Lumber Liquidators 2011 Annual Report Download - page 13

in their homes for at least several years. According to industry sources, over half of hardwood flooring purchases are made
by households with incomes levels above the average domestic household. We have found that homeowners prefer various
characteristics of wood floors, including appearance and durability, ease of installation, renewability of resources and
specific aspects of engineered, resilient and laminate flooring. Most of our other sales are to contractors, who are primarily
small businesses that are either building a small number of new homes or have been hired by an owner to put in a new floor.
Our Products
We offer a complete assortment of wood flooring, generally sourced directly from the mill, that includes prefinished
premium domestic and exotic hardwoods, engineered hardwoods, unfinished hardwoods, bamboo, cork and laminates, as
well as resilient flooring. Our product offering is substantially comprised of our proprietary brands, led by our flagship
Bellawood brand. Our hardwood flooring products are generally available in various widths and lengths. They are generally
differentiated in terms of quality and price based on the species, grade of the hardwood and quality of finishing, in addition to
the length of the warranty. Prefinished floors are finished in factories under controlled conditions and are ready to be enjoyed
immediately after they are installed. We also offer a broad assortment of flooring enhancements and installation accessories,
including moldings, noise-reducing underlay and adhesives, that complement our assortment of floor offerings. In total, we
offer nearly 350 different flooring product stock-keeping units.
2011 2010 2009
Percentage of Net Sales:
Solid Hardwood .................................................... 39% 43% 47%
Engineered Hardwood ............................................... 11% 11% 10%
Laminates ........................................................ 24% 21% 18%
Moldings and Accessories ............................................ 15% 14% 13%
Bamboo and Cork .................................................. 10% 10% 11%
Other ............................................................ 1% 1% 1%
Total ............................................................. 100% 100% 100%
Solid Hardwood. Our proprietary solid hardwood products are milled from one thick piece of wood, which can be
sanded and refinished numerous times. We offer flooring products made from more than 25 wood species, including both
domestic woods, such as ash, beech, birch, hickory, northern hard maple, northern red oak, pine and American walnut, and
exotic woods, such as bloodwood, cherry, cypress, ebony, koa, mesquite, mahogany, rosewood and teak. We sell these
products either prefinished or unfinished. Our prefinished hardwoods typically carry a wear warranty from 25 to 100 years.
In 2011, we increased the warranty on our Bellawood products from 50 to 100 years and added a warranty transfer option for
homeowners.
Engineered Hardwood. Our proprietary engineered hardwood products are produced by bonding a layer of hardwood to
a plywood or high-density fiber board backing. Like our solid hardwood floors, our engineered hardwood floors are offered
in domestic and exotic wood species, and in either glue down or floating application. All of our engineered hardwood
products are prefinished. Engineered flooring is designed primarily to be installed in areas where traditional hardwood is not
conducive, such as slab construction, basements and areas where moisture may be a factor. Our engineered assortment
typically carries a wear warranty of 30 to 50 years, and our Bellawood engineered products carry a 100-year, transferable
warranty.
Laminates. Our proprietary laminate flooring is typically constructed with a high-density fiber board core, inserted
between a melamine laminate backing and high-quality photographic paper displaying an image of wood and a ceramic
finish, abrasion-resistant laminate top. Our laminate flooring brands allow for easy-click installation, and some include a
pre-glued undersurface, moisture repellent, soundproofing, single-strip format or a handscraped textured finish. Our
laminates carry wear warranties ranging from 10 to 30 years.
Moldings and Accessories. We offer a wide variety of wood flooring moldings and accessories. Moldings are a required
finishing detail to every floor and we sell a complete selection that matches virtually all of our floors or can complement
them. We also sell stair treads and risers in both finished and unfinished versions. Accessories include underlayments that are
placed between the new floor and the sub-floor, insulating sound and cushioning the floors. In addition, we sell installation
supplies (such as sealers, adhesives and trowels), floor cleaning supplies and butcher-block kitchen countertops.
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