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Flooring dealers/contractors are selling more hardwood floor jobs each month in 2003, according to results from a just-completed Hardwood Flooring Market Trends Study conducted by National Floor Trends magazine in partnership with the market research division of BNP Media. Dealers are now selling an average of 11 hardwood floors each month, compared to nine monthly hardwood sales in 2002.
Fifty-two percent of respondents acknowledged increased residential hardwood sales this year vs. 2002 with another 34 percent stating their year-over-year hardwood volume stayed the same in 2003. Only 14 percent noted a decrease in the wood sector.
Commercial hardwood sales, according to survey respondents, have stayed the same (78 percent), with 14 percent noting a decline in 2003 compared to 2002. Only 8 percent are seeing an increase in commercial hardwood sales.
Bruce was named the top-selling brand of hardwood in this year's study with a 23 percent mention, followed by Mannington Wood at 11 percent, Mohawk and Hartco each with 8 percent. Characteristics cited most often for naming Bruce were name recognition, availability, and selection.
Annual hardwood floor sales average $123,370 per responding dealer/contractor with an average hardwood floor sales ticket of $3,269 (Chart 1).
Forty-eight percent of wood floors are being installed via the nail-down/staple method (up 8 percent from last year); glueless (floating), 27 percent (down 2 percent from 2002); and adhesive on 25 percent of jobs (down 6 percent from 2002) (Chart 2)....