring—but SPC was not the only player this year.
Heavy hitters like AHF Products and MSI launched their first-ever WPCs while burgeoning brands with experience in the field like International Flooring Co., launched new flex lines to tap new market needs.
SPC was still available at the show but this year it was only shown in thicker options backed by innovative performance technologies meant, suppliers said, to lure those that had been spooked back to the category (see story in the upcoming Feb. 17/24 issue).
What’s more, some resilient-only suppliers like Karndean and Novalis chose to tout a design-first approach with collections that embody visual trends rather than by product type (see story in Feb. 17/24 issue).
WOOD
Across the spectrum, hardwood tones showcased at Surfaces are trending much lighter. Suppliers are tweaking their respective product lines to reflect more natural wood colors and softer hues. This represents a bit of a departure from the deep, dark, dense browns and black stains—although manufacturers have the capability to provide custom colors tailored for specific client requests. European white oak species continue to reign supreme, although hickory is making a bigger play. Suppliers are also applying special finishing treatments to red oak to mimic the visual characteristics of white oak to accommodate for the high demand for European white oak. Several suppliers, including AHF Products and Wickham Hardwood, are promoting unfinished products—especially solids—to cater to the specialty hardwood flooring contractor.
In terms of formats, wide and long planks continue to dominate. Case in point is the Best of Surfaces award-winning Timbertop Signature series of 15 ¾-inch-wide x 13-foot-long planks from Urbanfloor.
LAMINATE
If there was any question about laminate’s resurgence in the U.S. market, those doubts were put to rest at Surfaces 2025. Virtually every major hard surface supplier—and even some companies predominantly focused on soft goods—showcased a new laminate flooring line at the show. Mohawk continued to expand on its wildly popular RevWood program by adding new tiers, while Shaw announced its re-entry into the laminate arena after not actively participating in the segment for several years. Even hardwood specialty suppliers like Provenza and Hallmark are throwing their respective hats into the ring with laminate lines that mirror their best-selling wood visuals.
Suppliers are seizing this opportunity to ride the laminate wave by promoting their unique capabilities. Whether it’s new laminate herringbone designs (i.e., Inhaus) or wide-plank formats with much fewer pattern repeats (Mannington), suppliers are looking to fuel retailer excitement for a category that’s been in existence in the U.S. since the mid-1990s, but has been gradually losing share to waterproof products like WPC and SPC. In recent years, however, many retailers and distributors have been warming back up to laminate as an alternative to low-end SPC—a sub-segment that has experienced some failures in the field.
TILE
While the attendance of tile suppliers has diminished over the years, there was still a bevy of eye-catching product to be had at the show.
Take Crossville’s new white oak, center cut wood-look tile, Rural Retreat—a unique take on wood-look tile that can also be replicated outdoors. MSI’s jaw-dropping Exotika collection boasted a range of colors from blues and greens to purples in its marble and onyx-inspired veining. Del Conca went “riskier” with its Elements collection to tap the needs of both the residential and commercial market, while Daltile wowed with Iridescent Isles, featuring bold metallics in a glossy finish. Anatolia unveiled its Aeterna brand of slabs designed in its new state-of-the-art facility in Turkey.
For more, see the Feb. 3/10 print edition of FCNews.
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