Belknap White is one of the largest flooring distributors in the country. During Coverings 2024, David Godlewski, vice president ceramic, and Jane Twombly, director of specifications, sat down with Floor Trends & Installation to discuss the trends they are seeing at the show, talk about the company’s growth and share what they see on the horizon for the industry.
Godlewski grew up moonlighting as a tile installer for his father, working his way through high school and college. “I always had a fond interest in ceramic,” he said. “What really amazed me are the types of tile, making authentic wood, slate, stone, putting it on porcelain.” Following college, he joined the military and once he completed his service, he returned to the tile business.
“I had dabbled in installation and that's a tough business,” he said. “I ended up on the professional side selling tile for a few manufacturers as well as selling to independent distributors and then found a nice home here with Belknap still promoting tile, promoting the industry, but on the sales side.
Twombly took a very different path into flooring. She studied architecture in college and worked within that industry for years. She took some time off to be with her children and during that time, she did a lot of non-profit work and marketing type work.
“I realized I was really more of a marketing person, and also, when I worked for the architect firms, I enjoyed meeting with the reps that came in to show us new product lines,” she said. “So, when I knew I had to go back to work, I said, you know what, I really think I'm more of a marketing person and I really don't want to be sitting doing AutoCAD all day long. So, how can I combine the architecture and marketing? I started with stone and tile.”
She worked for AKDO, a natural stone distributor, for five years. In 2018, she went to work for Belknap. “It's really great because I do lead the team that goes to architect and design firms,” she said. “And because I came from that industry, I know what kind of information that they really are looking for, so I can help to guide my team and what they want to know about each product and how to best earn a specification from the architects and designers.”
The following are excerpts of our conversation, which you can listen to in its entirety below.
FLOOR Trends & Installation: What are you seeing at Coverings that you've enjoyed most?
David Godlewski: I think some key trends that have stuck out so far is a lot of hand-molded wall tile. It is machine made, but the manufacturers go to great detail to give it that hand-molded look, which is great because from inspiration shows you see on television to the vignettes that are tiled here, people really like that hand-molded, hand-sculpted look. However, it comes with a cost and a lot of those, especially when you're in the Zellige category, have a lot of maintenance. So, a lot of these manufacturers from Europe and here in the U.S. have really done a great job expanding that portfolio.
These hand-molded tiles have character, they have depth. We just visited a few booths in the Italian section that have a very high-gloss. So, it's really neat to see the wall tile expand from 20 years ago when it was just three by six white glass subway.
Another trend that we've seen throughout the domestic and European factories is a lot of the terracotta and cotto look is coming back—wall tile, floor tile, 3D designs. So, it's nice to see that we still have the stone-look, which has varied over the years, but the cotto and that kind of weathered-look is starting to come back and people will use [it in everything] from their bathrooms to their foyers but then we also see a lot of influence in the retail spaces.
Jane Twombly: It's been nice to see that all of the manufacturers are showing quite a variety of their new launches so it's not like we're seeing the same concrete look at every single booth. We're seeing quite a variety of natural stone looks, some really interesting wall tiles, some nice travertine looks. It's just nice to see a variety.
FTI: For the people who aren’t familiar with Belknap White, tell us about the company.
Twombly: Belknap White is a flooring distributor for over 40 years. We were originally based in the Northeast. Our headquarters is based in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Back about 40 years ago, Ray Mancini Sr. bought an Armstrong distribution. Since then, over the years, have acquired other distribution companies that we think are a good match for Belknap.
In 1997, we bought Alcco, which is in the Albany market, so we expanded out of New England. Then in 2012, Patriot Hardwood out of New Jersey. So, we’re continuing to expand south at this point. In 2017, J.J. Haynes, which now our footprint is Maine to Florida, and then in 2022, Swift Train, based out of Texas. We've got quite a footprint of flooring products to service.
FTI: Dave, you are VP of Ceramics, so can we talk about the business outlook for 2024 as far as ceramics go?
Godlewski: Just as Jane had mentioned, we have a pretty diverse footprint now. We sell ceramic in 29 states across the US. I think some of the trends that we've seen, both positive and negative in 2024, is that the retail residential market in certain geographies has been a little soft in the first quarter and we're seeing that trend continue in the second quarter.
A lot of folks in the ceramic industry and flooring as a whole talk about interest rates being high, so the builder market has softened a little bit. The economic challenges that we see both in the U.S. and other parts of the world certainly affect the consumer confidence.
Of course, we're coming into a presidential election which is always a U.S. construction concern when people want to hold back and wait to see what happens. So, couple that with some positive trends that we've seen in 2024, which is a lot of public work, commercial work.
What I think about the segments that we focus on is, our commercial work, when it comes to public work, whether it be a hospital, whether it be school, a lot of this financing was earmarked three years ago. So, a lot of these projects are now coming to the surface which is great.
We've also noticed in the east coast in the last 30 days or so is some new commercial work come in. So, I think consumer confidence really affects the retail side, but I see labor prices starting to decline and be a little bit more aggressive because a lot of commercial contractors are fighting for those same jobs.
So generally speaking, I think we'll see a slowdown continue in 2024, over the next three to six months, certainly with a rebound in the fall and through the election for 2024.
FTI: Some folks are saying that 2025 is going to be our down year. Would you agree with that?
Godlewski: I would answer it both ways. I definitely think the flooring industry has seen a lot of acquisitions. So, that sometimes can stampede growth. You've got a lot of product ready to move. That's the negative side.
The positive side, I'm pretty optimistic with what we see here in the U.S. For example, it was not too long ago that a distributor like us had to source product color and design from six to eight different parts of the world to have an expansive portfolio. A lot of the partners that we're with—American Olean, Marazzi, Crossville, and then on the non-ceramic side, AHF, etc.—these companies have put a lot of investment into their design. So, the days of cherry-picking lines throughout the world has really come to a halt. And now, from our major suppliers, we can get all of those expansive looks. That makes our job easy because our time to market is quicker, and we're also more relevant to the designers that can pick all their finished goods from us, as well as the builder.
We also do a nice job as a company on the supply side, so we try to be the one-stop source for our customers. You don't have to be just a ceramic entity to buy from us, you can also buy the wood from us, you can buy the resilient from us, and supplies. So, as we see things kind of roller coaster in 2024, I'm optimistic that ‘25, with some sound confidence in market, will be good for us specifically but the flooring industry as a whole.
FTI: What are the opportunities that you see for business this year?
Twombly: I see opportunity in education. Students are still going to college. They still need their buildings. They need to be renovated. So, our wheelhouse at Belknap is education and healthcare. I think that those markets are going to continue to have renovation work, new projects being built. So, I definitely see those two markets as opportunities, maybe not so much with hospitality. Open interiors definitely seeing a downtrend as more people are working from home and companies need less office space. So, education and healthcare definitely I think are opportunities moving into 2025.
FTI: Now, if we could just dive into health care just for a minute, where do you see that sector going as far as design goes over the next few years?
Twombly: When I say healthcare, I'm also talking about for instance, in the Boston market, we do have a lot of biotech and that's still a pretty growing market. I personally don't see much of a downturn in healthcare. It's been pretty steady. We have the products like sheet goods from Armstrong that can fulfill that need and renovation work going on in hospitals in the Boston market.
I'm hopeful that there isn't going to be a downturn in the healthcare market. But I would say the trends in the healthcare market tend to be a little bit more “homey,” as if you're in a more of a home environment as opposed to being a little bit more sterile environment. So, that's nice to see because we're seeing a little bit more color [with that trend].
FTI: What are you both seeing trends-wise?
Twombly: As far as trends here at Coverings, we're seeing the southwest terracotta-look. We've seen with Crossville, AO, in the Ragno booth. So, a little bit more like orange, brown-tones, very earthy. We're also seeing a 2x8” wall tile with undulation, soft, almost watercolor effect. That's been really popular. We have a line from American Olean called Conrad Brick, which has been doing really well.
Another trend that we're seeing is classic natural stone-look in porcelain. Manufacturers are getting really good at mimicking the visual of natural stone.
Godlewski: When Jane and I look at new products, color, design, feel, texture, price, those are all considerations, but what's really been of note to me in this show is some of the manufacturers really investing in their technology. For example, we got a chance to see from an American Olean how they’re really incorporating their Cornelia high definition to their product.
We looked at a few wood lines. We looked at a few stone lines, and they're making these products more authentic now than I have ever seen in my career. They're using their glaze to create the texture and the 3D effect. So, not only does it look realistic but it also is a great way to add depth to your product without having the maintenance issues and concerns.
The other thing I saw with a few Spanish factories is they've all incorporated that double glaze into the product. So, it's really neat as a ceramic person to see this innovation, because historically there would be a few companies, primarily Italian companies, that would try this and some worked, some didn't. But now to see these American companies investing in that is really great. That means that us as a distributor can get these new looks, colors, and textures on demand.
FTI: What challenges do you guys see coming up over the next year or two?
Godlewski: Besides the obvious economic challenges that are out of our control, I think what Jane and I have seen over the last few quarters is customers of ours, whether it's a dealer or a commercial contractor or anywhere in between, they want to have the confidence that the products that they specify and promote are easily procured.
There was a time not too many years ago where, unique looks and styles were great and it was easy to get them from different parts of the world, but there's been so many challenges through the pandemic. There’s challenges in the Ukraine situation. So, I think a lot of folks have some concerns right now about the importing side of the business. I think overcoming those challenges, which is kind of what we do on the ceramic side going to market, is making sure that the manufacturers will partner with the collections that we're promoting.
They could be an import but they're stocked in the U.S. The U.S. component is very important to business these days. People want the confidence that an ongoing project is not going to have issues but most importantly I think “Made in the USA” means more now than it ever has. Having that inventory stateside is overcoming those challenges of importing. And what we see with a lot of American companies, the majority of the product may be made in the U.S., but they're also bringing in imported products themselves and stocking in the U.S. So, those replenishment percentages have increased, but I think it really comes down to the confidence in the market.
Twombly: Specifically for Belknap in our territory, there's just a lot of challenge with other manufacturers coming into our market, and you always have to be making sure that you're watching out that you have the market share and you're constantly connecting with your customers and watching that everything that you have specified is not getting swapped out or value-engineered.
FTI: How have you had to change your inventory to maintain all of that?
Godlewski: I think what we look at as a company is we constantly monitor our affiliates. So, when you're ranking your products in the inventory, you want to make sure that you have a short-term and long-term look at your high-velocity items. One of the biggest challenges is ramping up a program, getting great feedback in the market, but any outages or shortages can really affect the lifeline of that program. So, making sure that we invest in a program and that we're constantly monitoring those replenishment and fill rates as we call them, to make sure that we can provide that level of service that our customers are used to.
So, looking short-term but also looking long -term, because, depending on the category, there's a lifecycle of these products and making sure that we're dialed in. It's great to bring in 10 containers of one SKU, but if that's not the SKU that’s selling, you're not going to be servicing your customers at the level that they're used to. So, constant daily basis run rate analyzation is how we go to market and changed our business, and we’ve been successful because of that.
FTI: What's next for Belknap?
Twombly: We're constantly looking to expand and who knows who we will acquire next. That'll be something that we'll learn about with everyone else. But it's an exciting time to be part of Belknap, to have all this growth and really be such a player in the industry, having such a large footprint. It's been really exciting time to be a part of Belknap.
