New York City—The Floor Covering Industry Foundation (FCIF)’s October 5th Gala is nearly sold out and is said to already be surpassing the number of tickets sold for the last gala. The black-tie event is set to be held at Gotham Hall, here. For more information or to purchase sponsorships or tickets visit here.
Proceeds from the event will be used to push forward the mission of FCIF—helping families get back on their feet who are battling catastrophic injuries, severe disabilities or other life-altering medical crises. Founded in 1981 by industry leaders, the 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit is intended to help those who have worked in the floor covering industry by providing direct grants for medical care and other basic needs.
The event will honor three leaders whose contributions have made a lasting impact on the flooring industry: Sy Cohen, chairman and founder of Stanton Carpet; Dan Frierson, chairman and chief executive officer, The Dixie Group; and Roger Marcus, chairman and chief executive officer, American Biltrite.
Sy Cohen
Sy Cohen, founder and current executive chairman of Stanton Carpet, has been an industry fixture for over 50 years, launching the company in 1980—but his roots lay in retail realm.
Cohen founded Country Carpet in 1972 as a trade showroom on Long Island, selling moderate to higher-end carpet products to interior designers. As the business flourished, Cohen saw an opportunity to offer more decorative and proprietary products for his clients. In 1978, he visited Domotex Germany to source products and deliver on his vision.
Among the first products were wool flatweaves from Denmark and Belgium, a suitable fit for his clients. Cohen started supplying proprietary products in an attempt to differentiate and accelerate Country Carpet’s growth. “The good thing was it was proprietary; the bad thing was you had to buy a lot of it,” Cohen said.
The other good thing: The strategy was working. Country Carpet was selling exclusive products and gaining higher margins while exciting the client base. The challenge: selling the inventory through one showroom. To combat this, a new idea was born—tapping his roots from the lower east side of Manhattan, Cohen formed Stanton Carpet in 1980.
Starting with a small product portfolio, Cohen added three more products within a year. Throughout the last four and a half decades, Stanton is said to have grown into a decorative powerhouse, supplying over 800 carpet products across multiple brands. Stanton used organic growth with instrumental launches such as “The Wilton Gallery” in the mid ‘90s and strategic acquisitions including Antrim, Rosecore and Crescent with the intent to fuel its growth. Today, the company also offers decorative hard surface products.
Stanton, under Cohen’s leadership, is said to have been a true pioneer and frequently credited with being the first supplier of high-end woven products to the better-end retail community throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Dan Frierson
For nearly six decades, Dan Frierson is said to have been one of the flooring industry’s most prominent executives with a career that dates to 1966 when he first joined Dixie Yarns—all the way to chairman of The Dixie Group today.
In the early 1990s, Dixie’s customers began searching overseas for lower-cost alternatives to apparel manufacturing. To ensure survival of the company, Frierson led the challenge of transforming the business from a textile company to a carpet company. Dixie purchased Masland Carpets in 1993, a strategic move that the company said gave it a foothold in the carpet business.
From 1993 to 2000, Dixie has made more than a dozen carpet-related acquisitions and divested its textile and apparel assets—perhaps its biggest acquisition came in 2000 when Dixie acquired Fabrica International. According to the company, the deal helped secure Dixie’s brand as a luxury floor covering manufacturer and further established Frierson as a leading flooring executive. The Dixie Group has also been a supporter of FCIF for many years.
Roger Marcus
Roger Marcus’ floor covering industry career spans nearly 60 years, mostly presiding over his family business—American Biltrite—for the past four decades. The Marcus family story begins after World War II when his father Robert, president of American Tile Co., took the company that would later be known as Amtico from manufacturing rubber heels and soles to rubber flooring. The major move came in the early 1950s when the group started making thermoplastic vinyl floor tile. The company would be the first to chemically emboss, cut and register VCT tile., as it soon developed the first no-wax floor tiles in 1969.
Roger became CEO in 1983 and oversaw the merger of Congoleum in 1992. As CEO of Congoleum, he was involved in launching a litany of innovative products—including DuraStone, DuraCeramic, Ultima and ArmorGuard.
Roger has also donated his time and efforts to associations that forward the industry. He has served multiple terms as president of the Resilient Floor Covering Institute and has been chairman of the Floor Covering Industry Foundation’s grant committee for many years. In addition, his company has been a corporate donor to FCIF since its founding. His combined impact of donations and fundraising equal a lifetime impact of over $1 million to FCIF.