Alliance Flooring Annual Summit Hosted by Montgomery’s CarpetsPlus Color Tile®

Chattanooga, TN — 10/24/07 Alliance Flooring, Inc., parent company of CarpetsPlus Color Tile, recently held its 2007 Summit in Venice, FL, October 7-9. The aim of the Summit was to grow each member’s business through networking, training, updates on industry trends and previewing products for 2008. Michael Montgomery, Owner and Co-Vice President of the host store, said his entire family was thrilled to host the Alliance Flooring 2007 Summit. "We opened all aspects of our business to our fellow Alliance Flooring members including operations, sales, installation, compensation, commercial sales and business best practices, among others. Our goal was to learn as much as they did, and I believe we have."

Vern Montgomery, Owner and President of the host store added, "The things we learned in preparing for this event and the many opportunities to network with others are too numerous to mention but, if others were able to benefit from the information given and the enthusiasm generated then all of our efforts will be rewarded."

Apparently, members did come away energized as evidenced by comments made after the Summit. Travis Wichern, CarpetsPlus of Woodbury, MN said, "It was awesome and well worth the time." He went on to say "…the information was phenomenal." Dave Lee, Color Tile of Salem, OR agreed, "I came back with a lot of good information and am already making changes." Touching on the real-world benefits that member dealers receive when they attend Summits and Conventions, Ron Dunn, Co-CEO of Alliance Flooring, said, "It is our belief that our members gain tremendous knowledge by attending these events. Networking with peers is invaluable. These events are not filled with lightweight theories, instead, they offer practical advice – very usable in day-to-day operations."

This practical advice was also acquired through face-to-face member networking. Andre Coelho, Wholesale Flooring and Supply, Fall River, MA said this was the best summit he has attended by far and that he was reminded he’s not in this alone. "When you’re there, you realize you’re not in a small circle in the northeast part of the U.S. The networking was so encouraging – much like fellowshipping." He continued, "Alliance Flooring gives us the kind of information we need to succeed."

One such source of this information was featured speaker, Jon Trivers, owner of the retail training and consulting company, Marketing Wit & Wisdom, and a frequent contributor to Floor Covering Weekly. He’s also a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the World Floor Covering Association and author of "One Stop Marketing." Trivers showed the audience how to differentiate their businesses from big box retailers through excellent service and how they could survive market downturns by organizing showroom space.

Members were also exposed to a day of seminars that focused on new products and concepts for 2008 and ways to increase consumer-financing programs with Wells Fargo.

Kevin Logue, vice president of marketing for Alliance Flooring, said that dealers were extremely enthusiastic about 2007 programs such as EcoChoice and Artistic Impressions and that these programs would be expanded in 2008 based on the advisory board and other members’ input at the Summit.

In addition to seminars, concepts and product previews, dealers were offered extraordinary, Summit-only product buys at an event called "After Hours." If that weren’t enough, as members made purchases, they were entered to win prizes such as a 42" LCD flat screen HDTV.

Members were also given a bonus day option in which they visited Kevin Knapp and Vince Spallone’s new store – Floorco of Southwest Florida in Fort Myers. The focus there was on developing and marketing this direct-to-the-trade business. Knapp and Spallone took members on a similar tour of operations expanding on the unique requirements for this business model and why it’s essential to provide a full-service design team for their architect, builder and interior design customers. Other bonus day recreation activities included a golf outing at the Venice Golf and Country Club, a deep-sea fishing trip and an excursion to the Ringling Museum of Art on Sarasota Bay.

Ryan Dunn, vice president of sales for Alliance Flooring, commented, "We are very appreciative of the Montgomerys as well as Kevin Knapp and Vince Spallone for their commitments to our program. It takes a great deal of time and effort on their part to make these special events happen. Not only that, but to do it while conducting business is a substantial task."

Sid York of Carpetland USA in Flint, MI summed it up well, "These summits provide you with information to help make better decisions on the way you run your business. You have to re-invent yourself and not allow things to remain the same. Wrong decisions can break you, but better decisions cause profitability. The more prepared you are, the more successful you will be."

About Alliance Flooring, Inc.

CarpetsPlus Color Tile®, Carpetland Color Tile®, Floorco and Color Tile® Outlet are divisions of Alliance Flooring, Inc., a retail-licensing group representing more than 450 flooring retail locations across the United States. CarpetsPlus began with a philosophy that emphasized independent store ownership backed by the buying power of a national chain. Pairing the historic strength of Color Tile with the national resources of CarpetsPlus and Carpetland has created a national chain of premier floor covering design centers. For more information visit www.allianceflooring.info or www.carpetspluscolortile.com.

Click on any picture below to download a high resolution photo.

Alliance Flooring Summit attendees in front of Montgomery’s CarpetsPlus Color Tile store in Venice, FL.

From left, Bev Montgomery, Chris Baggett and Gary Williams of Carpenter Company, Vern Montgomery and Missy Montgomery.

Jon Trivers instructs the audience about how independents can compete in the marketplace.

Kevin Knapp and Vince Spallone stand in front of their store, Floorco of Southwest Florida, in Ft. Myers.

View of Montgomery’s CarpetsPlus Color Tile in Venice, FL.

From left, Mike Kinker of Beaulieu, Tony Godfrey, National Marketing Director for Invista, Debbie Miller, Regional Sales Manager for Alliance Flooring, and Ron Dunn, co-CEO of Alliance Flooring.

Bev and Vern Montgomery, owners of Montgomery’s CarpetsPlus Color Tile, address the audience during a Summit session.

From left, Kevin Logue, Vice President of Marketing, Alliance Flooring, Rich Best, Color Tile of Medford, OR and Ryan Dunn, Vice President of Sales, Alliance Flooring. Rich just won a $500 cash prize.