Six floor covering distributors in the Seattle-Tacoma area hosted Floor-A-Palooza, a one-day sales event for retail customers, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 25. Held in the warehouses, showrooms and parking lots of Kraus Sound Floor Coverings, The Cronin Co., T&A Supply Co., Floor Supply Distributing, Sea-Pac Sales and Wanke Cascade, the event drew light crowds but active buyers who cashed in on specials, close-outs, overstocked inventory, drops and running lines.

Lee Winterowde, operations manager for Kraus Sound and Floor-A-Palooza's coordinator, said "the turnout met my expectations. The sales we generated exceeded expectations."

The idea for Floor-A-Palooza came from observing regional sales events of industry giants like Mohawk and Shaw, Winterowde says.

"I felt that maybe there would be an interest among the other distributors in having a summer event (like those of Mohawk or Shaw), to create a selling atmosphere, get some of our local retailers in, and move some slower-moving stock out of our buildings," he says.

Each of the six distributors gave out door prizes to customers. The grand prize for visiting all six distributors was a Panasonic 47-inch wide screen television, won by David Belock, a retailer at Rug Barn, Tacoma.

Floor-A-Palooza 2004 will be held July 22, with extended hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.