By Ken Ryan
Broadlume—parent company of flooring technology leaders FloorForce and Creating Your Space—will soon host its first digital, interactive floor summit, aptly named FloorCon.
Over a two-day period, Oct. 15-16, the digital show will focus on providing flooring dealers with the technology and knowledge they need to thrive in today’s digital-first world—combined with all the benefits, excitement and networking opportunities of a traditional trade show, according to Todd Saunders, Broadlume CEO.
FloorCon is bringing the event to retailers live, fully equipped with retail tutorials, social events, first-look industry updates and even a virtual mill tour. Across the two days, Broadlume will also unveil new technology, announce new partners and programs and offer educational content and master classes for floor covering retailers.
“We’re building the future of flooring retail for dealers across the country,” Saunders said. “When we talked to dealers after show season [last year,] it was clear something was missing. Our dealers wanted more education—and less of the same product samples and racks—and more networking. We wanted to make this about education first and less about product displays.”
The user conference will also feature a live Q&A as well as recorded sessions for those unable to attend live. Day 1 of FloorCon, scheduled for Oct. 15, is exclusive to the 2,000 Broadlume (including Creating Your Space and FloorForce) dealers. However, Day 2 is open to the entire flooring industry. The second day will cover a range of key issues, including how to hire RSAs, build a profitable shop-at-home business, plan for retirement/sell your business and other important topics. Speakers will include Broadlume partners at Google and Podium as well as industry leaders.
Saunders asserted that FloorCon will be incredibly valuable for all dealers during this pivotal time in the flooring industry. “From the retail standpoint, we can change the industry,” he said. “Our industry is behind the times in automation, operations—we have not had a platform to share best practices or push the industry forward. Now, we do.”
According to Saunders, the event will be “highly produced”—akin to the Democratic and Republic national conventions, which featured a steady stream of virtual speakers. “We have a full production team running it live,” said Jeffrey Bieber, vice president of marketing. “It is going to be very exciting.”
Register here for FloorCon. Next year, Broadlume said it plans to host the event live and in person.