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floorcoveringnewsNEWSPAPER A SUPPLEMENT TO

Alliance Flooring

Celebrates 20 Years

fcnews February 27/March 6, 2017 I 3

Thank you for 20 years of successOn behalf of our entire Alliance Flooring team, as well as the

CarpetsPlus Color Tile, Carpetland Color Tile and Floorco members, we would like to heartily thank each of our suppliers who have builtstrong relationships, provided great support and worked with us to bringresults-driven programs and initiatives over the past 20 years.We would also like to thank everyone who is taking the time to readthrough this special issue and celebrate with us.There are so many great moments, unimaginable accomplishments andmemorable milestones to be thankful for, but none exceeding the manystrong relationships that have been established through these 20 years.We salute our members for their vision, passion, resilience,commitment to networking and the inspiring successes we have seen them achieve over the past two decades. We have all experienced ups and downs in the market and in consumerconfidence, but our confidence in the entrepreneurial drive of our members has never wavered.

At Surfaces ’97 we launched as CarpetsPlus of America. Roughly 40 retailers embraced the plans and vision, joining as charter members.Within two years we had more than 200 stores; today we have over 400 member locations throughout the U.S. from Hawaii to Maine—allbacked by over 80 carefully selected suppliers. Without question, the core strength of our group is the willingnessof our members to work together to increase the success of eachindividual store and the strong sense of family throughout our group.A big thank you goes out to the national account teams—theindividuals connected with each of our suppliers who prove over and overagain that this is a relationship-driven industry in which people make adifference. We greatly appreciate your innovative support, involvement andcommitment to our members.This 20th anniversary and everything aforementioned is a catalyst andfoundation for continued growth and opportunity through the next 20years to come and beyond.

Let’s continue to grow together as the passion for our industrycontinues.

Ron Dunn Jon Logue Ryan Dunn Kevin Logue

4 I February 27/March 6, 2017 fcnews

alliance flooring at 20

milestones

When you speak with Alliance Floor-ing members, it is not uncommonto hear the word “family” used to

describe the dynamic of the Atlanta-based re-tail group. As the parent company of Carpets-Plus Color Tile, Carpetland USA Color Tile,Floorco and Clean Touch Pro celebrates its20th anniversary, the founders have proventhat people and healthy relationships are thestrongest assets behind a successful business.

“We love being a part of CarpetsPlus,”said Dan Smiddy, vice president, Smiddy’sCarpetsPlus, Terre Haute, Ind. “It truly feelslike a family to us. Ron and Jon are brilliant,accomplished guys who I feel really careabout the success of each and every dealerin their program.”

CarpetsPlus of America was establishedin January 1997 by co-CEOs Ron Dunn andJon Logue with a philosophy emphasizing in-dependent store ownership backed by thebuying power of a national chain. Thefounders sought to fill a void in the retail

landscape with a group focused on helpingindependent retailers compete and thrivethrough networking and sharing best prac-tices, product strategy and professionalshowroom presentation.

“CarpetsPlus Color Tile is a top-notchbuying group, from the very highest officersto the individual store owners and everyonein the corporate offices in Atlanta and Chat-tanooga,” said Robin Osterhus, owner, Floor-ing Frenzy & More, Owatonna, Minn. “It isvery obvious this is a group designed for itsmembers.”

The founders have forged strong rela-tionships with retailers and suppliers fromworking together in executive positions atMohawk. This was a major factor in launch-ing CarpetsPlus fairly quickly and systemati-cally. “Ron and Jon had negotiated across thedesk from the other buying groups when theyworked for Mohawk, and they wanted towork with their suppliers in a non-adversar-ial manner,” Gerald Butler, owner, Fred’s Car-petsPlus, Torrance, Calif., explained. “Theyalso wanted to treat their members fairly andconsider their needs first before negotiatingany agreements with the mills.”

The formation of the group came duringa time when independent retailers wereseeking ways to increase buying power, en-hance business operations and competitivepositioning against big box and other retailgroup stores. Heading into the launch, Dunn

and Logue spoke with independent dealersto learn why they had not yet joined a group,what they were hoping to gain from mem-bership and retailer needs. “The answerswere revealing and helped set our priorities,”Dunn recalled.

Once the blueprint was finalized, thefounders began recruiting members as wellas flooring manufacturers to gain their trustand support. CarpetsPlus debuted at Sur-faces ’97 with a 10 x 10 booth. According toDunn, retailers and suppliers embraced theconcept early on. “We were fortunate wecaught some wind in our sails and some bigretailers joined us on the front end. Thank-fully, we had a compelling vision of what thiscould develop into and are forever gratefulto our charter members and suppliers forbuying into the concept.”

Membership ranks quickly ramped up,growing to more than 200 stores within thefirst 20 months. Core principles were estab-lished, providing dealers with choices of pro-fessional tools to help them grow a successfulfloor covering business without any man-dates that would force participation in spe-cific displays or programs. “People boughtinto the vision of how this could be cultured,”Dunn explained. “It took time to build theinternal support necessary to match all thesethings. At the same time, while most key sup-pliers got behind us there were a couple whodidn’t; without them it would have been dif-

CarpetsPlusestablished

Ryan Dunn,Kevin Logue

join companyCarpetsPlusmerges with

CarpetMaxFirst summit

held200th member

signed

Color Tile brandacquired

Floorcolaunched

CarpetPluscelebrates

10th anniversaryClean Touch Pro

rolls out

First ‘Destination’location unveiled

First conventionheld

CarpetsPlussigns 200thmemberOwners buybackCarpetsPlusCarpetsPlusacquires Carpetland USA300th membersigned

400th membersigned

Home FieldAdvantageunveiled

Ron Dunn’s‘Drive AcrossAmerica’ kicks off

1997199819992000

2002

2006

20072008

201020122016

Getting stronger every dayBy K.J. Quinn

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ficult to move forward.”Enter CarpetMax, a rival group that in-

quired about the possibility of a merger, amarriage created to further develop Carpets-Plus’ infrastructure, enable access to key sup-pliers and provide stock value growth toCarpetMax. The two groups agreed to mergein 1999 in an agreement that included a buy-out clause for CarpetsPlus. “Sadly, within ayear, the SEC formed an investigation intoCarpetMax and everything went into chaos,”Dunn recalled, noting CarpetMax eventuallyfiled for bankruptcy. “When it became evi-dent CarpetMax would not be able to getback on its feet and all divisions would besold off, our members sent a letter to thebankruptcy court judge—unbeknownst tous—stating that unless Jon and I bought thecompany back, they would disband.”

Dunn and Logue eventually reacquiredCarpetsPlus and purchased the CarpetlandUSA group in 2000.

In 2002 the group launched the Floorcodirect-to-the-trade division, a business modelfocusing on builders, realtors and designerswith a showroom that never closes and re-

quires a membership.As Alliance Flooring enters its 20th year,

management plans to continue striving tokeep members ahead of the curve in termsof product mix, which helps differentiatethemselves from competitors. Specifically,Kevin Logue said the group will concentrateon broadening its hard surface assortment inLVF, WPC and rigid core products, with the

goal of helping members become the fashiondestination for carpet and flooring in theirlocal markets. “The best part of my job is get-ting people to believe in themselves and hav-ing fun while doing it. My focus has been tomake sure all members, suppliers and ourstaff know they are part of a company thatcontinues to strive to make it worthwhile forall parties.”

02

01 The opportunity tonetwork and learnfrom other retailersis a key aspect ofmembership.

02 CarpetsPlusmanagement strivesto help membersbecome the fashiondestination forflooring in theirlocal markets.


Q&A

CarpetsPlus has been providing toolsto help flooring retailers become moreprofessional and profitable for twodecades. Former Mohawk executivesRon Dunn and Jon Logue had a visionand executed it to perfection withsome key decisions along the way, notthe least of which was the Color Tilepurchase in 2002. Dunn and Logue,along with their sons Ryan and Kevin,recently sat down with FCNewspublisher Steven Feldman to take alook at the past and define the valuethe group provides its members withan eye toward the future.

Kevin Logue: They maintain theirindependence while we provide them withadvantages, strategies and resources to helpthem succeed and grow their businesses.

Ryan Dunn:We are different than othergroups in that Ron and Jon were on theother side working for manufacturers. Theyhave sat on the other side of the table. Froma supplier standpoint, we knew what theywere up against.

Ron Dunn:What’s been a real reward overthese 20 years is the encouragement we getfrom suppliers. They tell us our model isright. They like the culture we established.It has allowed us to stay the course. Wewant the members to win, the supplier towin and the consumer to win. If that allhappens, we win, too.

Ryan Dunn:We have proved to members ifwe can help them buy 2%-3% better, sell2%-3% higher, save 2%-3% in operationsthrough best practices (networking) andincrease sales 2%-3%, then those fourthings together will significantly improvetheir bottom line.

Give me some defining moments.

Ron Dunn:One was when our members,

Look back at the last 20 years. What stands out?

Ron Dunn: The people and the networkingis the common thread woven through thegroup. It’s people investing in each other,caring about each other and willing to shareeverything. It’s beyond what I had hoped for.

Jon Logue:We wanted to be a family; wedidn’t want rules and regulations thatwould prevent people from doing business.This was the easiest way to do business. If amember doesn’t like us or we don’t likethem, it’s easy to end the relationship. Wedon’t tie anyone down.

Ron Dunn:We wanted to do somethingdifferent. We wanted to make this a win-win. In the old days you could be afranchise, co-op or licensing group. We are alicensing group where we license the rightsand names, logos, etc. We wanted to form agroup we would want to join ourselves. Weasked prospective members three questions:1) Why haven’t you joined a group yet?; 2) Ifyou were to join one, what would you wantit to do for you?; and 3) What would you notwant it to do for you? They did not wantsomeone telling them what to do—mandatory stuff—or locking them in. Solicensing was a way to achieve that.

unbeknownst to us, came together comingout of the CarpetMax deal and told thejudge that unless the Logues and Dunnswere buying the group they would alldisband. So any other potential buyerwould be getting nothing.

Jon Logue: There are two others: WhenRon called to talk about this concept, andwhen our sons decided they wanted to jointhe company. I pitched Ron on his son andhe pitched me on mine.

Ron Dunn: Another important momentwas renting the last available 10 x 10 spaceat Surfaces; it was by the men’s room in thebasement in the Sands because we onlydecided 30 days before the show that wewould exhibit. The first signups were agroup of people from New York on theirway to the men’s room.

Jon Logue: At about the same time Ronwas signing our first member, I was gettingCongoleum to be the first vendor to signup. So Ron and I were running up anddown the stairs at the same time to telleach other the good news.

Kevin Logue: For me it was when weacquired Color Tile in 2002 and made thedecision to co- brand CarpetsPlus and

A look to the past, present, futureNETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES,FAMILY FEEL, INDEPENDENCE ATTHE CORE OF VALUE PROPOSITION

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Color Tile. It put us on the map as a retailer.We became more than a group. Color Tile issuch a powerful tool and name. It paved theway for everything we have done in termsof expanding into hard surface. It alsohelped us expand; it got us 50 more stores.

How has the retail landscape changedsince you launched CarpetsPlus?

Ron Dunn: I can think of five ways rightoff the bat:1. The shift in the product mix has been

huge.2. A retailer has to be much more skilled at

drawing customers in or he is not goingto win. There was a time when all youhad to do was put up a sign. Today it’s all about marketing and great customerservice.

3. Diversification. Retailers are expandingwhat they do—Main Street commercial,builder, countertops—it’s selling more tothat same customer.

4. Consumer credit. Twenty years agopeople paid cash or wrote a check. Theindustry was way behind in credit.

5. Advertising. It used to be television, radio and print. Now those aren’t in thetop three.

Ryan Dunn: The retail owners havechanged. I used to find 50% of ownersstarted as installers or were second or thirdgeneration. A lot of those didn’t make itthrough the recession. The customer hasalso changed. It used to be they wouldcome back every seven years for newcarpet. Now 70% of the house is hardsurface. So you need to protect your profitmargins because the customer is notcoming into the store as frequently.

Kevin Logue: The industry has becomemore of a fashion-oriented business. It’s notjust a carpet store anymore. It’s aboutmaking beautiful rooms and homes. Aretailer today has to offer design solutions.That’s important in getting people into theshowroom. That’s how our dealers havebeen able to differentiate themselves intheir local markets.

Can a retailer still be successful todayas an independent?

Ron Dunn: Yes, but the fact they wouldn’talign suggests they don’t understand what

alignment means. Am I better off having our30 employees working for me, never tellingme what to do but giving me ideas on how toimprove my business? Or am I better offhaving 400 other members I can talk to if Ihave a problem they may have experienced?

How many members/storefronts arethere today? What’s the combinedbuying power?

Ron Dunn:We have about 375 membersrepresenting about 423 storefronts andabout $800 million in sales, all groupscombined.

Describe the prototypical CarpetsPlusmember.

Ron Dunn: For the most part, he is a one-store shop doing about $1.8 million.Typically he will have a 3,000–3,500-square-foot showroom and a 1,500–2,000-square-foot warehouse.

How much has the average CarpetsPlus member’s business increased in the first year? Ron Dunn: I would say a retailer doingabout $2 million sees a 20% increase insales the first year. That translates to a 5%

increase in profitability. For a smallerretailer that may be doing $800,000, thatprofitability could increase 8% because heprobably has a lot of waste.

What differentiates CarpetsPlus from the other groups out there? Carpet One, Flooring America, Abbey?

Ron Dunn: For starters, Ryan and Kevin.No other group’s members know who willbe leading them into the next generation.We will have this in place for the next 40years. Also, we are more agile because weare smaller; we can adapt to the demands ofthe market more quickly. Also, there are nolayers here. You are always talking to one ofus. Finally, we are closer to Dalton than anyof the other groups so we can meet withmanufacturers much more quickly.

What about specifics. Carpet One?

Jon Logue: Autonomy. With us nothing ismandated or force fed. That’s good forsuppliers and retailers. We both believe intraining, but we go about it differently. Wetake dealers to one of our members’ stores.Our training program is member tomember. Also, we are a licensing group, the

02

01 CarpetsPlus was founded by co-CEOs Ron Dunn, left, and Jon Logue, right. Theirsons, Ryan Dunn, second from left, and Kevin Logue, second from right, representthe next generation of management.

02 Management consistently goes above and beyond to ensure the success of itsretail members such as CarpetsPlus working closely with SP Floors on its redesign.

Continued on page 8

benefit of which is easy in and easy out.

Flooring America?

Kevin Logue: Branding. Color Tile. Thatbrand has been out there for 60 years and iswell known. Consumers assume wemanufacture our tile.

Abbey?Ryan Dunn:Merchandising andmarketing. We have been told by oursuppliers we have the best displays in themarketplace. Our members like beingtogether. There is lots of energy at ourevents. It’s less of a business convention andmore of a family feel. I get more hugs thanhandshakes.

Give me one example of how you wentabove and beyond for a member.

Ryan Dunn: Stacy Pape, SP Floors & DesignCenter in Pittsburgh. That was a familybusiness that split. She was on the outsidelooking in. We helped her immediatelyestablish her new business. We looked atstorefronts with her, shipped things out ofour warehouse so she immediately hadsamples and displays to sell off of, helped herget credit lines, helped her get suppliers. Wewalked her through the steps of re-establishing herself. That was four years ago.She is doing $6 million today.

Ryan Dunn: I immediately jumped on aplane because we had to meet with thefamily. We pulled the license from otherfamily members because our relationshiphad always been with Stacy.

Ron Dunn: Another one was Mark Strauchof Floorcraft in Colorado Springs. Markbought the business from his father, but ithad plateaued at $2 million. Mark wantedto take it to the next level. So he bought alumberyard that became available. Heneeded help designing the showroom. Ourteam, led by Ryan, spent 10 months fromJanuary through October taking downwalls, turning the building into a designcenter that is now a full-service operationwith cabinets and everything. The businessgrew to $8 million.

What’s the biggest challenge facing your members today, and how are you

quickly followed. Congoleum wasthe first. Queen was the firstcarpet mill, Carpenter was thefirst pad supplier. Manningtonwas also quick to jump on board.

Shaw was coming out of retail and calledus. Monsanto, too.

What do Ryan and Kevin bring beyond what Ron and Jon have brought?

Ron Dunn: Fresh ideas and energy. A can-do attitude. A connection to that next gener-ation. We get credit for being ahead of thecurve on a bunch of things. If it was up to Jonand me, our members would not have theirown websites. They also brought a more re-laxed feel to our conventions.

Jon Logue: A broader background. Theyhave helped us get involved in social media,more modern ideas. The way they havegrown the buying committee, changing theformat of meetings—they brought life to it.

Look into your crystal ball. What will the next 10 years bring for the group?What are some goals and objectives?

Ryan Dunn:One goal is to develop thenext group of retail industry leaders.

Ron Dunn:We don’t know if the pie isgoing to get bigger, smaller or stay thesame, but the goal is to help our stores takemore market share. Outpace the industry ingrowth. Something that is hitting ourindustry is where do online sales go? Hardsurface is more likely than carpet; there arerumors of Wayfair getting into our industry.What does that mean for our members?What tools can we provide them? We arecurrently working on that now.Diversification. Sell that customer as muchas we can. Once backsplashes were scary.Cabinets? Countertops? Which piecesmake sense? Maximize the relationshipsthat are already there.Cleaning. If the carpet you sell has to becleaned once a year to maintain thewarranty, why don’t you do that?

Continued from page 7

03 CarpetsPlus employs ateam dedicated specificallyto assisting members withtheir web and social mediainitiatives.


03

helping them?Ryan Dunn:Understanding social media.Understanding the millennial generationand how to draw them in. The importanceof holding their margins on hard surfacebusiness. We have a team of three peoplecompletely dedicated to web and socialmedia. We will customize a unique websitefor each of our members with their ownlook and detail their story. It is definitelynot cookie cutter. We will also encourageand facilitate our members to talk to eachother about what’s working for them insocial media.

Kevin Logue: A lot of drawing inmillennials is cause marketing becausethat’s what resonates. We help ourmembers with that.

Mills can sometimes be anti-retail group. Have you seen this? Which suppliers have stepped up for the group and how?

Ron Dunn: All our core suppliers havestepped up. There is no animosity. They tellus they like our model. There are reps onthe street from major mills giving us leads. Back in the early days, the question themills asked was why? Why is the industryneeding another group? The answer was wewere going to do things a little differently.We are a licensing group. Members willhave freedom within a fence. The fence isthey are going to take care of our coresuppliers, they are going to pay their billsand they are going to service the customer.

Ryan Dunn:We told the mills we wouldbring them a better customer. Our goal is tooutpace the average industry price oncarpet sold.

Ron Dunn: They bought the vision. Oncethe first few pieces fell into place, others


Long before it emphasized independent store ownership backedby the buying power of a national chain, and many years beforeit would become the fastest growing flooring resource group in

America boasting a membership of more than 450 stores, co-CEOs RonDunn and Jon Logue were faced with these fundamental questions:

What do we call ourselves?The executives tossed around various ideas and options relating to aname that would best define the group. Dunn said while the industrywas carpet-dominant in 1997, “It was clear that product offerings andforward-thinking store owners were diversifying and exploring moreways of selling the consumer.” He said their goal was to establish aname that sent a message to the consumer that there was more goingon inside this retail business than just carpet. “A friend of mine sug-gested CarpetsPlus. It immediately resonated and we added the ‘ofAmerica’ tag-line to help portray a national identity.”

When the well known, 50-year-old Color Tile brand becameavailable in 2002, CarpetsPlus aggressively sought it. As Dunn ex-plained, “The industry was on the front end of a movement towardhard surface and we had been strategizing regarding a private-labelumbrella for marketing hard surface offerings. This natural evolution,which was also aesthetically appealing in our logo, was to replace ‘ofAmerica’ with Color Tile. This immediately helped drive traffic toour member’s stores.”

In 1960 Carpetland USA was founded in Munster, Ind., by RickMeyer. The company grew into a 100-store franchise with a strongbusiness culture that included a template for assistant store managersto become managers and eventually own their own franchise andbuilding. Carpetland was sold to Shaw Industries in 1996 and Carpets-Plus was able to acquire the brand in 2000. In 2002 Color Tile wasalso offered to Carpetland members as an added value to growing theirhard surface business, Dunn said.

Floorco was founded in 2002 as a division whose mission was topenetrate the direct-to-the-trade business.

What they represent

Family of brands provides total solutionBy Ken Ryan

Today, CarpetsPlus and its sister companies and brands are posi-tioned as the one-stop-shop for all flooring. “Quality, service, honestyand integrity are our guiding principles,” Dunn said.

Color Tile is abrand used by bothCarpetsPlus and Carpetland dealers.

CarpetsPlus Color Tile is thelargest division with membersspread throughout the U.S. Itrepresents full-service flooringretailers with a full spectrum ofproducts, value and price points.The overarching emphasis is onmiddle to upper end retailreplacement, but there are alsospecific focuses on Main Streetcommercial, builders, remodelers,rental market, do it yourself, shopat home and floor maintenance.

Carpetland is typically a largestore in a midsize market (with a large concentration in theMidwest and mid-Atlantic), with an average footprint size of 15,000 square feet. Thesestocking and special order storesare very promotionally minded;they consistently advertise andare adept at using consumerfinancing to increase sales. MainStreet commercial, commercial,builder and remodeler and do ityourself customers are significantbases for Carpetland.

Floorco is the direct-to-the-trade division with aconcentration on builders,remodelers, apartmentowners, designers, real estateagents and commercial.

Clean Touch Pro is thefloor maintenance divisionlaunched in 2012. It is acomprehensive and proventurnkey system that offersCarpetsPlus membersanother avenue to increaserevenues (average 20% netprofit) while meeting aneed in their communityto stay in contact withcustomers. Future plansinclude expanding thisoffering beyond thecurrent membership basethrough franchise shows.

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A lliance Flooring places the highestvalue on listening, learning, improv-ing communications and helping

dealers become better businesspeople. That’saccording to many of the group’s longtimemembers who say the group’s foundation wasbuilt on three pillars: relationships, reputa-tion and operational excellence.

“Alliance Flooring is an organization thattruly focuses on its members,” said Robin Os-terhus, owner, Flooring Frenzy & More,Owatonna, Minn., who joined CarpetsPlusin 1998. “From training classes and seminarsto display offerings, they are keeping us at theforefront of the industry.”

One of the biggest reasons membersjoined the group—which consists of Carpets-Plus Color Tile, Carpetland USA Color Tile,Floorco and Clean Touch Pro—is it allowsdealers to retain their independence. “Igreatly appreciated the fact we are 100% al-lowed to run our business as we see fit, yetwe still receive all the tools we need,” Oster-hus explained.

Flexibility is also a key aspect of member-ship. For example, an Alliance Flooringmember can choose to leverage everythingthe company offers or go it alone, noted TonyFry, owner of Texas-based CarpetsPlus ColorTile of Winnsboro, who became a member12 years ago after working at the group forseveral years. “That being said, it really is ano-brainer when it comes time to take ad-vantage of the offerings,” he said. “The advi-sory council and CarpetsPlus Color Tile areintimately involved with making every pro-gram fit the needs of the membership.”

One reason Smiddy’s CarpetsPlus, TerreHaute, Ind., joined CarpetsPlus in 2000 washis belief the group wanted to be partners inhis company’s success. “We could decide thescope of our participation,” said Dan Smiddy,vice president. “We could use it to cater toour special niche.”

Members value their freedom as well asopportunities to cherry pick products fromthe group. “The biggest reason we joined Car-petsPlus over the other groups was its flexi-bility,” said Josh Elder, co-owner, GainesvilleCarpetsPlus Color Tile, Gainesville, Fla.,which signed up in 2005. “Management un-

Alliance Flooring: Membership By K.J. Quinn

01 Dan Smiddy, vice president of Smiddy’s CarpetsPlus, Terre Haute, Ind., joinedCarpetsPlus in 2000 based on the flexibility afforded to members.

02 Tony Fry, owner of Texas-based CarpetsPlus Color Tile of Winnsboro, applaudsmanagement for ensuring all programs fit the needs of membership.

03 John, left, and Jim Brown, co-owners of CarpetsPlus Color Tile in Bloomington, Ill.,joined the group upon the recommendation of a Beaulieu representative.

derstands that sometimes I have to go outsidethe group, and it doesn’t penalize me for that.”

CarpetsPlus Color Tile, Bloomington,Ill., became a member in 2005, the same yearco-owner Jim Brown opened his store aftera recommendation from a Beaulieu repre-sentative. “He stated CarpetsPlus was by farthe best group to belong to and he was 100%correct.”

Bob Pireu, owner, Bob & Pete’s Floors,Canton, Ohio, cited the family atmosphere,strength of leadership, individuality andgrowth potential as main reasons he joinedCarpetsPlus 10 years ago. “And this all stillholds true today.”

Smiddy concurred. “It truly feels like afamily to us,” he said. “Ron (Dunn) and Jon(Logue) are brilliant, accomplished guys whoreally care about the success of each andevery dealer in the program.”

Indeed, the relationships the foundersformed over the years with various memberswas invaluable in their recruitment efforts.“Ron had a long history with my family busi-ness through many years, and I have great re-spect for him,” said Wendy Werner, owner,Carpet Town, Milwaukee, a charter member.“I had also met Jon Logue and knew of hisgreat reputation.”

Other charter members recalled how thefounders clearly communicated their visionfor CarpetsPlus and liked what they heard.“Ron came to our store, described his newgroup and listed key points on a napkin,” saidGerald Butler, owner, Fred’s CarpetsPlus,Torrance, Calif. “There were no glossybrochures or hard-sell tactics. What did im-press me was Ron’s honesty and frankness.”

01 02


has its privilegesOther members attest to the cama-

raderie. “The relationship has been remark-able,” said Vern Montgomery, president ofVenice, Fla.-based Montgomery’s Carpets-Plus, a member since 1998. “We have alwaysbeen a very active member, attending everyconvention and several summits—even host-ing one ourselves.”

Apart from the pack The differences between Alliance Flooringand other buying groups are many, memberssay. One major benefit is the opportunity tonetwork. “We all have access to hundreds ofstore owners and their knowledge,” Brownpointed out. “Everyone in the group is morethan willing to share experiences and helpother members.”

Members take advantage of open discus-sions to share best practices and ideas whileserving as a sounding board for one another.“With a text, email or a phone call, we haveaccess to many decades of experiences in theflooring industry,” Brown added.

Butler cited another example. “When weneeded advice on the growing assisted-livingindustry, a great dealer in Florida was veryhelpful in teaching us how to get our foot inthe door. CarpetsPlus helped us expand ourbusiness and introduced us to many greatfriends—something for which we will alwaysbe grateful.”

This legacy of support starts with Dunnand Logue and their sons, Ryan Dunn andKevin Logue, who stay in close contact withmembers and solicit feedback to help growtheir business. The leadership team—whichincludes the second generation—and Al-

liance Flooring employees are extremelyhelpful when called upon to provide opin-ions and perspectives surrounding any num-ber of business issues, members say. “Thepersonal relationship I feel with everyone,from leadership to member services, makesthis group unique,” Pireu said. “I feel like anyquestion or problem we have will be dealtwith in a quick and personal way.”

Growing business and providing addedvalue is a common goal for group membersand suppliers. “We’re a licensing group,” co-CEO Jon Logue pointed out. “If we don’t growyour business, it’s not good for you or for us.”

To that end, Alliance Flooring employeeswork hand-in-hand with suppliers and mem-bers to help members increase sales and prof-its at retail. “The Alliance Flooring programhas been most beneficial to us mainly be-cause we have taken advantage of nearlyeverything it offers,” Montgomery said.“Over the nearly 19 years we have belonged,CarpetsPlus and now Color Tile have grownwith us by adding programs and informationto benefit us, such as our cleaning division,computer systems, financing options for ourcustomers, negotiated pricing, informativeteaching seminars and online programs.”

For some dealers, membership in theCarpetsPlus group has paved the way for fu-ture growth. “Since we joined the group,we’ve doubled our sales,” Smiddy reports, not-ing annual sales increased to more than $2million last year. “We went from an 80% softsurface store with a little vinyl offering to 75%of sales coming by way of wood, LVT and ce-ramic tile. The average ticket price has dou-bled and the margins have increased, too.”

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Variety, operational flexibility givemembers invaluable support

By Reginald Tucker

A major business function for any retailgroup is providing support services,access to private-label products andnational buying power. In CarpetsPlus’case, the formation of the group cameduring a time when independentretailers were seeking ways to increasetheir buying power, enhance businessoperations and competitive positioningagainst big box and other retail groupstores. Heading into the launch, Dunnand Logue spoke with independentdealers to learn why they had not yetjoined a group, what they were hoping to

gain from membership and retailerneeds. The buying committee wascreated three years ago as a result ofmembers seeing the value in buyingtogether as a group.

Josh Elder, co-owner of GainesvilleCarpetsPlus Color Tile, a member of thecommittee and advisory board, can attest.“We go to Dalton with the CarpetsPlusteam to look at product offerings, helpdesign displays and then get to helppresent them to the group at convention,”he explained. “This is the biggest changeto our group and it has been well receivedby all our members.” Since the retailerjoined CarpetsPlus in 2005, Elder reportsthe business grew by 110%.

For Alison Dennis, vice president ofColorado-based CarpetsPlus ofSteamboat Springs, the benefitsachieved through scale are numerous.“Being part of a larger buying groupcertainly increases our buying power interms of negotiated price. However, it isfar more than that. CarpetsPlus selectsranges, designs displays, sets upadvertising and promotions, negotiatesconsumer financing options andprovides proven ways to run a successfulbusiness. These things combined havehelped in creating a profitable business.CarpetsPlus has helped us by providingsupport in all aspects of our business.”

As a co-owner, Dennis—who runsthe business alongside her husband,Lee—said it is comforting to knowthere is a team at CarpetsPlus that hasresearched the market and forwardtrends before selecting the bestproducts, pricing and systems.“CarpetsPlus does not dictate what weshould have in our store,” she said.“They just present the best of the bestfor the individual owners to adapt totheir market area.”

Alliance Flooring is continually tin-kering with its marketing and adver-tising solutions to ensure memberskeep up with the times. The group re-cently quadrupled its efforts in digitalmarketing and relaunched its websitein the last six months. The improve-ments didn’t end there. “We redid thewhole infrastructure of the web page,added resources and are calling itWeb 3.0,” said John Logue. Web Pro3.0 is the group’s newly updated on-line digital marketing program thatoffers search engine optimization, amonthly Google Analytics report,videos and other content, along withtools that can be customized formembers.

“Web programs were built to en-hance member exposure throughsearch engines and tell a compellingstory, so online searchers are drawn tothe showrooms,” he added. “Socialmedia is a perpetual work in progress.”

During the 2016 Summit, mem-bers got a sneak peek at Web Pro 3.0.Management reports genuine interestand enthusiasm for the initiative.“We’ve gotten nothing but positive re-views,” said David Ellis, advertisingand public relations manager for Car-petsPlus Color Tile. “They really lovethe update; they think it’s fantastic.”

The advantages of membership in the Alliance Flooring group aremany, CarpetsPlus Color Tile retailers say. From invaluable supportin the way of merchandising and inventory management, toguidance in the emerging fields and social media marketing andoutreach, dealers have a variety of proven tools and programs attheir disposal.

Following are some key aspects of membership.

Web 3.0

Buying power

01

02

fcnews

Continued on page 16

01 Alison Dennis, vice president of CarpetsPlus ofSteamboat Springs, believes private-label programsalong with knowledgeable salespeople and greatservice sets CarpetsPlus above the competition.

02 Private-label programs negotiated through vendorpartners prevent customers from shopping aroundsolely based on price. Shown is a tile display from Bob& Pete’s CarpetsPlus Color Tile store in Canton, Ohio.

03 For retailers like Eric Langan, president and owner,Carpetland USA (The Langan Group), Davenport,Iowa, offering credit helps move customers up tobigger-ticket times, thereby increasing gross profitmargins.

With all the various new initiatives and program updates availablethrough CarpetsPlus, it has become increasingly critical thatmembers share their knowledge and experiences at variousconferences and networking events held over the course of the year.

The sharing of best practices and establishing consistent,effective communications with members remains high on AllianceFlooring’s priority list. “All the members are very supportive of eachother and are willing to share ideas and give advice if necessary,”Dennis said. “The annual conference is a great time to shareexperiences and get to know other owners while seeing newproduct ranges and hearing updates about the flooring industry.”

Claire McCoy, owner of Rugs, Rolls & More, Plaistow, N.H.,agrees wholeheartedly. “Their conventions are educational and wellworth the time and cost to go. It is also nice to see the othermembers. From multi-million dollar operations to small, one-storelocations, everyone is willing to share ideas and best practices.”

The regional summits—which are typically hosted by a Carpets-Plus Color Tile member who opens up the business for the benefit ofthe group—are especially worthwhile, members say.

“The Summits are a unique and very enlightening way of seeingother dealers’ operations,” said Gerald Butler, owner of Fred’s CarpetPlus, Torrance, Calif. “I have never attended one where I didn’tcome home with a number of ideas to apply to my business.”

Education

03



One of the many ways CarpetsPlus ishelping members drive awareness,manage reviews and generate leadsis by encouraging interaction withconsumers on the social mediafront. It’s a relatively new realm formost dealers—particularly thosewho have been in business for a longtime—but it’s one they areincreasingly embracing.

“CarpetsPlus has providedinsight to all the social mediavenues, and it has helped us look atwhat might work for us,” saidAnnette Aumsbaugh, co-owner ofAumsbaugh Flooring, ColumbiaCity, Ind. “My husband and I are notvery savvy when it comes to socialmedia. So our social media ofchoice is Facebook. The informationCarpetsPlus provides to us for saleads, etc., through Web Pro washelpful to me because all I had to do was go in and choose what Iwanted to highlight in Facebook.CarpetsPlus has always beenavailable to answer any questions I have.”

Aumsbaugh admits it’s still awork in progress. Knowing theimportance of using social media,she and her husband hired acompany that specializes in allthings social. “When we first startedworking with them it was to workon our SEO status/ranking,” sheexplained. “Now they are posting ona regular basis on our Facebookpage, and they also take videos andpost those for us.”

Social mediaCreditIt’s no secret financing programs allowretailers to more easily trade upconsumers to bigger-ticket items—providing shoppers maintain goodstanding with respect to their credithistories. But in order to be reallysuccessful in leveraging the fullbenefits of offering credit, you mustmake it an intrinsic part of the way yousell. It’s an area where CarpetsPlusmembers truly excel.

“Having the ability to offer credit,and especially the special finance termsCarpetsPlus gives us, has really allowedus to stay competitive,” said Bob Pireu,president of Bob & Pete’s Floors,Canton, Ohio. “When you havecustomers who are potentiallyshopping other retailers, other buyinggroups and their programs on top of thebig boxes, this allows us to stay in lock-step with them. Offering credit lets ourcustomers know they can get theflooring they want on good terms,which really opens the door to otherparts of our business. Customers knowthey are getting a competitive price,plus they can be comfortable with thequality of our service and installation.”

Pireu makes it a point to informshoppers of the store’s credit terms longbefore they come through the door. Bob& Pete’s advertises financing options onits website, and RSAs are trained toproperly qualify customers when theopportunity arises. Professional-lookingad slicks, POP materials and brochuresfurther give consumers the opportunityto review their options.

“It’s not the first thing we want to hitcustomers with when they walk throughthe door, but we definitely bring it up

when we begin qualifying the customer,”Pireu explained. “If they’re shoppingaround for flooring at the big boxes andthey pick up a brochure that reads, ‘12months, no interest on flooring,’ I wantthem to know they can do that at ourstore as well. Thanks to Wells Fargo andour buying group we can promote creditthrough the website.”

Pireu is not alone. Dealers like EricLangan, president and owner,Carpetland USA (The Langan Group),Davenport, Iowa, also leverages crediteffectively. “Our organization hasalways been a huge proponent ofconsumer credit financing and thebenefits that come along with using it.Those benefits include: larger averagetickets, reduced accounts receivables(increased cash flow) anddifferentiation among competitors. Wehave worked closely with Ron Dunnand Jon Logue throughout the years indesigning and implementing the bestconsumer credit financing plans forourselves as well as other CarpetsPlusmembers. CarpetsPlus does anexcellent job of negotiating rates,introducing specials and creating newplans within the program.”

MarketingHaving a broad selection, moderndisplays, robust credit programs andselling tools won’t go far without therequisite marketing and advertisingmechanisms in place. This is especiallycritical in this modern retail shoppingera where so many consumers—particularly those in the market forbig-ticket items and durable goodspurchases—conduct the bulk of their

research online, via social media andprofessional services such as Angie’s List,HomeAdvisor, etc. It’s this area inparticular that retailers often rely onCarpetsPlus’ expertise.

It’s an overarching marketing strategythat entails digital, social media, printand television. “This gives our dealers thetools they need to drive store traffic andcreate brand awareness in their local

markets,” said Jon Logueco-CEO. “We have elevatedour retail sales training program tocoincide with upgraded in-storemerchandising, branding and productwarranties to make the flooring selectionprocess as simple as possible for today’sconsumer.”

A case in point is the ongoinginvestment Alliance Flooring has made to

04


04 CarpetPlus Color Tilemembers point to the manyadvantages of belonging to agroup that provides so muchin the way of support, benefitsand proven programs.

05 The Carpet Connection inLockport, N.Y., enjoys the factit has flexibility in howproducts are merchandisedon the showroom floor.

MerchandisingOver the years, Alliance Flooring de-veloped and executed its retail mer-chandising systems, showroom designsand product displays. The group in-vests time and resources to refine mar-keting strategies centering on buildingbrand awareness, educating flooring

consumers andpromoting keyproducts to drivesales and achieveretail pull-through, accord-ing to KevinLogue, co-COOand vice presi-dent of market-ing. “The bestpart of this job isbeing able to help

our members become better business-people and more successful retailers.”

For dealers like Ben Case, storemanager of The Carpet Collection, Lock-port, N.Y., proper merchandising is thekey to drawing consumer interest in dif-ferentiated products. This is particularlytrue when it comes to displaying andpromoting brands that can’t be shoppedaround. For him, it’s one of the manybenefits of being a CarpetsPlus member.“One of the biggest benefits we get frommerchandising as a member of Carpets-Plus is we’re afforded some protectionsin terms of private labels.”

Another plus is members haveinput on the merchandising systemsthat management negotiates in con-junction with suppliers. Case likes thefact it’s not a force-fed “top-down” ap-proach. “We’ve started to change theway our cabinets look by going to more

of a darker wood finish, which hasmore of a dynamic appearance.” Somemanufacturers completely miss themark in terms of the way their productsare merchandised, but CarpetsPlus hasdone a tremendous job in getting racksand allowing us to provide input onhow we want to display samples.”

That customized approach to mer-chandising is also a big draw for dealerslike McCoy. “Being part of the Carpets-Plus group keeps us competitive withpricing and allows us to get upscale,fashionable displays at great prices.”“The displays are so much nicer thanthe standard mill [racks].”

By being allowed to operate freely interms of products members choose toemphasize enables CarpetsPlus dealersto position themselves as experts in cer-tain categories or brands. Case in point isIdaho Falls-based Red Mountain Carpet& Tile. The retailer was initially exposedto the Karndean DesignFlooring brandby virtue of the supplier’s affiliation withCarpetsPlus. But Red Mountain furtherdeveloped its relationship with the sup-plier over time—a partnership thatwould pay dividends down the road.

“We were looking for a product linethat would set us apart,” recalled JodyRobinson, owner. “Karndean offered usthat opportunity.”

Eventually, Red Mountain would be-come a Karndean platinum dealer,which offers benefits in terms of exclu-sive product offerings. In addition,Robinson’s two sons were invited to in-stall the flooring at Karndean’s Surfacesbooth the past few years. “That wouldnot have happened if we had not beenwith CarpetsPlus,” Robinson recalled.

build the Color Tile hard surface brand,which was acquired in 2002. Thepurchase was made during a time whenbroadloom represented approximately80% of a retailer’s product mix. “Theproduct mix has gone so much towardhard surfaces,” Logue said. “Thisprovided us with a well-known brandname umbrella for private-labelmerchandising and marketing.”

05


Wendy Wernerpresident, Carpet Town, Milwaukee“The best description of theCarpetsPlus/Alliance Floor-ing group is ‘family.’ Theyhave been able to create an

atmosphere throughout 20 years of warmthand caring. There are great business friend-ships—which often turn into personalfriendships—that develop into the bestsources for networking. There exists a greatfeeling of belonging and supporting eachother. I can always pick up the phone, emailor Facebook another member to ask theirinput or to gain information. This network-ing aspect has been a huge benefit for mybusiness all these years.

“Also, [management] allows each retailerto be who they need to be in their market.They accept our uniqueness and support usby offering an excellent program of productsand services.”

Scott Melkonianvice president, Karen’sAdvance Floors, Clarkston, Mich.

“CarpetsPlus has made atremendous impact on ourbusiness. Their leadership,

along with the involvement of the buying com-mittee, has gone to great lengths to be sure all

members have a complete offering of private-label products to give us a real advantage in theretail environment. In partnership with thetop vendors in the industry, members share ag-gressive pricing in all product categories tohelp us maintain the right margins to be prof-itable, no matter the size of our business.

“Equally as impactful is the networkingpower of the group. I have attended over 20 events and I continue to gain valuable in-formation at every one. Every member ismore than willing to share best practices,mistakes made, successful marketing cam-paigns, etc., that you can take back to yourown business. The unique ability to discussyour business with someone who com-pletely understands what you do is an in-valuable asset of the group.”

Bob Pireuowner, Bob & Pete’sFloors, Canton, Ohio

“We have been a Carpets-Plus member for 10 years.We looked at several buyinggroups before joining but

our decision was very easy and clear. Thefamily atmosphere, strength of leadership,individuality and growth potential were themain reasons we joined, and this all stillholds true today. The CarpetsPlus programhas definitely revolutionized our businessand allowed us to stay profitable andgrow. From the merchandising displays tothe annual advertising calendar, we have uti-lized so many of the programs the group of-fers. The ability to pick and choose whatworks for us is the luxury we have in ourgroup to keep us profitable and maximize ourfloor space and needs. Not all groups give youthis luxury. I feel very secure in knowing thatCarpetsPlus will lead us into the future andmaintain our competitive advantage.

“The educational aspect of the group isthe most important benefit. Of course thepricing, private labeling and merchandisingsystems are great, but the ability to commu-nicate and meet together through the con-ventions and summits are priceless. To sharebest practices at these events and get ques-tions that affect your business daily answeredin minutes through the member and man-ager website and Facebook page is priceless.In a competitive industry, knowing you have

Membership makes a world of difference

Dealers belonging to reputable buyinggroups will tell you the most effectiveprograms are designed specificallywith the needs of members in mind.Alliance Flooring is one such group.CarpetsPlus/Color Tile dealers citeplusses such as management’s focuson building relationships thatencourage networking, sharing bestpractices while providing qualityproducts from proven vendors, toname a few.

Several Alliance Flooring dealersshared how they have grown andsucceeded by virtue of theirmembership.

By Lindsay Baillie

all aspects of the group behind and support-ing you is unbelievable.”

Bob Cowart co-owner, CarpetsPlusColor Tile of NY, Congers, N.Y.

“I’ve been a member for 15-16 years [out of the 20 yearsCarpetsPlus has been in ex-

istence]. When we first decided to become amember there were two thoughts as to why[we should join]. No. 1 was rebates frommanufacturers and No. 2 was private label-ing. Another reason is this particular buyinggroup did not tell us what to do. As a memberyou have the opportunity to do things butyou are not told what to do. Since then, thosereasons are still good but they are no longerthe main reason.

“During the recession of 2007/08 toabout 2013 the flooring industry took a majorhit and I possibly could have been one of thosecasualties if we weren’t members of Carpets-Plus. When business got really tight we cutback on things like doing our own investiga-tions and going to Surfaces. We would only goto the CarpetsPlus convention and they did allthe research for us. We were able to concen-trate on bringing more business through thedoor than concentrate on the product aspectof it. The marketing of CarpetsPlus Color Tilehas kept us in the loop with the website, thecommunity. With all these things we nowhave the whole package.”

Wendy MacCheynepresident, MacCheyne’sCarpetsPlus, Fairbanks, Ark.

“We joined CarpetsPlus in1997 as we were just start-ing a retail flooring store.

John MacCheyne had installed floors for about15 years by that time and decided to go intothe retail business. We knew we would needan alliance with a buying group so [we] at-tended Surfaces for the first time that year. Wemet with a few groups, but really liked whatwe saw and heard when we met with Ron(Dunn) and Jon (Logue). We signed up as oneof the first members and have never lookedback. We became MacCheyne’s CarpetsPlusright away, taking on the CarpetsPlus name.

“The timing was perfect for us as weneeded everything from product availabilityand pricing, display options, advertising pro-motional ideas and eventually consumer fi-nancing and website hosting. Networkingwith other members proved to be a huge assetto us as we worked at building a business


from the ground up. Products and servicesprovided by CarpetsPlus have increased andimproved over the years in perfect timingwith the growth of our business. With thehelp of CarpetsPlus we were a successfulstart-up business, going head to head with awell-established Carpet One store in our area.

“CarpetsPlus was there with us all alongthe way from a brand new mom-and-popstore to the established business we are todaymeeting the flooring needs with a beautifulfull-service retail showroom and a capablecommercial department.”

Dan Smiddyvice president,Smiddy’s CarpetsPlus,Terre Haute, Ind.

“We joined CarpetsPlus in2000. We were looking fora competitive edge in our

marketplace that was manageable for oursmall business. We needed to find a buyinggroup we could afford to join and not beforced to invest heavily in new marketingevery year. CarpetsPlus offered that opportu-nity. We felt they wanted to be partners inour success without mandating selling sys-

tems. We could decide the scope of our par-ticipation. We could use it to cater to our spe-cial niche and we did—starting small at firstand growing with the group. In recent yearswe have bought into all the new selling sys-tems because they are so well thought outand artfully designed.

“We love being a part of CarpetsPlus.Ron and Jon really care about the success ofeach and every dealer in their program. I amparticularly fond of the second generation ofleadership at CarpetsPlus. They drive us tobe fashion forward, innovative and their en-ergy is infectious. CarpetsPlus feels like fam-ily; the members interact and share with oneanother. I can’t count the ways I’ve improvedmy business practices and techniques basedsolely on what I’ve learned from the adviceof other members. I think that sets Carpets-Plus apart from other buying groups.”

Rick Shervey, president, Color Tile ofPortland, Portland, Ore.“The CarpetsPlus ColorTile affiliation supports anationwide representationto a consumer. It solidifies

the fact this is a store with industry knowl-edge and the latest trends in design. As agroup we hold annual conventions both Eastand West coasts to discuss market changesand new vendor products. The group reallyemphasizes the commitment to attend butdoes not force anyone. At the meeting we seenew styles in carpet, tile and LVT which arethe biggest emphasis in most markets rightnow. The CarpetsPlus group is able to nego-tiate national account prices from vendors ona multi-store chain commitment. With thebacking of great priced products come attrac-tive and modern displays of the vendors’products. Most come with customization forthe CarpetsPlus line and private labels to pro-tect dealer margins. Also setting the productsapart so the consumer does not drive fromflooring store to flooring store and look at thesame old vendor racks.

“A lot of people would come in if this was‘Ricks Flooring store,’ but with that said, a lotmore come in to CarpetsPlus Color Tile be-cause of a market precedent past of a flooringretailer—it’s not just Rick and staff whoknow their store’s products. The CarpetsPlusgroup really steps up a small mom-n-pop in



the game to what I’d call a player in theirmarket. The corporate image really givesconsumer confidence—all the way fromproduct selection and the quality of the floor-ing to the professional installation.”

Eric Langanowner, Carpetland USA(The Langan Group),Davenport, Iowa

“CarpetsPlus has been agood partner of ours formany years. CarpetsPlus al-

lows us, as business owners, the freedom tomake the decisions we feel are right for ourbusinesses. They understand we all haveunique situations within our marketplacesand therefore do not implement cookie-cut-ter or a one-size-fits-all approach to our business. CarpetsPlus does a good job of part-nering with select suppliers and creating pro-grams and merchandising vehicles that assistthe members. CarpetsPlus believes in thepower of relationships and networking. Theyencourage members to get together to dis-

cuss challenges and opportunities while alsosharing best practices with one another. Car-petsPlus also looks at and recognizes changesin the industry before they happen andworks on and presents ideas and solutions tothose changes for the membership to con-sider. All of these resources have helped ben-efit our business.”

Mike Montgomery, owner, Montgomery’sCarpetsPlus, Venice, Fla.

“The relationship has beenremarkable. We have alwaysbeen very active members,attending every convention

and several summits, as well as hosting oneourselves. The biggest difference between Car-petsPlus and other buying groups are many.Mainly the closeness of the members them-selves and the fact other groups dictate theirprograms and displays where CarpetsPlus istotally a la carte—you choose the ones youjudge best for your business.

“To us the most important qualities of be-longing are knowing you have access to anyproduct or information needed through othermembers or Alliance staff. The camaraderie

of members and staff is unquestionably thehighest in our industry. Over the nearly 19years we have belonged, CarpetsPlus and nowColor Tile have grown with us by adding pro-grams and information to benefit us—such asour cleaning division, computer systems, fi-nancing options for our customers, negoti-ated pricing, informative teaching seminarsand online programs. The list goes on and on.The Alliance Flooring program has been mostbeneficial to us mainly because we have takenadvantage of nearly every one it offers. Weknow the Alliance team has done its home-work so we don’t have to.”

Duke Karns, owner, Carpetland USA,Lafayette, Ind.

“The relationships are fardifferent than they used tobe—for the better. [Ini-tially] in the flooring busi-

ness you didn’t talk to anyone. But that’sdifferent with CarpetsPlus. Collectively as agroup we’re able to cover everything—issues,strategies, etc. The strength of the buyinggroup is also better than you could get onyour own.”

membershipContinued from page 19

The fact that CarpetsPlus co-CEO RonDunn has been in just about everymember’s store may not be so unique.

But how he arrives is. Dunn has to be theonly head of a retail group who pulls up inhis own RV, visiting anywhere from 5% to10% of membership on a given trip. He andhis wife, Sandy, pack their bags three times ayear, fire up the engines and go. He says it isone of the most important things he can do.

“The idea came when I was at conven-tion six years ago,” Dunn recalled. “At onetime I knew every member. I could picturethem, know what city they were from, etc.Then I looked out and realized as the grouphad grown, there was about a third of themembers I didn’t really know. So I suggestedto my wife we get an RV and visit retailers.The goal was to visit every single member.”

In the last six years, Dunn told FCNewshe has visited all but 54, and he is hoping torectify that as soon as this year. “Dependingon the trip, we will see between 18 and 35members. And we will do these trips on av-erage three times a year.”

Initially, the mission was to go out andhear their stories, see what they were doing.“Everyone is really good at something,” hesaid. “My goal was to figure out what each

was really good at and tell their story so allmembers could benefit.” From that evolvedProven Ways, a booklet of success stories thatwas put together for members. Every mem-ber has four or five pages written about them.

A secondary goal that spawned out ofthe program was members would ask forfeedback. “We provide fresh eyes for theirstores,” Dunn said. “The first thing we dowhen we walk into the store is answer thequestion, ‘Would we buy here based on firstimpressions?’”

Dunn recalled the first trip he and Sandyever made, which was to South and NorthCarolina. “We rolled into Greenville, S.C., ona Sunday night and passed the store. Therewere 20 people there cleaning up—win-dows, floors, etc.”

One of the things Dunn does on thesevisits is film the members. “We ask specificquestions. ‘Your floor looks spotless. Does italways look like that?’ By announcing we arecoming people do things for their stores theyshould always be doing.”

Dealers Dunn has visited attest to thevalue of the Drive Across America initiative.“Ron and Sandy visited us at our largest vol-ume store (Davenport, Iowa); we were ableto show them the recent investments in thestore and our vision going forward,” saidDoug Bertrand, executive vice president,

Carpetland USA (The Langan Group). “Thebiggest things I took away from the meetingwere the questions he asked during our in-terview. It was gratifying to know how muchhe knew about my position in the companyand our nine stores. I have been reflecting onhis questions and comments daily, whichpushes me to look for ways to improve andmotivate our team.”

Ron and Sandy also paid a visit to Tor-rance, Calif.-based Fred’s CarpetsPlus South,which was in the midst of a wholesale re-design and revitalization. Jerry Butler, co-owner, looked back on the visit. “My wife,Mary, and I took Ron to our second store’snew location. There were a number of issueswe had to work through and resolve duringthe process. We are really proud of the designof the new store, and Ron seemed to beequally impressed as well.”

Aside from visiting the various stores toidentify best practices, there is a social aspectto these trips. “We take them to dinner, ball-games, go to their house, etc.,” Dunn said.“We also do a feature story on each memberfor our online weekly newsletter.”

The result: Enhanced closeness of thegroup. “Members who we lost touch withhave come back to convention. We havedrawn the fringe people back in. They can’twait to see themselves on screen.”

Dunn takes the show on the roadBy Steven Feldman

Ron Dunn made a pit-stop at Fred’s CarpetsPlus, Torrance, Calif., during oneof his Drive Across America campaigns.

Drive Across America

February 27/March 6, 2017 I 21


CarpetsPlus: Suppliersare family, too

By Ken Ryan

Randy Merrittpresident, Shaw Floors

“CarpetsPlus leadership listens care-fully to retail members and worksclosely with suppliers to bring value tothe group’s programs. We have builtstrong relationships through the yearswith Jon [Logue], Kevin [Logue], Ron [Dunn], Ryan [Dunn] and theirteam, and we appreciate the fact we are able to work together todeliver meaningful and innovative product solutions to the marketon behalf of their membership.

“Jon and Ron both worked in the carpet manufacturing industryprior to starting CarpetsPlus. Because of that background, they havealways had a comprehensive understanding of the challenges manufac-turers face. Clearly their programs are designed to help CarpetsPlusmembers grow and be profitable, but they also have the unique under-standing that it has to work for everyone.”

The supplier-retailer dynamic is rarely smooth and seamless. As flooringdealers and vendors can attest, achieving and maintaining a successfulrelationship can be much more challenging in practice. And yet, when theflooring industry’s leading suppliers talk about their two decades-long re-lationship with CarpetsPlus management and retail members, they regu-larly use descriptions such as “trusting,” “caring” and “like family.”

To hear vendor partners tell it, the special relationship with Carpets-Plus comes down to people wanting to do business with people they like.

Jay KopelsonVP, corporate accountsMannington

“CarpetsPlus members are quality inde-pendent retailers backed by a caring man-agement group that always puts retailersfirst. They are always coming to us to putspecial programs together for them. Management is very sup-portive of their dealers and vendors—they see both sides,which is key. They were once on the vendor side, so theyknow. As a result, CarpetsPlus wants to create a win-winfor the vendor and the retailer.”

Jay John Callahannational accounts manager, Karndean

“We have been working with CarpetsPlus for six years and have developed a working relationship thathas a family feel. Karndean relies on close relationships like these for our continued success and seekspartners that are as passionate about the industry as we are. In working with CarpetsPlus, it is evidentthat each level of the organization has a voice, from top to bottom, and employees at all levels are in-vested in the organization’s success.”

Jeremy Saxgeneral manager, dealersales, Daltile

“With CarpetsPlus youdon’t feel like a sup-

pler—you feel like a mem-ber of their family. They’re

a class act. In addition, theyare very aggressive with pro-

motions and selling tools. “CarpetsPlus retailers are

open to learning more about the tile industry. They arehumble people, not know-it-alls.”

Tom Lapepresident, MohawkResidential

“CarpetsPlus brings togethera unique membership withstrong retailers throughoutthe country. Our relation-ship with the group has always been successful,and we remain committed to those who supportus. CarpetsPlus has a select group of alignedvendors they have worked with for many years,and they continue to support and grow withthem. The loyalty to their vendors is one ofthe reasons they remain so successful as agroup.”


Strong relations exist between suppliersand CarpetsPlus management as RyanDunn, left, and Kevin Logue discuss theDestination Store concept with suppliersand retailers.

Scott ErvinVP, business development manager, Wells Fargo Retail Services

“CarpetsPlus and Wells Fargo Retail Serviceshave shared a great business relationship formore than a decade, and for seven of thoseyears I’ve had the great fortune of managing the relationship. Fromthe beginning, CarpetsPlus welcomed me into their business familyand I’ve enjoyed the personal relationships that have developedthrough the process of working with their teams. It feels like I’mpart of the family. They have created a culture where membersshare best practices and have a genuine interest in helping eachother succeed.”

Ann McDermottVP, national accounts, Shaw Floors

“Doing business is about building trusting relationships with people, and it’s easy to do with Car-petsPlus. They make you feel part of their family from day one and really care about you asan individual, not only as a business partner. This is a very unique group of people that makesworking with them seem fun instead of work.”


The flooring retail industry is rife with multi-generational familybusinesses, each with their own unique dynamics and challengingsituations. But those who have achieved consistent success overthe years share this belief: Passing along the business to the nextgeneration not only entails the exchange of power, but also thetransfer of knowledge.

The multi-generational family businesses of CarpetsPlusmembers are built on the lessons younger generations havelearned from their mothers and fathers as well as trust from theolder generations to allow their children to carve out their ownpaths by implementing new business strategies.

Following are some of their stories.

Wisdom of the generationsFOR MANY FAMILY-RUN CARPETSPLUS STORES, LEARNING IS A TWO-WAY STREET

By Lindsay Baillie

How has your daughter helped the business?MARK: She’s in charge of all the ordering andpurchasing, and from the amount of detail andfollow-up she does, there has just been tremendousgrowth in that area. From a bottom-line number shehas had a big impact in making sure all the vendorsare properly paid and consolidating crate—all thoselittle details. She is taking it to a new level for us.Kelli is fourth generation in our store. She is our go-to for everything, because she has such a handle onall our products. She’s also starting to overlap intointerior design. She’s a huge liaison between ourbuilder accounts and me. She’s become my right-hand person.

What have you learned from your father?KELLI: I look up to my dad in so many ways. Not onlydo I think he is the world’s most amazing dad, I alsothink he is the world’s greatest businessman.

He is incredibly levelheaded when it comes tomaking business decisions. He never does anythingin haste nor does he let his emotions get the best ofhim. He is a very genuine and reliable businessman.Floor Craft has its reputation because of the honestway my dad conducts business. He will always standby his customers and make sure they are happy withthe work we have done. For us at Floor Craft it isalways about doing the right thing.

Growing up, I remember Dad saying he wouldmetaphorically hang his tool belt on the tree outsideof the house before walking through the front door.He never brought any stress or frustrations from theday home. I never understood how difficult thatmust have been for him until I started working forhim. I now see how busy and stressful each day is forhim and how well he has always hidden that over theyears to be present for our family. To this day wehave a rule that there is no Floor Craft talk outside ofFloor Craft so we can maintain our relationship asfather and daughter.

Kelli Kadlec and Mark StrauchFloor Craft, Colorado Springs, Colo.

How has your son helped grow the business?GARY: After college Ben came to uswith a lot of enthusiasm and focus onimprovement. By inspiring others todo the same, he raises overallperformance.

Together we took a couple of greatcourses at University of Buffalo on thedynamics of a family business andsuccession planning. This led tocurrent, on-time evaluation of ourfinancial performance.

Personally I have had disablingback issues, which keep me out of thestore most of the time. Fortunately Benwas eager to learn, asking questionsconstantly while he was forming hisown opinions. Now his hand is on therudder, watching out for just aboutanything that might rock our ship. In afew years, if Ben decides to take over, Iwill be able to retire with less of mymind still on the business.

Working with your son invariablypresents unique communicationchallenges unlike a typical employee.But the commonality of purposecreates a special bond outside offamily that when nourished can beextremely rewarding.

What have you learned from your parents?BEN: I have learned everything I know

about the industry from my parents.Years ago I remember sitting in myfather’s office and watching himhandle problems that came across hisdesk. I would ask questions and stayengaged, but he was making thedecisions and guiding the solutions. Ithought I was taking a quick break, butI bet he knew what he was doing. Hewas training me by keeping meinvolved with these scenarios,experiencing them. Practice makesperfect and I was exposed to some ofthe most challenging situations beforeI knew I was even being trained. Mywork ethic is also something I learneddirectly from my mother and father.As business owners we all know thereis always work to be done. Seeing himwork long hours molded me into theworker I am today. In our positionseight hours are rarely enough, but I’mnot counting hours. I’m just getting itdone because that’s how I learned howto work.

Ben Case and Gary Case The Carpet Collection, Lockport, N.Y.


How has your son enhanced thebusiness?STEVE: He brings a generationalperspective to the business. He doesn’thave the fears of past issues that havestopped me from being aggressivewith taking on certain types of work.He adds another dimension to thestore by having a whole other visionthat is similar to mine but different.He has expanded the store intokitchen and bathroom remodeling andcabinetry. He’ll take risks that havepaid off many times.

What have you learned from your father?JOSH: The biggest things I havelearned from my dad are how tomanage money and then how to takecare of your customers. He also madesure I knew the business from theground up. Growing up in the industryI started working with him when I was15 in the warehouse part time after

school and in the summers. When Iwas 17, I would go out with theinstallers and work in the field. Whilein college I was a salesman and stillinstalled on the weekends. He reallywanted me to be well rounded andknow the business and industry fromevery angle. After college he reallyfocused on the money side of thebusiness and taught me theimportance of creating a nest egg sowe would never have to worry abouthow we are going to pay our bills orstaff. But the most important thing hetaught me was to treat our customerslike family and not a number.

Josh Elder and Steve ElderGainesville CarpetsPlus Color Tile, Gainesville, Fla.

How has your son contributed tothe business?WENDY: First of all, he has alleviated partof the daily stress of running a business.He has brought so very much to CarpetTown and has taught me many things.

We share the same vision, yet wehave unique ways in which we operatethe company. His knowledge base isexcellent and he has an amazingmemory of products. He hasdeveloped into an excellent buyer ofboth carpet and hard surface. I havebeen able to split areas ofresponsibility in the company due toour different interests, which leads toa very good balance. Jonathan has amuch more casual approach to manyaspects of the business, and that reallyhas taught me a great deal. He relateswell with all employees, but he reallyconnects with our younger employees.His age is an asset to meeting theneeds of clients of his generation.

What have you learned yourmother?JONATHAN: Although we have

different styles, we tend to both strivetoward the same goal, since we havethe same vision of an outcome. It alsohelps to learn a different way ofthinking in achieving our goals. Thehuman resource aspect of thebusiness was much more challengingthan I had thought, including hiring,firing and dealing with employeeissues. I have also learned how tomaintain and grow relationships withour sales reps, vendors andmanufacturers. She has provided theleadership that has helped me to growand transform from a salesperson intoa managerial role and also to see thebig picture of what running a businessis all about.

Jonathan Werner and Wendy WernerCarpet Town, West Allis, Wis.

How have your children enhanced the business?VERN: My oldest son, Mark, manages the cleaningdivision and does 90% of the measurements for thesales staff plus helps get installations organized in thewarehouse each morning. Mike has the real headachejob of scheduling installations and supervising theinstallation crews, plus he handles several of ourlargest commercial customers and writes morebusiness than anyone. My daughter, Michelle, orMissy as we call her, is responsible for the showroomand the sales staff. She deals with all the reps from oursuppliers, getting new displays and area rugs and stillwaits on customers and does computer duties allwhile being a single mother with three teenagers andall that entails. Each consistently steps up on a dailybasis to help each other when called on to do so.

What have you learned from your father?MIKE: Probably the most important thing I havelearned from my father is, “It’s nice to be important,but its’ more important to be nice.” It’s simple to saybut sometimes hard to do. He has always been theleader of our family and this business. He always hasthe best interests of the customer in mind—not hisor our personal gain. I believe that is why we havebeen so blessed with great business and a greatfamily. He is a visionary and has taught me to try tolook ahead and not in the rear view mirror; [that it’s]good to be focused and push to achieve the next goal;learn from mistakes and try to not repeat them.MICHELLE: Everything. I knew nothing about floorcovering when I started. On the first day I showedup and he said, “Here is the showroom; it’s yours.”He kind of threw me to the wolves but it was a greatlearning experience. For all three of us [children].We’ve seen him working all these years. He hastaught us the customer is always right; honesty andintegrity; and putting your name on a business andstanding behind it. Everything from A to Z. MARK: He taught us everything from hard work towhat it takes to run a store. Everything frominstallation to working with installers, inventory, thewarehouse, how the customer is always right.Basically he taught us everything there is to know.

Mark, Michelle, Beverly, Vern and Mike Montgomery

Montgomery’s CarpetPlus, Venice, Fla.



Successful female owners and operatorsof floor covering stores will tell you thechallenges they face in running a busi-

ness are pretty much the same as those oftheir male counterparts—from a day-to-daymanagement perspective, anyway. The maindifference lies in how many women businessowners contend with those challenges. Sev-eral prosperous female CarpetsPlus store op-erators shared the best practices that haveserved them well over the years.

Be knowledgeable and confident…Successful dealers believe it’s im-

portant to learn the variety of products avail-able across the industry and understand howthey are installed. This will go a long way inestablishing your reputation as an expertwhile building confidence in the process.

“It is all about the way you present your-self; you give respect even if you are not get-ting respect,” said Mary Young, owner ofHow Young Flooring in Milton, Fla. “I haveproven countless times I do know what I amdoing and the balance of respect fixes itself.”

Missy Bakken, owner of Minnesota-

based CarpetsPlus of Rochester, agreed,adding that having confidence will improvethe ability to take care of customers becauseit will be easier to know exactly what theyneed. Her advice? “Work hard, learn theproducts and ultimately gain people’s trust.In the end they will come back to you repeat-edly because of what you know and how wellyou previously took care of them.”

…But know your limitations As much as customers appreciate

having knowledgeable personnel, it is muchmore effective to admit when you are unsureas opposed to coming up with an answer onthe spot. Experts say it will only strengthenthe customer’s ability to trust you becauseyou can admit when you need help. This alsoexemplifies that giving the customer themost accurate information possible is at thetop of the priority list.

“It is important to be able to step awayand say, ‘I need to come back to you’ if youare not completely sure of an answer at thetime,” said Alison Dennis, vice president andco-owner of CarpetsPlus, Steamboat Springs,Colo. “Do not be intimidated or pressuredinto giving answers immediately becausethere are times it will backfire.”

Trust your mentorsOne of the best ways to learn,

store owners say, is by taking advice fromsomeone who has already been successful atwhat you are trying to accomplish. WendyWerner, owner of Carpet Town, West Allis,Wis., is a good example. She explained thather mentors, although many were not female,gave the best advice on how to conduct her-self as a woman in a traditionally male-dom-inated business. “I was very lucky to have

excellent male mentors who were very pa-tient and supportive,” she said. “They showedme the ins and the outs of the industry andthe most effective ways to carry myself.”

Defy the naysayers Many women in the flooring in-

dustry have encountered people who be-lieved they could not succeed. The trick tocombatting this misperception, experts say,is turning a negative into a positive and usingcriticism and motivation. “Having men sayto me in the beginning that I would not besuccessful as a woman made me that muchmore determined,” Dennis said. “I was morethan ready to prove them wrong.”

In many cases, female owners say, itcomes down to picking your battles. For ex-ample, learning how to ignore or deflect neg-ative comments. Responding to thesesituations by engaging the naysayers cansometimes backfire or, worse, reflect poorlyon one’s professionalism. As Werner ex-plains: “When comments are being made orI was being bypassed by others, I would sim-ply ignore it because there was nothing thataddressing the problem would do for me inthe situation. Their opinion of me would notchange overnight so why would I want towaste my efforts?”

Try a little tenderness While some business owners

choose to take the confrontational route ofoperating the business, others advise a softerapproach. Bakken, who falls in the latter cat-egory, believes female owners should leveragethe perception they are more trustworthy.“People feel comfortable with women and weneed to capitalize on that advantage,” she said.“They feel like they can trust us much easier

Doing ittheir way

By Nicole Murray

SUCCESSFUL FEMALE OWNERSMARCH TO THEIR OWN BEAT

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because we are able to make the customerfeel more comfortable.”

Others, including Dennis, agree. Takingon the softer women’s approach as a boss, shenotes, opens a line of communication thatmight not exist otherwise. This strategy alsohelps her to attack issues with the mentalityof fixing as opposed to reprimanding. “I makesure I listen to people and get my staff in-volved with decision making. As a boss, I avoid

the idea of demanding things of my peopleand simply try to recognize their capabilitiesso everyone can play on their strengths andset realistic goals.”

However, others like Claire McCoy,owner of Rugs, Rolls, ‘n’ More, Plaistow,N.H., believe there is a time and a place toput your foot down. “Very seldom do I getangry or yell but I do balance this factor withensuring I am not being walked all over.However, it is also important to know whenit is time to be abrasive because then peoplewill pay attention when major errors do hap-pen. Your expectations become well knownwithout you having to verbally demand it ona regular basis.”

Develop good relationships When engaging consumers, espe-

cially for the first time, it’s always a good prac-tice to conduct yourself in professionalmanner, successful owners say. “It has reallyhelped to establish a lot of solid relationships,”Young stated. “Flooring is not something peo-ple will need daily, so it is important for themto see our name and have good memories ofinteracting with us. This way, when the time

comes [when they need flooring services],they will think of us.”

Keep learning Even those dealers who have a

long track record of success believe it’s impor-tant to keep learning in order to continuegrowing. Robin Osterhus, co-owner of Floor-ing Frenzy & More, Owatanna, Minn., is aproponent of this philosophy. Osterhus, who

01 Claire McCoy, owner of Rugs, Rolls, ‘n’More, Plaistow, N.H., believes there isa time and a place to be tough.

02 Wendy Werner, owner of CarpetTown, West Allis, Wis., said some ofher mentors early on in her careerwere actually male.

03 Robin Osterhus, co-owner ofFlooring Frenzy & More, Owatanna,Minn., always looks for opportunitiesto learn and grow.

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also oversees the business side of the com-pany while her husband handles the in-stalling, surrounds yourself with staff that isdetermined to continue educating them-selves. She said this provides a strong supportsystem and great learning environment foreveryone involved. “I do my best to stay edu-cated but I am not perfect,” she explained.“No one can know everything all of the time.”

Bakken, who last year was awarded theOutstanding Performance Award for hercontinual growth, also stresses the impor-tance of continuous education. “We are con-tinuously learning and have not quit inadvancing our growth because the secondyou become content with your business iswhen it starts to fade. You have to keep push-ing and see what you can make of it.”

The same principle applies to McCoy,who regularly attends meetings, seminarsand conferences in search of new ways tohelp her business grow. “You must always lis-ten, watch and learn. I have been doing thisfor years, but I am always learning new in-formation.”

Love what you doRunning a business within theflooring industry is a job that will

demand a massive amount of time and energyso it is important to really love what you are

doing. Dealers say a positive attitude makes allthe difference. “I love working with people andhelping them decorate,” McCoy said. “But mypassion for my job is what constantly keeps mehumble and focused on being better.”

doing it their wayContinued from page 27

How has your son enhanced the business?BILL: I had Dan start when he was ex-tremely young and learn every facet of theflooring business. By the time he got to thesales floor he understood the business fromthe ground up and never ran into situationshe couldn’t answer. He has given me theability to step away from time to time withcomplete trust the business is going to betreated in the exact same manner and judi-cious effort as I put forth.

What have you learned from your father?DAN: I started when I was 10 years oldsweeping floors in the warehouse. Every day

was a new lesson. He taught me that honestyand hard work are the foundation of a smallbusiness and we’re not really in the flooringbusiness, but the people business. He madesure I learned both sides of the business. I in-stalled all through high school and workedmy way through college installing carpet, be-cause I was not allowed to be on the salesfloor until I had a degree, he insisted.

Bill Smiddy and Dan Smiddy Smiddy’s CarpetsPlus, Terre Haute, Ind.


8

SP Floors inCanonsburg, Pa., wasthe site of CarpetsPlus’2016 summit. There,members got their firstlook at the group’s newDestination concept.

There are your typical annual buying group gatherings wheredealer members can network, preview new products and par-ticipate in educational seminars. And then there are “summits.”

These special CarpetsPlus events—which actually take place at a par-ticular retailer’s location—bring together members, management andvendors in a unique setting that encourages sharing of best retail prac-tices. They can also be a lot of fun.

“The summits are a unique and very enlightening way of seeingother dealers’ operations,” said Jerry Butler, owner of Fred’s Carpets-Plus in Torrance, Calif. “I have never attended one where I didn’t comehome with a number of ideas to apply to our business.”

Mat Hoffman, owner of Home Interiors Flooring, Green Bay,Wis., agrees. “There is always something you will take away and bringback to your store. Attending the summits gives you the opportunityto look at the ‘bigger picture’ of things you don’t necessarily thinkabout on a day-to-day basis.”

The brainchild of co-CEOs Ron Dunn and Jon Logue, the summitis typically hosted by a CarpetsPlus Color Tile member who opens uphis business for the benefit of the group. Interestingly, managementcredits others with providing guidance and advice that helped them en-hance business operations and directly impact sales growth. “Everyoneis really good at something, and if they can share with the rest of thegroup it can help all kinds of dealers,” Dunn stated. “We are a conduitfor doing all of that.” Logue added the summit serves as an effective ve-hicle to obtain ideas from members while getting suppliers involved.

The most recent summit took place in Canonsburg, Pa., (nearPittsburgh) at SP Floors & Design Gallery. For all intents and pur-poses, it was a milestone event. There, the group unveiled its first fullyfurnished Destination showroom. Introduced in 2015, Destinationstarted as a carpet boutique within the showroom and expanded to

include hard surfaces and displays that emphasize fashion and color.Stacey Pape, owner of SP Floors—formally an Ethan Allen show-room—reflected on the implementation of the Destination format.“We wanted something different, something people would talkabout—a showroom that was off the wall and bizarre but when puttogether it is pretty neat.”

SP Floors spans 12,000 square feet, including warehouse space.The Destination portfolio includes 10 displays featuring banners suchas Color Destination, Performance Destination, Fashion Destinationand Design Destination. “What’s really nice about it is we’re able tohelp the homeowner pullit all together in oneplace,” Pape explained.

Josh Elder, owner ofGainesville CarpetsPlusColor Tile, who is on thebuying committee thathelped develop this pro-gram, attended the SPFloors summit. He lovesthe 56-pin carpet displays because they free up so much room. “It’slike I told one of my reps: ‘Every inch of my showroom has a cost as-sociated with it, and I want the biggest bang for my buck.’ What I amseeing is the manufacturers are also embracing this concept and com-ing out with new private-labeled products, which is one of the big rea-sons for being in a group. Plus, it was time for an overhaul of our olddisplays that are now 10-plus years old.”

Don Grubb, co-owner of D&R Floor Covering, Midland, Mich.,also embraced the Destination concept. “It gives continuity. I believethis is the right direction for our group.”

Annual summits inspire dealers to reach their peak

Attending the summits gives you the opportunity

to look at the ‘bigger picture’ of things you don’t

necessarily think about on a day-to-day basis.”


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