Periodical

July 23/30, 2012
News
3
Sturrus steps down, Babula takes lead
Clarion Industries names new president, CEO
By Raymond Pina
[Shippenville, Pa.] Tony Sturrus announced
he was stepping down as president and CEO
of Clarion Industries, a vertically integrated
manufacturer of particleboard and laminate
flooring, based here, on July 25. The board of
directors at Clarion Industries appointed Mike
Babula, a fellow investor in Clarion Industries
and former vice president of sales and market-
Flooring America: Focus on referral business
By Raymond Pina
[Orlando, Fla.] Nearly 350 Flooring America/Flooring
Canada members gathered here
July 9th for its annual summer convention. The
group focused on its Fast Phase II program that
combines locally aimed TV and radio spots,
web-based technology and training to increase
its referral business through online testimonials
and old-fashioned word of mouth.
“It’s becoming more difficult to win the
hearts and minds of customers with traditional
advertising,” said Keith Spano, president,
Flooring America. “Word of mouth is track
able and inexpensive. Our Buzz Advertizing
campaign is a new way to stay top of mind
with our customers and getting people to talk
about our products and unique services.”
Supporting the strategy is data from Reuters,
highlighting that 70 percent of customers con-
ing, to succeed Sturrus.
“The company is moving into
another stage of development and
it requires a leadership change,”
said Sturrus. “I approached our
board a year ago with a plan to
create a deeper, more technical
managemen t team internally and
Mike was the best prospect based
on experience and knowledge of
Tony Sturrus
Clarion and its customers. That
plan put us in a place where Mike is
now president and CEO. Our business
has a solid foundation and I’m
confident in Mike. I’m leaving my
invested capital in the company.”
Sturrus said the transition will
allow him to focus on other business
interests and his family.
Sturrus and Babula were
sult online reviews or ratings before making a
purchase while 92 percent of consumers value
word-of-mouth testimonials over advertising.
What’s more, the study revealed 75 percent of
consumers mistrust advertising.
Guest speaker Andy Sernovitz, author of
Word of Mouth Marketing, suggested members
send free emails for friends and family
sales instead of spending thousands of dollars
printing out fliers. He also keyed in on
unique services and products, such as flood
proof vinyl floors, that are easy to remember
and discuss. And, Sernovitz stressed the
importance of searching the Internet for any
comments about their stores — thanking
those who commented favorably and apologizing
and seeking solutions for those with
negative comments.
Dealers who sign up for the $87 per month
Fast Phase II program receive a free iPad featuring
an application to help consumers fill out
testimonials as well as a system that automatically
filters testimonials to members homepage,
Facebook, Twitter and other social sites.
The Build the Buzz campaign is also being
supported by TV and radio ads featuring
family and friends referrals to locally-owned
Flooring America or Flooring
Canada locations.
“Our customers know they
want a new floor but not much
more beyond that,” said Marcia
Hewey, direct of marketing,
Flooring America. “Now we
can leverage the words of her
friends and family who have
already been through the process.
We’ve also added more
diversity to our ads with different
ages and ethnicities.”
among a group of investors that purchased
Clarion Industries from Tarkett for $26 million
in 2009. With Tarkett as its original sole
customer, Clarion Industries now supplies
OEM laminate flooring to a number of the
industry’s leading suppliers, distributors and
retailers. Prior to joining Clarion Industries
Babula served as president and CEO of
Franke, a leading international supplier of
kitchen systems.
“I’m going to keep to our strategy of providing
a domestic platform that executes extremely
well and build upon it going forward,” said
Babula. “It’s important that we have this transition
and we expect it to be seamless for our
customers, employees and shareholders.” FCW
Members who are already deeply involved
in their local communities are uniquely
positioned to leverage this modern referral
system, said Sue Barlett, owner of Charlevoix,
Mich.-based Barlett’s Home Interiors. Barlett,
a longtime Flooring America member, sponsors
her local sport teams and donates to the
library and battered women’s organization.
“We already do a lot of referral business but
this program will step it up,” she said. FCW
Flooring America’s summer convention
Carpet One: New wool carpet, click LVT
[Orlando, Fla.] More than 500 Carpet
One Floor & Home members attended the
group’s Team of Champions summer convention,
held here July 11-13, which focused
primarily on new product.
Eric Demaree, Carpet One president, told
dealers that they need to get noticed, get into
the consumer’s consciousness. “The best way
to do that is to drive our combined product
knowledge, selection and service locally,” he
said. “Ultimately, it’s in each individual store
where the battle is won.”
The focus of this year’s convention was on
new product, including Just Shorn, a high-end
collection of New Zealand wool carpeting, and
mechanically locking luxury vinyl tile (LVT).
“Those who seek this type of luxury product
will only increase as consumer confidence
improves,” said Paul Johnson, a Carpet One
owner in Tulsa, Okla. “The Just Shorn collection
has a great green story and it’s beautiful.”
Mike Mostad, general manager of Missoula,
Mont.-based Loren’s Carpet One, said
he was going to pick up the Just Shorn line
at convention. “We have a new upper-end
furniture store in our new building and their
clientele will go towards this new line,” he said.
Mostad said the biggest potential lies with
the group’s recent advent of click LVT. “We’re
pushing big into LVT,” he said. “Nationwide,
that category is coming on like laminate did 20
years ago. And to be competitive, you need a
click LVT at glue down price points.”
Also introduced were coordinated commercial
carpet and carpet tiles to complement the
existing hard surface Core Elements program.
“These products are specifically designed
to target Main Street commercial,” said
Demaree. “We have come to this convention
with products and programs that continue to
help our members differentiate themselves.”
Carpet One also reported that efforts to
attract customers by pairing the strength of its
buying power and product knowledge with
digital and social media has driven 65,000
leads from its website to local stores. FCW
Kitchen of the Year features Shaw’s Epic
[New York] Shaw’s Epic hardwood was
the featured flooring in House Beautiful’s 5th
annual Kitchen of the Year in Rockefeller Plaza.
Poised to be the “new American living
room,” this year’s kitchen was repositioned to
generate more space and reconfigured to look
and feel like a real home, according to Newell
Turner, editor and chief of House Beautiful.
Designed by Mick De Giulio, the con-
struction of the kitchen began in early 2012.
De Giulio said the inspiration behind the
development was his own kitchen.
“It’s all about kitchen centric living, all
living can be done in this space,” said De
Giulio. “I wanted to create a space that I would
want to eat in. This is it, this is my style.”
Shaw’s Epic in gold rush walnut was used in
the kitchen and in the butler’s pantry. Made of
recycled bi-product, Epic utilizes 50 percent less
of the tree, and its handscraped and distressed
look offers a time worn visual. It is also Cradle
to Cradle certified. De Giulio stated that he will
be using Shaw’s floors again and worked with
the company to create his own chevron detailed
pattern in the butler’s pantry.
“People don’t want to compromise on
style but they also want sustainability. I chose
Shaw’s Epic because I wanted something stylish
but organic,” said De Giulio.
Continued on page 23
Shaw’s Epic is the featured flooring
for this year’s Kitchen of the Year.