Toronto—Innovative. Aggressive. Progressive. Three simple words which quickly state why Carpet One is one of the retail sector’s biggest players with approximately $3.3 billion in annual sales spread across more than 1,000 storefronts. At its first international convention here, the cooperative celebrated a milestone 20th year by broadening the Liz Claiborne collection, updating its Select-AFloor racks and samples, and laying out a navigational map for the next five years to more than 1,500 attendees at the semi-annual convention. “It’s not the strongest of the species that survive, or the most intelligent,” said Charlie Dilks, president of Carpet One Canada and COO of Carpet One. “It’s those that are the most adaptive.”

As always, Carpet One based most of the changes on what it sees as customer desires. “The consumer dynamic is changing,” he explained. “Boomers have higher expectations of service than ever before…and more customers than ever are pre-shopping by doing research on the Internet.” As such, the company has renovated its consumer Web site to make available a vast amount of information on styles and construction to aid in that research. The goal, according to Evan Hackel, president of Carpet One: “We need to own floor covering in the minds of the consumer. Our opportunity is the brass ring of the floor covering industry.” He explained that when consumers are asked about running shoes, they immediately think of Nike. When asked about coffee, they think of Starbucks.

“No one owns floor covering in the industry,” Hackel said. “The leadership position in floor covering is open and the brand that gets there first is the one that will get the pot of gold. “Our goal is to get every customer in North America to say, ‘When I think of floor covering I think of Carpet One.’” And the only way to achieve that kind of brand image, according to Dilks is, “to provide a memorable experience for the customer. The consumer experience created by Starbucks has made it one of the strongest brands in the world—without any national advertising.” The buying group expects to grow an addition al 3% to 5% annually over the next five years after close to double-digit same store sales growth in the last year.

One way Carpet One plans to achieve that growth is by expanding on its already solid line of exclusive Liz Claiborne flooring. “Many members are successful with the program which is one of our key brand initiatives,” said Hackel. By adding a significant number of more SKUs, the company has brought the program into reach for a broader group of customers. Another avenue for the company’s growth is in national cross-promotions that build the brand at the same time they are effectively bringing customers into the stores. “Our growth is going to be led by members working together more cohesively in marketing and creating the Carpet One brand,” Hackel added. Members of the cooperative responded well to all the initiatives presented. “I’m very happy to see the five-year plan,” said Tom Jennings, president of Bud Jennings Carpet One, Lawrence, Kan. “Its execution will be critical. The company is getting smarter, the strategy is better and it is more organized.”

Part of that strategy includes Carpet One placing a strong emphasis on the local nature of its member base. The chain has not forsaken its advertising initiatives, but, at the same time, it has set in motion numerous grassroots efforts to keep it top-of-mind in and around the communities in which it has a store located. The company’s “Carpet One Welcomes Your Support” fundraiser for breast cancer awareness has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for research in North America, while the “Magic Carpet Time Tour” is designed to stimulate a stronger interest in reading for children in elementary schools throughout the country. Both programs are targeted at awareness and education in the local communities of the co-operative’s stores and have earned Carpet One extensive media coverage, as well.

Other initiatives include the company’s annual golf tournament fundraiser for the Floor Covering Industry Foundation (FCIF). Last year, the outing raised $120,000 for the non-profit Foundation, with an even greater goal for this year’s classic on Sep. 22 in Atlanta. FCIF is funded by tax deductible donations. Its mission is to offer financial assistance to people who have worked or currently work in any level of the floor covering industry and whose personal lives are in crisis because of catastrophic illness.

Since its founding in 1981, more $1.5 million in assistance has been given to industry members in their time of greatest need. “All our members are local community-involved people,” noted Howard Brodsky, co-CEO of CCA Global Partners, Carpet One’s parent company. “It’s a fundamental part of what we do and our philosophy of how to do business. You need to give back to people less fortunate or in need at different times.” “I’m glad we’re bringing back the Magic Carpet Time Tour,” added Lyn Marks, Carpet One of Lenawee, Adrian, Mich. “It’s a wonderful program that really makes you feel like part of the community. We wouldn’t be able to do something like that without Carpet One. They do a good job getting local coverage and the goodwill is immeasurable. Teachers talked about the program forever.” “Carpet One is always aggressive,” said John Toliver, Toliver’s Carpet One, Tempe, Ariz. “The people involved in it continually amaze and are visionaries.” “Our company has always been forward thinking,” reinforced Hackel. “We have always said we want to lead the industry. We were the first to launch laminate in this country (Editor’s note: Carpet One, along with Color Tile, rolled out Pergo in 1994); one of the first companies to help launch Stainmaster.

“We have a passion for innovation and leadership,” he continued. “When you are leading and not following you get the benefit of increased market share. A group is as successful as its retailers and we have great retailers.” Those dealers have also given the company much of its recent growth by opening more stores. “We are growing faster by members opening new branches than we are by bringing in new members,” Hackel explained. Although bringing in new members is always a priority, he noted the current trend “is a deliberate initiative on our part. It helps our current members to grow and prosper. In addition they know the system and already know what they are doing.” In the end, it all revolves around Carpet One’s core purpose. “What we love about being in this business is,” said Hackel, “to experience the satisfaction of building a successful business around the satisfaction of customers. “Our members are building and creating a Carpet One brand that is understood by the customer,” he concluded, “and that creates value for them.”