SPC,WPC,LVT flooring continue to reign supreme

Industry  in  terms  of  percentage growth, thanks mainly to the  performance  of  subcategories  such  as  WPC  and  SPC. FCNews research shows the category generated $3.993 billion in sales in 2017—an industry leading  14.1%  increase  over  2016’s
$3.499 billion. In terms of volume, the category racked in 4.024billion square feet at the first point  of  sales,  a 13.8% increase from 2016’s 3.537 billion feet.
The  resilient  sector’s  chart- busting  performance  in  2017 comes  even  more  into  focus when measured against other hard surfaces. When stacked up against ceramic tile, hardwood, laminate and other hard surface materials, resilient accounted for 30.34% of sales. When taking total flooring sales into account, resilient represented 18.15% of revenue and 20.4% of volume.
What’s even more impressive is the fact that resilient flooring’s percentage increase in revenue is a   little   over   three-and-a-half times  the  growth  of  the  entire industry, while volume growth is approximately five times that of the flooring sector as a whole.
Resilient’s double-digit growth in sales in 2017 is even more significant when looking at its performance over the past few years.  FCNews  research  shows 2017’s  sales  represent  a  36.6% increase over 2015’s $2.924 billion and a 60.2% increase com- pared to 2014. To put resilient’s growth  into  perspective,  total resilient sales increased by 96.2% from  2012’s  $2.035  and  81.8% from  2007.  Meanwhile,  total resilient volume increased 65.6% from  2012’s  2.43  billion  square feet  and  23.8%  increase  over 2007.

Industry executives cite several  factors  that  contributed  to another year of stellar growth of the category. One of which is the lingering effects of an improving economy. As Kurt Denman, chief marketing  officer  and  executive vice president, sales, Congoleum, explained,  “Fundamentally,  the economy is good. Consumer confidence is high and there’s a ton of building  going  on,  which  has helped in all aspects of resilient.
Many resilient manufacturers also point to the overwhelming success  of  WPC  and  rigid  core products. “Multi-layer flooring is leading the way in LVT growth,” said  Russ  Rogg,  president  and CEO,  Metroflor  Corp.  “While other variations are also growing, multi-layer flooring is outpacing glue-down and other varieties in a significant way.”
Executives like David Sheehan,  senior  vice  president, product  management,  Mohawk Industries, believe WPC and rigid core  continue  to  help  push  the resilient  needle  as  more  people discover  the  products’  benefits. “Floors  that  are  rigid  in  nature are the darlings of the industry and have captured the attention of many sales associates and, in some cases, are being oversold to customers,” he noted.

Another key factor driving resilient  sales  is  the  constant innovation   surrounding   LVT, WPC  and  rigid  core  products. “Compared to other flooring categories, the LVT sector has seen many  changes  from  additional looks, durability, availability and sheer  innovation,”  Jamey  Block, vice president, product management     resilient,     Armstrong Flooring, told FCNews.
Beyond the category’s various product attributes, another driving factor is the number of manufacturers  in  the  resilient  game. “More people are discovering the benefits of resilient flooring,” said Steven Ehrlich, vice president of sales  and  marketing,  Novalis Innovative  Flooring.  “That  discovery fuels demand, which, in turn,  fuels  more  production— and so on.” Another factor is the growing  availability  of  resilient across   a   variety   of   flooring brands, he added.