At the time, Brodsky had three flooring stores in New Hampshire and Greenberg had five in the St. Louis area. By all accounts they were savvy managers with well-run stores and loyal customers. Yet while they enjoyed being independent businessmen, they also recognized that independence had a downside, especially when dealing with large vendors. They wondered if it was somehow possible to remain independent without having to always go it alone.
"We said: Look, everybody is marketing separately, buying separately and their operations are separate," recalls Brodsky during a recent interview in his office. "We said a cooperative is probably the best fit. After that we put together a plan for Carpet One."