The greatest carpet in the world has arrived in OZ !

What he said...WA retailer yet????

Hi HN,

Which of the Smartstrand lineup will be the least likely to show foot prints and vacuum lines etc. Does one exist?

I see they are a twist pile? Are they comparable to nylon and wool twist piles in terms of footprints/shading?

Many thanks,
Ash

Sorry for the delay in responding. As of yet there are no outlets in WA that sell Smartstrand. Sorry. If and when Harvey Norman franchised stores in your state launch flooring, we will most certainly jump on the forum to let everyone know, but as of now we have no idea if that is on the cards.

Thanks for the question Ash. The Smartstrand fibre is inherently a very soft fibre so this softness does tend to result in a degree of temporary foot marks and tracking. We would suggest the extent of this is no greater and no less than any premium cut pile carpet that is designed for residential use.

There are around 40 or more ranges, each with up to 40 colours to choose from, so the choice is amazing. The low level cut loops and loop pile ones will show less footprints than the twists and plush piles though.

Sorry. It is still not available in WA. We have had some customers buy it from Melbourne or Adelaide, when buying furniture and other items then shipping the lot to WA though. You would have to simply pick up the carpet and have a carpet layer install it for you. We can even cut the lengths to your desired sizes (your carpet layer would give you these "cuts"). This would make handling a lot easier at your end.

Not an ideal Answer to yor question, but some customers have done this (they may have been on holiday in Melbourne for example ad ordered it whilst there etc).

Hi HNFT



We are looking to carpet 3 bedrooms in the near future and we are located south east of Brisbane. We are looking at the SmartStrand Silk Classic and need to carpet 43 square metres roughly.

We would like the 11mm cloud 9 cumulous underlay as well.

Underlay states $22/lineal metre and the carpet is quoting $54 per square metre.

Is this price accurate and also does HN do the installing and laying as well?

Thanks,
Jase.

Jase,

$54 sounds like the standard rate on the carpet so I'm sure you'd be able to negotiate something better.

My local HN has a 9mm cloud 9 underlay + install for a $17 add on that has been up for a few months. There is also a $99 install for the whole house atm.

The deal I'm trying to sort out with them is mediocre at best - 31 linear metres of smart strand classic, 9mm underlay and install for $5500. Hope that helps.

Do all HN stores have the same offers/specials/prices? TIA.

Thanks jaepee,

Spoke with our local HN and they advised there is a big conference meeting in Feb in relation to the smart silk carpet and whether they will continue to stock it etc so will ask again in March to see how it went.

Hi,

The price you purchase the goods and services for are generally determined by each individual franchisee, however as you would expect in a franchised environment, a level of consistency does exist so that customers can shop with confidence and so that advertising is mirrored in stores etc. Please consult with your local Harvey Norman Flooring Franchisee to determine the price.

Hi MIssyP,

Advertised specials are honoured by all Harvey Norman Flooring Franchisees in accordance to the advertising.

In respect to pricing in general please see our response to the post from jaepee36.

Hi Jase_Dave,

Harvey Norman have no plans whatsoever to not offer the fantastic carpet innovation that is Smartstrand.....actually it is the reverse. Following yet another record calendar year, the products offered from the worlds’ largest flooring manufacturer are proving to be hugely popular and will be expanded in 2014. Harvey Norman places great importance on making sure that Australian customers are amongst the first in the world to have access to the amazing product developments and innovation from Mohawk and other global leaders in flooring, and 2014 looks to be a great year in this regard.

In respect to the up coming conference..... In February each year, the flooring franchisee's meet to be shown new ranges, select new colours and see the direction for the forthcoming calendar year. Perhaps your local franchisee meant that some new and exciting directions are always announced at such a conference. We can assure you the future of Smartstrand and related innovations such as Smartstrand Silk are only going to grow, not diminish.

Best wishes for your flooring purchase.

Thanks HN,

That's great news -perhaps that is what he meant as he said we may need to get the leftovers of the current colour we like - so that may be as more colours/range etc come out after the conference.

It's interesting reading the perspective of sales people of a particular type of carpet - but being a professional carpet cleaner of many years, and having cleaned numerous SmartStrand carpets, I thought that some balance in opinion would be appreciated by those considering purchasing this carpet.
This carpet can not be bleached, and it can not be dye stained. This compares very favourably with the most common carpet type we currently see residential, nylon. And unlike polypropylene, perhaps the second most common carpet we clean residentially, these carpets have a very soft hand and are quite luxurious in texture.
So are they the miracle fibre that HN would have you believe? The short answer is no. While many dye type stains will simply rinse out with water, including pet urine, triexta is oleophilic and has a propensity for absorbing oily soils. It also has a very fine denier, just like microfiber - and here ****** the challenge. Removing greases and oils from this carpet is difficult. Much more so than cleaning wool, polypropylene or nylon. Why is this a problem? As carpet cleaners, our cleaning power comes from the use of detergents, whose job it is to englobulate and suspend oils and greases, so that they can be removed from the yarn bundle. Oils and greases get into our carpets from our bodies (body oils), food spills, and walked in from what we accumulate on concrete, roads and other hard outdoor surfaces. Greases and oils are what binds dirt, grit and other visible foreign matter to the carpet, making it unsightly and looking "dirty".
Simply put, if greases and oils can not be sufficiently removed from a carpet, they will resoil very quickly. And this is the challenge carpet cleaners are having here and abroad with SmartStrand. In addition to this, due to the almost impervious nature of the fibre, spills quickly run down the outside of the fibre, and into the backing of the carpet. So while prompt attention to blotting a spill immediately may appear to successfully "treat" the spill, the effect is often temporary, and the spill can be a perpetual issue, as it wicks back up the fibre as it slowly dries. Many a cleaner are surprised to get call backs for re-emerging spots that simply weren't visible when they initially cleaned the carpet.
I still believe that this is one of the better carpets on the market, but it is by no means perfect, and the consumer needs to understand some of the challenges that we are having with it at present.

HNFT,

Do you know when the Feb conference is? Just so we know when to pop back to HN and check out the new range/colours - should we wait till March or is it early Feb?

Thanks!

Hi Jase_Dave,

The conference is in early Feb, however we would give you two bits of advice;

a) Any "new" products / designs / colours will not appear in-store for a while, as once selected, then have to be made and shipped from the United States,

b) All imported products, no matter if they are shoes, clothing, televisions or flooring are subject to the exchange rate. Most products we deal with that come from overseas are ordered in $US. This means that when the $AU drops, like it has recently, imported goods become more expensive (IE one of our $ buys less of the US $). Whilst we don't know what the dollar will do in the future, some economists predict it weakening further - this would mean that Smartstrand carpet will probably go up in price in Australia in the near future, just like all imported products are likley to go up soon.

So if you have found one that you like, we would suggest jumping on it sooner rather than later and save yourself some money

Hi HN. In regards to vacuum marks & footprints which of the silks are likely to show most?
Also is the classic silk much more inferior to gentle essense in regards to softness?
Thanks

Hi,

In terms of foot prints and vacuum marks, all cut pile carpets will show these up. Loops show less, and in some cases none, whilst level cut loops (patterned) also show a little less. The only way to totally eradicate the chance of seeing them is to buy a low level commercial style loop pile; normally the opposite of the look you are after.

In respect to softness, the fibre that Silk Classic and Gentle Essence is made from is the same, it's just that Gentle Essence is thicker (what we refer to as having more ounces), so the softness will be the same, except that you will sink into Gentle Essence a little more, making it appear softer. Hope that makes sense. They carry the same warranties etc.

Hey HN,

Wanna update us on the outcomes of the Feb conference? any new colours/styles/prices and when to expect them?

J

Hi again

It's best at this point in time to pop into your local store and speak to your local franchisee. There are some developments however due to commercial sensitivities, we'd rather not make a public announcement until the products are in stores. It's a competitive environment in the flooring marketplace and whilst we can ensure you that we are dedicated to offering our customers the best innovations and latest products from the worlds largest flooring manufacturer, we don't want to give competing entities the "heads up" about new products until they actually arrive