Last month’s column, “Good Store, Bad Store!”, was a take-off of a three-part column written years ago that received a tremendous positive response with most owners seeing themselves as a bad store. The article changed many lives. Today, business for independent flooring retailers has become much tougher with the advent of Home Depot, Lowes, Lumber Liquidators and Empire Today, along with a flailing economy.
I have always advocated that the best road to professionalism was joining a proven retail group like Carpet One, Abbey or Flooring America. I leave out the manufacturers’ groups simply because I believe the retail groups have more expertise, and joining a supplier is kind of like letting the fox into the hen house.