by Jacqueline Rapisardi
Following on the heels of its successful summer convention, Floors & More is gearing up for its 2024 winter conference, scheduled to take place Jan. 22–24 in Las Vegas, two days prior to the start of Surfaces. Based on early registration numbers, the event promises to be one of the group’s best winter markets yet.
“We have 25% more members already registered for this convention than we did for our last show, which was our record in attendance,” said Vinnie Virga Jr., vice president of Floors & More.
What’s especially noteworthy about the group’s upcoming winter conference — which centers on the theme “Supercharged” —is it marks a change in its annual convention schedule. Beginning in 2024, Floors & More will hold only one convention each year—and that will be the winter show. This change, according to Virga, was based on input from the Floors & More advisory council and further supported by members.
“The message was loud and clear,” Virga told FCNews. “The members thought we should move to one convention a year, which was a surprise to us, but we take the council’s opinion very highly. Ultimately we think that’ll make it easier for our friends, vendors and members to be able to attend and participate. We are seeing the members responding in kind to our change, and we’re really excited about that.”
Further fueling excitement surrounding the upcoming Floors & More conference is the overall boost in the group’s membership ranks. Following several years of aggressive recruiting, Virga reports that Floors & More—which includes Floor to Ceiling dealers as well as Big Bob’s discount stores—has achieved a significant milestone: 100 locations. This was fueled by the addition of 22 new members in 2023 alone—with several more pending by year’s end.
“It’s the most we’ve added in a single year,” Virga said, noting the previous record was 12 in 2022. “So every year our record keeps getting beat and it looks like we’re on pace to double last year, which is a pretty big milestone.”
That begs the question: What’s driving the increase in membership? Virga attributes the growth to several factors, beginning with the one-on-one time that Virga and his father—Vinnie Virga Sr., Floors & More CEO—spend consulting prospective members prior to joining.
“At the beginning of this year we made a commitment that each of us would be ‘boots on the ground,’ going into retailer stores every single month,” Virga explained. “The fact that he and I are getting out in front of people every month traveling and going door to door, store to store and having meetings in person, has been a tremendous factor in us having our success. We’ve had a lot of phone conversations and webinars, but that’s really been exciting and a big part of our success.”
But it’s not the only reason behind the growth. Virga believes the timing is right in the midst of a challenging retail environment post-COVID-19. “We are a year removed from last year, which was by all accounts many dealers’ best year ever,” he explained. “This year is not. The reality is vendors are telling us that they’re down as an industry 10 to 20%, but our group isn’t. We’re hearing across the board that our group is outperforming the industry. The message that’s really resonating with retailers, ‘Hey, whatever they’re doing is clearly working.’ Times are tough, and it’s time to look at doing something differently.”
Another factor fueling growth, according to Virga, is the group’s emphasis on networking. “We now have a vibrant Floors & More Facebook group that is exclusive to members, and we’re doing a monthly virtual roundtable conversation where they can get on and network. There has never been a time to be more engaged as a member, and I think that’s probably helping as well.”
On the agenda
In keeping with past Floors & More conventions, the upcoming show will offer a mix of educational sessions as well as fun-filled, team-building, social/networking activities. “Our members have told us that one of the most valuable things they can do at convention is network,” Virga said. “So our agenda is very focused on a lot of roundtable discussions, member to member, dealer to dealer. We’re going to dive into what’s working and what’s not working and what we’re seeing in the marketplace.”
Vinnie Virga Sr. will also deliver his opening “State of the Union” keynote speech, and representatives from the Floor Covering Education Foundation (FCEF) will add to the discussion as far as the work they are doing. Members will also have an opportunity to meet face to face with vendors during the exhibitor showcase.
But it’s not all work and no play. For the main social event, Floors & More plans to treat its members to Speed Vegas for competitive racing. Here, according to Virga, attendees will have the opportunity to drive McLarens, Lamborghinis, Porsches and other exotic cars. “Our members and our partners are going to get a chance to get behind the wheel and race those cars with a professional driver providing instructions from shotgun as you race around each other and race around the track in these high-performance vehicles.”
Virga drew parallels between the racing networking event and the current state of the floor covering retail industry. “Now is the time to work on the car,” he said. “It’s time to work on the engine, it’s time to work on the wheels, it’s time to work on everything because the car’s not running the way it used to and we’ve got to get it back to high performance.”
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