LAS VEGAS— Floor To Ceiling and World of Floors, retail marketing groups of more than 220 interior-products showrooms located throughout the U.S., recently held its annual convention here.

“With the tough times that our industry has faced, we felt we needed to acknowledge where we are and where we need to go,” said Steve Sindlinger, president/CEO of Preferred Brands, parent company of both groups. “We believe we have the talent and tools in place to overcome these obstacles, and our theme of ‘Yes We Can’ shows we have the attitude to do something about it.”

Sindlinger noted that the public is constantly being bombarded with negative news. “According to the media, we are headed for a recession. I contend that we are already in a recession and have been in one for a while. By the time it’s finally publicly acknowledged, we’ll probably be well on our way to coming out of it.

“Let’s leave all the negativity and wasted energy behind us and get our businesses moving in the right direction. There is still a large portion of the market that continues to buy, plus a lot of pent-up demand waiting in the wings. Once consumer confidence approaches near-normal levels, I think our businesses will be stronger than ever.”

To further reinforce the upbeat theme, Preferred Brands brought in several notable speakers to address specific market opportunities. Constance Ramos, host of HGTV’s “Color Correction”; Kathy Ireland, CEO/chief designer for Kathy Ireland Worldwide, and Joe Jankoski, vice president of corporate merchandising for Hunter-Douglas, made presentations on the value of building business through an unfaltering customer focus.

Other speakers, like humorist Rick Olson and baseball hall of famer Johnny Bench, talked on the importance of complementing customer-centered programs by building strong, trusting relationships with employees and families.

Other support programs presented during the convention included a new Floor To Ceiling and World of Floors online training capability, a streamlined system for regularly communicating with members’ clients and the introduction of an in-house kitchen and bath design service exclusively for Floor To Ceiling members.

“I was very impressed with all the new program offerings,” said Tiffany Gomes, Classic Design/Floor To Ceiling. “By far the most exciting new program unveiled for me was the Kitchen & Bath Design Services. This program enables us to save time and money by spinning off cabinet design when we are either too busy to have our in-house designer keep up, or by helping inexperienced sales staff step into the kitchen and bath remodel market. It’s a fantastic program at an affordable price.

“The other program I’m excited about is the Showroom Video Learning Series. Instead of sending people back to Minnesota for training, I’m now able to give them the same training to meet their schedules and at a fraction of the cost.”

Sindlinger was impressed with the optimism on the part of members. “We’re confident that we are offering the right product mix and are armed with the appropriate tools, not only to get us through this slowdown but to come out on top.”