Warren Tyler, who spent more than five decades in the flooring industry—including 20 years as a columnist for Floor Covering News—passed away on April 7 at his home in Virginia after a long battle with cancer. He was 80.
Tyler’s flooring career began at age 22 when he opened an installation and cleaning service, and grew the business into a successful, five-store operation. He sold the business in 1985 and leveraged his experience to assist other retailers. He served for seven years on the board of the Retail Floorcovering Institute and wrote for trade and consumer audiences. He was the author of several books, including: “Warren Tyler on Retail Five,” “Guideposts to Success,” “How to Make Money with Customer Service,” “The Art of Selling Retail” and “The Awesome Power of Leadership.”
Throughout his career, he was known as a champion and advocate for the independent floor covering retailer. “We are the longest-running Abbey Franchisee in New York State, and Warren has been our inspiration for a good deal of the 30-plus years we have been in operation,” said Steve Bradley, who along with his wife, Joyce, operate S&J Properties of Watertown, LLC, and Abbey Carpet of Watertown. “We were friends for over 30 years through my association with the Abbey Carpet group. My wife and I met him at an Abbey convention, and through that initial contact he and I became friends for life. He came up to Watertown, helped us with picking a location, setting up our showroom, retail training, etc. He will be missed by us and anyone else who ever had the pleasure of knowing him.”
Tyler is survived by his wife, Tara, and their five children, as well as four children from previous marriages.