REUNITED: I have it from an authoritative source that the balloting is over, the votes are counted and one of the three new members elected to the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) Industry Hall of Fame is Alan Lorberbaum... more

The year is 17 days old as I write this, and already I’m blown away by what I’ve seen this year. It started the first week in January, when I headed to San Jose to visit S&G Carpet, one of the country’s 20 largest independent retailers... more

CHINA STAKE: Home Depot had been planning for years to plant its flag in the rich soil of Chinese retailing. Earlier this month, the American home improvement giant did just that when it entered into an agreement with The Home Way to purchase the company and its 12 stores... more

This has been an amazing year. And no, I have not spent the last 365 days in a coma. Not even the last 180-plus... more

FIRST: Vance Bell and Randy Merritt held their first joint press conference since taking the reins at Shaw Industries on Sept. 1... more

“I’ve been to Temple!” someone told me recently. Acknowledging the astonished look on my face, she continued, “My husband and I once stopped at a rest area on our way from Dallas to Austin!”... more

OUTREACH: At its Fall Membership Meeting in Dallas earlier this month, StarNet, the commercial flooring cooperative, decided to send a five-member delegation to Domotex-asia to explore the possibility of accessing products as well as scouting vendors and potential suppliers... more

Susie Axelrad, the merchandising maven for Lewis Carpet One in Northbrook, Ill., asked what I had thought of the recent Karastan conclave on its final night... more

SOARING: Mohawk Industries posted spectacular third quarter results with net sales 19% over last year, exceeding $2 billion. For the first nine months, the company had net sales of more than $6 billion. At that pace, Mohawk’s annual sales should hit $8 billion... more

By Steven Feldman

Roger Marcus, president and CEO of Congoleum, was updating distributors and his sales force on the company’s progress at its annual sales meeting in Princeton, N.J., a couple of weeks ago. When the dust cleared, everyone had to come away feeling positive about the future... more