Lumber Liquidators 2013 Annual Report Download - page 13

Our hardwood flooring products are available in various widths and lengths and generally differentiated
in terms of quality and price based on the species, wood grade and durability of finish. Prefinished floors are
now the dominant choice for residential customers over unfinished wood planks that have a finish applied
after installation. More than 95% of the flooring we sell is prefinished. We also offer a broad assortment of
flooring enhancements and installation accessories, including moldings, noise-reducing underlay and tools, that
complement our assortment of floor offerings. In total, we offer nearly 350 different flooring product
stock-keeping units, however, no single hardwood product represented more than 1% of our sales mix. By
major product category, our sales mix was as follows:
2013 2012 2011
(percentage of net sales)
Solid and Engineered Hardwood ................ 44% 48% 51%
Laminate, Bamboo, Cork and Vinyl Plank ......... 38% 36% 34%
Moldings and Accessories .................... 18% 16% 15%
Total .................................. 100% 100% 100%
Changes in our sales mix are often the primary driver of changes in our sourcing mix for flooring
products. We seek the highest quality at the best value, in consideration of where the raw material grows, the
amount of labor necessary to construct and produce the unfinished plank or finished board and the
transportation costs to our distribution centers or stores. Our sourcing mix of flooring, exclusive of moldings
and accessories, by continent was as follows:
Continent Primary Products Sourced 2013 2012 2011
percentage of flooring sales (excludes
moldings and accessories)
Asia Laminate, Bamboo, Cork, Vinyl Plank
and certain Handscraped and Engineered
Hardwood
50% 43% 42%
North America Solid Domestic Hardwood 40% 50% 50%
South America Solid Exotic and Engineered Hardwood 7% 6% 7%
Other Laminate and Exotic Hardwood 3% 1% 1%
Total 100% 100% 100%
Major product categories include:
Solid and Engineered Hardwood. Our proprietary solid hardwood products are milled from one thick
piece of wood, which can be sanded and refinished numerous times, and our proprietary engineered hardwood
products are produced by bonding a layer of hardwood to a plywood or high-density fiber board backing.
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. 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 our solid hardwood products
either prefinished or unfinished, and our engineered hardwood products in either glue down or floating
application. Our prefinished hardwoods typically carry a wear warranty from 10 to 30 years, and our
Bellawood products carry a 100-year, transferable warranty.
Laminate. 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 with 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 20 to
30 years.
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