Louisville, Ky.—Sam Kinnaird, former owner of Sam Kinnaird’s Flooring, died Feb. 25 from complications due to Parkinson’s disease. He was 84.
Sam Kinnaird started Kinnaird & Francke in 1967 and grew it to become one of the largest retailers in the country, with 14 stores in three states. He sold the business in 1983 and later started Sam Kinnaird’s Flooring in Louisville in 1989, joining forces with Jim Mudd, who would later acquire the business.
“Sam was the promotion king, the master of manipulating the co-op advertising dollar,” Todd Kinnaird, Sam’s son, told FCNews. “Sam would use hot air balloons, Model T Fords and automated robots for promotions and he would get the manufacturers to pay for it. He was all about keeping his name out there.”