Manchester, N.H.—Flooring America/Flooring Canada recently captured a Communicator Award from The Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts in the website category for its newly designed website, recognized for its modern yet simple design, consumer usability, SEO optimization, quality of content and reviews, and responsiveness across multiple devices.
With more than 6,000 entries from around the world, the Communicator Awards is the largest and most competitive awards program honoring creative excellence for communication professionals.
“Our goal with the new site design was to address any growing needs we might have as an organization while leveraging the most innovative design features to enhance the consumer’s experience when visiting the site, ultimately driving traffic to our retailers,” said Frank Chiera, senior vice president of marketing and advertising for Flooring America/Flooring Canada.
The Communicator Awards are judged and overseen by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA), a 600-plus member organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media. Current AIVA membership represents a “who’s who” of acclaimed media, advertising and marketing firms including Condè Nast, Disney, Lockheed Martin, Monster.com, MTV, Time, Yahoo! and many others.
“The work entered in the 22nd annual Communicator Awards serves as a benchmark in gauging the innovative ideas and capabilities of communications and marketing professionals around the world,” said Linda Day, executive director of the AIVA. “ Each year, our entrants continue to amaze by reinventing the ways we communicate and market in an ever-changing industry.”
Tag: Flooring Canada
CCA teams up with WFCA, CFI to tackle installation shortage
Manchester, N.H.—CCA Global Partners has partnered with the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) after its recent purchase of the International Certified Flooring Installers Association (CFI) to help address the shortage of qualified flooring installers. Through this new partnership, members of CCA’s floor covering divisions will be provided with incentives to bring new hires to the industry and the CFI will have them qualified and up-to-speed quickly.
“CFI is well-respected for providing quality installation training,” said Charlie Dilks, chief product officer, CCA Global Partners. “CCA members have been asking for help in recruiting and training more installers and we feel this program will help them meet the challenge.”
Through this new partnership, members of Carpet One Floor & Home, Flooring America/Flooring Canada and International Design Guild will benefit from tuition credits and discounts from both CCA and WFCA.
“It’s exciting to see CCA making a significant investment to help resolve an industry-wide problem,” said Scott Humphrey, CEO of WFCA “We are happy to do our part in encouraging CCA’s members to provide installation training through CFI.”
CCA will provide its members a discount toward the cost of tuition when the installer completes one of CFI’s installation training classes for carpet and hard surface classes.
“This is a huge step helping alleviate some of the challenges our members have faced with the current installer shortage,” Dilks added. “Quality installers are essential to our members’ success.”
The CFI schools introduce installers to many types of flooring and the tools of the trade with an emphasis on efficiency and craftsmanship. Courses cover hands-on installation techniques, customer service training and OSHA and EPA standards training. Graduates would leave a five-week residential carpet class with the skill sets and confidence to go into the field and have the ability to install an average 3 bedroom home. They also receive CFI Certification.
Flooring America, Flooring Canada travel to Thailand
Manchester, N.H.—Over two hundred Flooring America and Flooring Canada members, along with the group’s executive team, recently returned from a trip exploring the bustling city of Bangkok, Thailand. Every 18 to 24 months Flooring America and Flooring Canada members have the opportunity to earn an incentive trip. Past trips included Costa Rica, an Alaskan cruise, Greece and Italy.
“’Epic’ is the word I would use to describe this trip,” said Keith Spano, president of Flooring America and Flooring Canada. “It was a bucket list trip and an incredible opportunity to share this magical journey with our members and one that we will never forget. “
CCA to host first-ever Building Buzz conference
Manchester, N.H.—Key brands from CCA Global Partners including Flooring America, Flooring Canada, International Design Guild and The Floor Trader will host Building Buzz, the first-ever, independent-retailer focused social media and digital conference held Sept. 20-22 at the Tampa Marriot Waterside in Tampa, Fla.
Featuring a powerhouse lineup of leading social media and marketing executives from North America, Building Buzz will focus on helping independent retailers navigate the rapid changes in digital marketing and social media, providing attendees with actionable insights that will help them drive more business through local digital marketing initiatives.
According to Frank Chiera, senior vice president of marketing and advertising for CCA Global Partners and host of the event, “Building Buzz without question will soon be regarded as a key event that business owners, their sales professionals and designers need to attend. We developed Building Buzz with a purpose—to help independent retailers thrive and be more successful at local. It’s really that simple.”
Keynote presentations will be given by marketing and social media gurus who are paving the way in the industry on topics from, “Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Turn Bad News to Good,” to “Capturing the Consumer in a Constant Stream of Content” and much more.
For more information about the event and to register, visit www.buildingbuzzcon.com.
Flooring America follows direction of diversification
Focus on new dealer opportunities, fashion meeting technology
By Jenna Lippin
Dallas—Diversification was the name of the game at the Flooring America summer conneXtion convention, held here July 13-14. With seven new members brought on over the last six months, the group realizes how important it is to continue to attract retailers and keep existing Flooring America dealers happy and enthusiastic.
Opportunities for Flooring America members now stretch beyond flooring to provide consumers with a full service remodel opportunity. Riding on the success of the kitchen and bath program that has had major momentum over the last 18 months, members now have the option to offer window treatments, cabinets, closet systems and soon a major paint supplier will be added to the mix.
“We have to diversify, capture more of Mrs. Smith’s pocketbook, so we need that one-stop design center concept,” said Keith Spano, Flooring America president. “Cabinets, paint, closet systems, etc.—everything for home. She trusts us, knows our legacy, our community involvement. We have to widen our net to stay relevant at retail for the long term.”
While some members may be resistant to taking on these other categories, it helps that numerous Flooring America dealers have already had success with the programs. “We’ve got over 100 members doing cabinets right now,” Spano said. Those getting into expanded opportunities “don’t need to make the same mistakes someone else did just starting out. They can start at the 50-yard line instead of the 20-yard line because they have knowledge from the group. We tell them if they’re not a little afraid, they are not pushing hard enough.”
But plenty of members are making that push. Patrick Flaherty, for example, owner of Flaherty’s Flooring America with two Houston-area locations, is bringing cabinets into his business after he was presented the opportunity at the show. He noted the importance of diversifying to keep up in the industry and how helpful it can be to be the customer’s one-stop shop. “I think if you don’t diversify you’re going to die. We have a great privilege of having great customers that have known us for many years so they trust us. I think if they come back for cabinets, countertops, etc., it’s more logical because they are going to someone they trust.”
While a remodel project that goes beyond flooring may require some additional effort, the benefits outweigh the added responsibility. “The ticket is bigger,” Flaherty said. “There is more management of the job, but customers won’t nitpick. With just a floor, they are doing a $3,000 kitchen project and they’re nitpicking over 5 cents a foot. With a big kitchen remodel they see the overall big picture and won’t pick on little things.”
Maxine Schneider, co-owner of Schneider’s Flooring America in Vernon, Conn., has been particularly successful with granite countertops, and in the last three months has started an expansion into closet systems. The store increased its showroom space to 5,000 square feet last year, which now includes a design center that features cabinets, countertops and other kitchen elements.
“It’s important to diversify because our customers come in and are usually looking for someone to do the whole project,” Schneider said. “They maybe don’t know we will offer paint, closets and countertops, but those are things they need. We encourage our salespeople to be alert, to sell the tile and carpet, but to also talk about other things we offer.”
After losing business to another neighborhood dealer, Schneider realized it made sense to keep additional opportunity in store. “We’ve been having a lot of people coming in and doing bathrooms and kitchens looking for granite or quartz. They are upgrading, getting rid of laminate and putting in [better products], so why not offer more? We were sending the business down the street and now we’re keeping it for ourselves. We need to keep the customer in our store; if she goes somewhere else, somebody else will sell her.”
Keeping up in digital
Flooring America continues to be a leader in digital, with some of the most advanced web and social media initiatives in the industry. Frank Chiera, senior vice president of marketing and advertising, stresses the importance of remaining ahead of the curve in technology, particularly because of the evolving shopping habits of today’s consumer and the entrance of the millennial generation into the flooring market.
“This group is so much more open to change, so much more open to different things,” he said. “When we started FAST and social media programs they were nervous. Now you don’t see a single member
walking around without an iPad. Time lets it happen. An overall survey showed our members are more tech savvy because of everything we’ve been pushing on them over the last four years, more open to change.”
The group will soon relaunch member websites, which will be “cutting edge” thanks to their fully responsive formats, meaning users will have the same experience on an iPhone, tablet or desktop computer. The sites are customizable for each member, whether it is brand driven or a highly promotional store. Search engine optimization (SEO) will also be enhanced to help Flooring America stores to be found organically.
“I think we are seeing an evolution right now in our industry in general,” Spano noted. “We’ve got people retiring and there is a new generation coming up. Everything we do speaks to the millennials. They expect app-based, digital programs, they get it, and I think it positions us well for growth in the future.”
Darrel Black, owner of Flooring America of Milledgeville in Milledgeville, Ga., is one member who appreciates the importance of social media, particularly because of the value it holds for today’s technologically savvy consumer. “It’s not anything new really, but it’s important and seems to be growing. [The group] mentioned one thing that really struck me, which is that people used to go shopping, but now they are constantly shopping—on the Internet, on their mobile phones, it is always there. They are constantly seeing new things and getting ideas. Social media is a monster out there, but it can be a monster for you instead of against you.”
Digital developments help illustrate Flooring America serving as the launch pad for fashion and technology coming together, with the belief that home fashion starts with the floor. “The floor is the canvas with which every room starts,” Spano noted. “When you take a floor out of a room scene and replace it with concrete, it shows its [importance]. We are in the home fashion business. That’s what we do.”
In other news…
*Flooring America is expanding its cause marketing beyond the widely successful Pets for Patriots initiative. Members can now choose which charitable organizations they to which they would like to support, whether it is time, funds or the donation of goods, through the Installing Happiness Project. The group will provide personalized marketing campaigns for each store.
*The Floor Trader franchise will be managed by Flooring America, taking it back to its roots. The group plans to make the co-op a true cash and carry outlet, on par with Flooring America’s structure. The official launch of the new stores will take place Sept. 1.
*Inhabit is the new exclusive hard surface brand for Flooring America members, designed with the goal of providing freedom to select product that’s right for each retailer’s individual market while maintaining a consistent brand message.
Flooring America/Flooring Canada gains three new members
Manchester, N.H.—Flooring America/Flooring Canada, a division of CCA Global Partners, the nation’s largest floor covering cooperative, has expanded its North American footprint with the addition of three Canadian member stores: Mike’s Carpet & Flooring in Burnaby, British Columbia, Grand Forks Flooring in Grand Forks, British Columbia, and Brant Flooring Canada in Brantford, Ontario.
“Independent business owners recognize the power of belonging to a cooperative,” said Keith Spano, president of Flooring America/Flooring Canada. “Hands down, gaining access to best-in-class technology, outstanding product selection and innovative marketing campaigns allows our members to propel their businesses forward.”
Flooring America/Flooring Canada launches new consumer app
Manchester, N.H. — Flooring America/Flooring Canada, a division of CCA Global Partners, announced the launch of its consumer app, My Floor Guide, designed to enhance the consumers shopping experience by allowing them to easily view brand and product information on an iPad while shopping.
The new app will feature product categories such as carpet, tile, hardwood with brand-specific information as well as brand videos and warranty information so customers can access relevant features and benefits of product they might be interested in selecting for their homes .
My Floor Guide features a project calculator so customers can get a real-time estimate on the cost of their project. In addition, the app will allow customers to easily compare products, pricing and sale items while viewing the products on display in the store.
According to Andy Valeriani, senior director of online marketing at Flooring America, “By empowering our customers with access to an in-store shopping app like My Floor Guide, we’re providing an easier way for them to obtain relevant features and benefits of our wide selection of products. Moreover, we are continuing to identify ways in which Flooring America and Flooring Canada members can differentiate themselves from the big box retailers.”
Flooring America: New initiatives set to 'take the boring out of flooring'
August 4/11, 2014; Volume 28/Number 4
By Jenna Lippin
Dallas—With the continued goal of developing new ways to drive consumers into Flooring America/Flooring Canada stores, the group’s management team kept members engaged and enthusiastic through the launch of new and expanded programs and partnerships at its summer Connextion convention here Aug. 4-5.
In fact, Keith Spano, president, went so far as to proclaim Flooring America is seeking to “take the boring out of flooring” with new marketing, advertising and online initiatives along with product partnerships to attract customers. And, with more customers comes greater opportunity for repeat buyers, positive reviews and more recommendations, all of which translate into increased traffic and profitability.
In illustration, in its new three-year plan Flooring America is promoting itself as “the most recommended flooring store,” one of the biggest initiatives the group is currently undertaking. The Road to the Most Recommended campaign will actually quantify consumer response to help back up the tagline.
“In order to quantify that we are the most recommended we will conduct a research study with past customers to determine their level of satisfaction and if they would recommend [Flooring America] to a friend,” explained Frank Chiera, vice president of marketing and advertising. “Our goal is 4- to 5-star reviews from 90% of those reviewed.” Members have been asked to accumulate 10,000 positive customer reviews, 200 before and after photos, and the coveted high ratings.
“There are two parts to quantifying,” Chiera continued, “the marketing component and the qualitative study by a third party that asks consumer preference of one brand over another. This reveals why they bought from us, whether they looked at other places and if they would recommend us.”
New partnerships
To help drive more traffic into Flooring America stores, the group is providing members with a pre-scheduled promotion calendar so they can allot marketing dollars for national sales in advance. A major component of these promotions is Flooring America’s partnerships with iRobot (new) and Tempur-Pedic.
Braava from iRobot is a GPS-controlled robotic floor cleaner that can clean floors completely on its own. This exclusive partnership with Flooring America will be featured in the group’s Hard to Beat Flooring 
Sale in which the Braava will be offered as a promotional item when a consumer purchases hard surface flooring.
“What resonates with our customers is that iRobot is a cool, techy product,” Spano said. “It’s small, easy to store and easy to ship. It’s a great incentive for consumers to buy with us rather than anybody else. Advertising is part of the promotion, but we are definitely encouraging retailers to advertise [on their own].”
The initial response from members to iRobot was positive, with a number of retailers expecting a superior sales opportunity with the futuristic device. “That opportunity to have a floor cleaner with your purchase is really something,” said Judith Guck, president, Classique Floors, Portland, Ore. “It’s a new gadget and we all love new gadgets. It feels like a really good fit for [Flooring America].”
The partnership with Tempur-Pedic is part of Flooring America’s Ultimate Comfort Sale, which will feature the group’s Innova carpet products tied with a brand consumers recognize.
Product spotlight
Flooring America’s manufacturer partnerships are important as ever with new programs from IVC, Mannington and a private-label laminate offering with the two companies in addition to Shaw.
Celebrating the 10-year anniversary of its relationship with IVC, the group and manufacturer collaborated on the refreshed NaturCor sheet vinyl program, which features new, exclusive patterns and revamped merchandising that includes easily removed samples. The product selection features modern, “funky” designs—geared toward the targeted Millennial market—at the affordable end of the good/better/best program. “We thought [Millennials] would be a little more daring than baby boomers, so we brought these designs to a price point Gen Y could afford, and kept traditional patterns toward the higher end,” said Paul Murfin, co-CEO, IVC.
Victor Morningstar, vice president of Waynesboro Flooring America in Waynesboro, Pa., is eager to continue his positive relationship with IVC. He anticipates NaturCor “to be great for us. They’re a great company and stand behind their products. They’re just good to deal with.”
With 20 SKUs of hardwood, Mannington stepped up a collection targeted exclusively for Flooring America. Two stairstep displays include one 5-star Downs sawn-face product with a 3 mil wear layer and wide-width planks. The other highlight is a 4-star Floorcraft hand-scraped line with a selection of unique visuals.
Lastly, the proprietary laminate program under the Floorcraft brand, which started hitting stores in July, includes a good/better/best program that helps the salesperson walk the consumer through the categories, leading to upsell opportunities. “Some of our members who were a little doubtful originally have been raving about how great [the laminate program looks],” Spano said. “We’ve turned them into believers with the exclusive products. The Plus warranty with product from top manufacturers create a winning combination.”
Retailers were enthusiastic about the new programs, particularly the laminate. For example, Eric Lyday, head of sales and marketing at One Stop Flooring America in Mount Vernon, Ill., said while his store is within a “huge LVT market,” he expects to see positive results from this laminate program. “The Floorcraft display has a lot of nice looks that I think will be positive for our laminate program.”
Online presence
Another major initiative for Flooring America was the furthering of its digital presence. The group has integrated a considerable amount of social media content in member campaigns, posting content for retailers to help motivate them to use platforms like Facebook to engage with consumers.
As well, a new Instagram initiative will help integrate the increasingly popular visual app into social media presence along with refreshed website templates to help streamline the consumer experience.
“The website today has been a workhorse for us,” Chiera said. “It’s had traffic and generated a lot of leads. But our website needs to just be updated and modernized. It is more personalized for the members. We want to treat it more like a Houzz site, so we need to get more photography of actual jobs that our members do across the country and then populate them on a website so everyone can see them.” Instagram photos automatically populating on member microsites will help achieve this goal.
“As a small company, it’s hard to stay on top of social media but [the group] keeps on top of marketing for us and that really helps,” Morningstar said. “They’ve done industry research and know what’s 
important for us, steering us in the direction toward things [like marketing to Millennials] and that’s one of the benefits of being a member of the group.”
Part of the new web and social media initiative is a niche marketing campaign to help cater to and attract Millennials with a streamlined Internet experience, Latinos with Spanish-language signage and members of the LGBT community with photography featuring diverse families.
In other Flooring America developments:
•Members were encouraged to convert their showrooms to the Vision concept to help improve the consumer experience. “All of our marketing and advertising with Vision screams ‘hip, fun, cool!’” Spano said. “Our new merchandising does that as well. If [members] are still using displays from 14 years ago that message isn’t getting across.”
•My Floor Guide, an in-store tool for customers to easily find product and pricing, goes live Oct. 1. According to the group, My Floor Guide could potentially remove the need to print out price tags for displays.
•Members were encouraged to sign up for Google Business View, which provides a 360-degree interactive photo tour of their showrooms, bringing the interior of businesses to life, similar to Google Street View.
Shaw Hard Surfaces named Vendor of the Year by Flooring America/Canada
Dalton — For the second year in a row, Shaw’s Hard Surfaces division has been named Supplier of the Year by Flooring America and Flooring Canada. The two organizations have a combined membership of more than 500 floor covering retailers.
Flooring America/Flooring Canada is a division of CCA Global Partners, the nation’s largest floor covering cooperative. The award was presented during the Flooring America/Flooring Canada 2013 winter convention at the The Peabody Hotel in Orlando, Fla. The Supplier of the Year award is given in recognition of exceptional service that supports Flooring America/Flooring Canada’s private- labeled programs. Continue reading Shaw Hard Surfaces named Vendor of the Year by Flooring America/Canada
Flooring America/Canada puts members on FAST track
Volume 26/Number 17; January 7/14, 2013
By Melissa McGuire
ORLANDO, FLA.—Flooring America/Flooring Canada kicked off its winter convention here with a number of initiatives designed to take the group to the next level. These developments include digital marketing, strategic partnerships and exclusive products.
“Flooring America is a risk taking, forward-thinking and tech-savvy group that will lead our members into the future,” said Keith Spano, president. “We’ll do this because we have operational advantages, technological advantages and educational advantages no other buying group has.”
At its summer 2012 convention, Flooring America launched Phase II of its FAST digital marketing program which leverages the latest technology in an array of social media platforms.
“Social media is playing a bigger and more important role in the lives of our customers than ever before,” Spano said. “We have harnessed the word of mouth and implemented it in the first and second phases of our FAST program.”
The first phase of FAST introduced members to the development of individual websites, while the second phase utilizes Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Angie’s List, CitySearch and Yelp to gar ner customer reviews.
Today, Flooring America has more than 35,000 Facebook fans at the local level. In addition, it has 75,000 Twitter followers, with whom Flooring America engages every day. All in all, according to Spano, the group has 14 million brand impressions all due to social media engagement.
“We’ve seen an enormous adoption of the use of our apps and consumers posting testimonials,” Spano said. “Now we’re focusing our members on executing this phase of the FAST program: how to ask customers for reviews, how to get salespeople to use the 400 iPads we’ve provided and how to qualify customers.”
The next step in leveraging customer reviews is an ambitious plan that Spano and Frank Chiara, vice president of marketing, are excited about. The plan involves visiting 10 major markets, where they will visit Flooring America retailers and film real customers as they describe their Flooring America experiences. “It’s our next ad campaign,” Chiara said. “We’re calling it the “Where Friends Send Friends Mobile Tour.” It’s a great marketing tool for us and the individual retailer. It rounds out the entire ‘Friends Send Friends’ campaign.”
In an effort to drive more customers into member stores, Flooring America is seeking to align with non-competing companies that market to similar consumers where leads can be shared. The initiative kicked off at this convention with the announcement of a strategic partnership with cleaning franchise Stanley Steemer.
“Flooring America does not want to be in the carpet cleaning business and Stanley Steemer doesn’t want to be in the flooring business, so we formed an alliance that will benefit us both,” Spano said.
Product initiatives
Flooring America is capitalizing on the popularity of Mohawk’s SmartStrand fiber and its SmartStrand Silk brand extension by offering a private-label version to members.
The exclusive brand is Innovia and Innovia Touch, respectively, and is designed to give members a competitive advantage, according to Randy Upton, vice president of merchandising.
“We saw the popularity of SmartStrand in the marketplace, but we knew there were other things coming, so we waited [to launch an exclusive brand],” he said. “Silk was more successful than people realized. We’re finally at the point with what the market is looking like to get it out there.”
Upton noted that Innovia is part and parcel of Flooring America’s brand strategy to incorporate its soft offerings into two programs: a triexta and a nylon. The nylon is Tigresa Cherish, which is the brand extension of what members say is the most successful assortment in their stores.
Tom Lape, president, Mohawk Residential, believes Flooring America members will have great success with Innovia and Innovia Touch. “Triexta is the only product that has built-in stain and soil resistance. It performs better, lasts longer and protects better. But what is remarkable is it is the consumers’ eyes and hands that sell the product,” a reference to its visuals and softness.
Membership
Spano told FCNews membership is on the upswing as the group has signed a number of new members since the last convention. Why? “We rebuilt the whole program—new merchandising, marketing, advertising, positioning and brand strategy. We can demonstrate how joining Flooring America offers real value. We are lowering their costs and improving their profitability and close rates.”
Aside from assembling a dedicated sales team, Flooring America members are actually doing their part in the recruiting process. A dedicated website for prospective members includes testimonials from current members on how Flooring America has changed their lives. And they give their phone numbers in case a prospect has any questions.
Members who attended convention were cases in point. “Flooring America has been the catalyst to make me the premier retailer in my marketplace by bringing the expertise, professionalism and product to me that I couldn’t have done on my own,” said Buddy Hollier, Hollier’s Flooring America, Lafayette, La., a member since 2000.
Larry Thibodeaux, Halpin’s Flooring America, Baton Rouge, La., told FCNews, “Flooring America is at the forefront of product and program development. They do a lot of things we just couldn’t do on our own.”
And Darryl Moore, owner of Floor Right Interiors, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, came away from convention impressed with the new and innovative offerings. “There is a lot of exciting stuff happening, particularly the digital media I’m looking forward to using. I’ve been using the FAST program but not to the extent I’ve wanted. I’m ready to get back and get started after this convention.”