While acknowledging that the new logo looks pretty much like the old logo, Carpet One officials said the addition of the words "floor" and "home" will widen the retailer's image and help forge a stronger national identity. At the co-op's first West Coast convention-dubbed "The Voyage Continues"-company president Evan Hackel unveiled the slightly modified logo as part of a five-year plan aimed at cementing Carpet One's leadership position in flooring.

"We don't want the industry to define us, we want to define the industry," said Hackel in a rousing address to members representing the more than 1,000 stores that comprise Carpet One. He noted that members enjoyed a 10.8 percent increase in sales over the past year to bring the company's total annual volume to about $3.3 billion. Still, he cautioned that member stores are beset by challenges, most notable the influence of big box stores and the Internet on flooring sales. The five-year plan, he said, was a means of successfully addressing the competitive climate.

Plans call for greater consistency in the store signage employed by members, a dominant Web presence oriented toward steering consumers to member stores and a major consumer marketing push. A spring campaign with ads in USA Weekend and Parade is expected to reach more than 100 million consumers. Also, product placement deals with the TV shows "Extreme Makeover" and "The Price is Right" are expected to garner exposure for the Carpet One brand.

Continuing its emphasis on proprietary brands, the Liz Claiborne line launched exclusively by Carpet One three years ago is being expanded to include a tile and stone collection. In addition, more hardwood offerings are being added to the upscale Prestige Collection.

The Destination One store remodeling program is also picking up steam. The program, now in its third year, has thus far drawn interest from 94 members, including 50 that have completed the change over. In an effort to cajole more members into the program, Theresa Fisher, vp of store planning and design, told members that Destination One stores are reporting a 60 to 70 percent increase in hard surface product.