FashionSmart is Armstrong's Single-Source Flooring Solution

FashionSmart, a builder oriented program bundling Armstrong hard surface flooring and Beaulieu of America soft surfaces under the powerful Armstrong brand, offers a coordinated, six-tiered system to help builders easily sell the flooring’s features and benefits and show the trade-up story in their showrooms.

Armstrong – a brand that consumers know, trust and prefer – gives builders a single product portfolio encompassing all flooring needs, from premium flooring to price- fighter options. FashionSmart includes Armstrong’s quality offerings in vinyl sheet, luxury vinyl tile and plank, laminate and hardwood, together with a rich assortment of over 60 carpet collections made by Beaulieu of America. All products are organized by a color-coded system, making trade-ups easy to understand and easy to sell.

“It helps homebuyers streamline product selection. Builders get an efficient and effective sales process that can contribute to selling more upgrades,” said Dawn McElfresh, Builder Channel Marketing Manager, Armstrong.

In new product news, Alterna Premium Tile Flooring by Armstrong is an innovative flooring choice. Alterna is a warmer, softer, more versatile alternative to ceramic and stone tiles. It’s so realistic that people are referring to this new luxury vinyl collection as ‘super-naturals’. The look of natural stone continues to be a design favorite that brings elegance and style to any space. Now, this natural beauty can be enjoyed without any of the drawbacks of stone – no more hard, cold flooring underfoot, cracked tiles or unforgiving surfaces. The traditional Alterna collection is designed to capture the timeless look of natural stone while providing a comfortable surface for everyday living. Less tile-to-tile variation creates a more subtle, refined floor. New Alterna Reserve builds on that success with new designs featuring dramatic stone patterns; dramatic realism through greater tile-to-tile variation. Super-tough Alterna is especially great for families with allergies, pets or children. It’s quiet and forgiving surface more readily tolerates spills and drops. It is highly wear-water-and-stain resistant, and also is easy to clean.

Hardwood continues to be the top flooring choice for new home buyers and those ready to remodel. Additionally it offers a better resale value down the road. People want confidence that their hardwood floors will stay beautiful for many years to come, and Armstrong’s new Performance Plus delivers on that promise. A patented acrylic-infusion process makes these floors up to 2.5x times harder and a new Nano Alum-Oxide coating provides superior scratch and stain resistance. Performance Plus is offered in a wide color palette (over 25 colors) in six species of wood (Birch, Cherry, Hickory, Maple, Oak and Walnut). According to Milton Goodwin, vice president, Hardwood Product Management, “Hardwood floors are not meant just for show. “People want beautiful looks with the peace of mind provided by true ‘high performance’,” he said. “These floors withstand the demanding lifestyles of modern families; they’re perfect for active homes with kids and pets.” Performance Plus is the only wood floor product to combine all these consumer-hot-button features with the ease of three install options – glue, staple or Lock N’ Fold – at a great price point.

Stylish in Boston is not the same look as stylish in Tucson. That’s why the new Handscraped Hardwood collection encompasses a range of looks – and the offering can be tailored to an exact fit for every builder’s market preferences. There are four distinct collections, ranging from value to designer price points in both solid and engineered structures, and five species, including Acacia.

On the carpet side, Armstrong’s carpet solutions allow the builder to trade their customers up with the looks and features they want for their new home. “A cleaner, healthier home is on the mind of virtually every female consumer. That’s why Armstrong added ‘Silver Release Technology’ anti-microbial to its carpet and ‘Magic Fresh’ technology that removes pet, cooking, and even smoke odors from the home, to give customers the cleanest, freshest indoor environment possible,” said McElfresh.

Builders can not only count on FashionSmart products to have the benefits of Armstrong’s well-known quality, but they also can trust that the Armstrong brand will help home buyers recognize the builder’s product as being a high quality offering.

Prospective home buyers report that their perception of the quality of a new home is most strongly influenced by the quality of the floors, and they recognize well known, trusted brand names. Builders committed to winning the competition for new home sales are more and more eager to differentiate themselves by ensuring that prospects know they use Armstrong brand flooring. Simply put, Armstrong helps to sell homes.“Builders have an opportunity to leverage a quality brand consumers know and trust to attract home buyers,” said McElfresh. “FashionSmart means our builder partners have the assurance that they have the best program possible to offer their prospects and that they can meet the needs of every home buyer.”