Every two weeks, FCNews seeks out flooring retailers across the country to offer their advice on hot topics of the day. This week, we asked: What concerns you: mortgage rates or tariffs?
Here are their responses:
“Mortgage rates, tariffs, etc., are out of our control and can cause some disruption but I would rather focus on getting the customer to give us an opportunity to do business with them than things out of our control.”
— Carlton Billingsley, Floors and More, Benton, Ark.
“Our concern is the economic uncertainty based on the current political climate.”
— Matt Wien, Marshall Flooring, Mayfield Heights, Ohio
“I think both interest rates and tariffs will hurt us. Customers are already a bit shell-shocked with pricing, and the tariffs may cause a significant increase in costs, which may move customers out of the purchase mood.”
— Janice Clifton, Abbey Carpets Unlimited, Napa, Calif.
“Mortgage rates and tariffs both impact our business but in different ways. Lower mortgage rates bring new and more customers into the market for our products, while tariffs affect which products we show. We lean more toward American-made products when tariffs are implemented.”
— Tom Connell, M&M Carpet Showroom, Houston
“Mortgage rates will continue to have the most impact in our area for remodeling purposes. Tariffs may have some impact as they become enacted. We have partnered with more mills that have local or national access to products made here domestically.”
— Mike Montgomery, Montgomery’s CarpetsPlus Colortile, Venice, Fla.
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