It’s a slow week, which usually makes coming up with a provocative column a bit challenging. Sure, I could talk about mass shootings or Bud Light, which may be enlightening for some but dangerous for me. So I’m just going to leave all that alone and talk about this May 15 issue of Floor Covering News, which I believe is incredibly valuable for flooring retailers and also calls out some of the people in this industry who are making a difference.
First, I want you all to turn to page 17. (Well, first finish reading this column; then turn to page 17.) The seven-page feature is called Winning at Retail, and while I may be slightly biased, I truly believe this is one of the most valuable features that we—or any other trade publication, for that matter—can provide for you. Look, we can publish as much advice and guidance to help your business until the cows come home. But at the end of the day, the most valuable tips and ideas come from your peers, flooring retailers who live in your world. Floor Covering News spoke to scores of retailers who agreed to share something that makes them successful—from hiring/recruiting/ training to marketing to merchandising and selling to installation and a whole lot more. If you find a couple amongst the nearly 60 tips provided that can better your business, then we’ve done our job.
Next up, we are publishing our annual feature that showcases people making a difference in our industry. They could be making a difference within their company or they could be having an impact on the entire industry. What’s more, they don’t necessarily have to “live in” our industry. Take Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, for instance. Powell’s decision to repeatedly raise interest rates has affected all of us, both in business and in our personal lives. Then you have Tom Taylor, CEO of Floor & Décor. Taylor may not be a household name to many of you, but he could be impacting your households as much as anyone if you happen to do business in one of the 179 cities in which the behemoth has a location.
Every year we vary the number of people we include. We brainstorm for several weeks, poll various industry members on who they believe warrant inclusion on the list and then we decide who makes the cut. Of course, we run into the same problem we do with any subjective list we publish; someone will always get his or her nose out of joint. Hence, I’m prepared for the forthcoming phone calls and emails.
But I really think we did a good job with this wide-ranging list. I can’t call all of them out in this space, but I’m going to mention a few as I gloss over the list. First, two people who are stepping up to the plate for retailers are Scott Humphrey and Carole Cross, both for different reasons. Humphrey, the WFCA CEO, has truly emerged as a champion for dealers, elevating his profile to new heights in 2020 when he did all he could to shepherd dealers during the COVID-19 months. Cross, through her Mobile Marketing and SamplesApp, is promoting dealer profitability.
There are familiar names like Brian Carson, James Lesslie and Jon England, who are leading very important companies to dealers: AHF, Engineered Floors and COREtec, respectively. Jonathan Cohen has emerged as the leader of Stanton. If you ever wonder about the significance of this company, just walk past their space at Surfaces, even on the final day. Then there’s Mark Casper, who has emerged as the face of Hallmark. Owner Tony Pan is a visionary, but Casper is executing that vision. John Wu of Novalis and Dan Koh of Nox have been LVT leaders for quite some time and were at the forefront of domestic production. I could go on and on.
So there you have it. And we didn’t even have to talk about Bud Light.
