Seattle-Tacoma area distributors host first annual Floor-A-Palooza

Pictured during the inaugural Floor-A-Palooza event are (from left) Curt Shewmake, Flooring Sales Group -- Carpet Exchange; Jim McKay, general sales manager, Flooring Sales Group; and Pete Shirley, sales representative and ceramic tile manager, Sea-Pac Sales.


Six floor covering distributors in the Seattle-Tacoma area hosted Floor-A-Palooza, a one-day sales event for retail customers, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on 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 said.

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 in Tacoma.

Floor-A-Palooza 2004 is scheduled to take place July 22, with extended hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.