Hardwood Floors October/November 2024

Industry Outlook 2025 DISTRIBUTORS About 36 percent of NWFA distributors reported their companies’ wood flooring sales in 2023 were similar to 2022; more than 40 percent said sales were up. For the remainder of 2024, half of distributors expect growth in wood flooring sales. Some distributors say their lower expectations are due to less demand in the channel, a bad economy, government regulations, and inflation. Looking ahead to 2025, nearly two-thirds expect increased wood flooring sales. Fewer than 10 percent expect a significant decline.

2025 SALES OUTLOOK

“We’re seeing nice-sized orders for high-end jobs over 2,000 square feet, but smaller orders are coming in on builds for lower- or middle-income levels,” said Mike Karolitzky, regional sales manager at P.C. Hardwood Floors. Product diversification and improvements to operations are the top opportunities for distributors in the second half of 2024 and into 2025. Plans for e-commerce expansion are interesting to note; a third of the respondents reported using e-commerce websites to sell online, and most of those who do not sell online said they do not plan to in the future. Distributors’ plans to remain competitive include:

7

Up significantly (8%+)

57

Up somewhat (3 to 7%)

22

About the same (-2 to +2%)

7

Down somewhat (-3 to -7%)

7

Significantly down (-8%+)

5%

0%

15%

10%

35%

25%

55%

30%

45%

20%

50%

60%

40%

• Increase marketing • Improve efficiencies • Looking for new business opportunities • Better systems and better vendors

Katherine Lanz Dupra, co-founder and owner of Installers Warehouse, said: “Sampling is essential but not valued. Our business is based on not selling someone the wrong floor for the application. Do they have kids? Dogs? We make sure they go home with samples.” Nearly 38 percent of distributor respondents said their share of the business that included LVT/WPC/laminate increased in 2024. A quarter of NWFA distributor members in the survey reported their wood flooring sales were growing more quickly than non-wood flooring products. Karolitzky says people come in looking for vinyl, prompting him to ask more about their wants and needs. “They want a 30-year warranty or want a click system. I say that a wood floor has a lifetime warranty. Click systems tend to crack. You have to look at the bigger picture. Where’s it going? What’s the purpose of it? I also explain the environmental and health impacts from the carcinogens, plasticizers, and chemicals that make up vinyl.” Nearly three-quarters of distributors said the economy is their biggest concern going into 2025. Manufacturers selling direct is another concern for about half of the

Craig Dupra, co-founder and owner at Installers Warehouse, said adding new product categories, improving processes, and streamlining their supply chain are priority items for the remainder of 2024. “Some vendors have not been as proactive in updating their product lines in recent years. Retailers don’t want bare displays in their showrooms. That drove us to go out and see who we can partner with for new and interesting products.” Dupra also stressed the importance of local inventory. “The function that distributors provide manufacturers is based largely on local inventory. If you make 10 things, I can inventory 10 things. If you make 500 things, I can’t inventory every item. Manufacturers realize that with too many choices, distributors can’t represent them in the areas they need distribution because they won’t have local inventory to support.”

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