Chattanooga, TN — 11/28/14 Carpetland USA COLORTILE® held its 2014 Buying Committee Meeting in Chattanooga, TN, November 17-18, at Spring Hill Suites/Cameron Harbor on the Tennessee River. The group also visited several mills in North Georgia to review new flooring products and decide what products they will inventory and which programs to employ in 2015.
Kevin Logue, co-COO and VP Marketing, Alliance Flooring
Kevin Logue, co-COO and vice president marketing for CarpetsPlus COLORTILE, said “Our Carpetland buyer meetings give members valuable time with mill executives and they give them a chance to see new products and discuss special group buys as well as make merchandising decisions. Being a member of our group allows members to get first-hand product and industry information from the mills to help them grow their business. They also provide valuable time to network and share best practices.”
Kevin Rose, Carpetland USA, Rockford, IL
Many Carpetland USA COLORTILE members felt the time spent together is very valuable. Kevin Rose, owner of two Carpetland USA stores in Illinois and winner of Carpetland USA Retailer of the Year for 2013 agreed, “It’s nice to see everybody again and see all the new products. We were able to make some decisions on key products and volume drivers. I was also excited to see the new COLORTILE hard surface displays. This was a great meeting.”
The group visited carpet as well as hard surface mills, took tours of their facilities and reviewed new products.
As cuttings of the new styles were passed around the room, members examined them and their prices and made decisions on each before they left.
Tom Peeters, Carpetland USA of Virginia
Tom Peeters, vice president of Carpetland USA of Virginia commented, “I appreciate the mill executives taking time to talk with us about the new products and they addressed some of our concerns as well. We got a lot accomplished.”
Merchandising decisions were also made. They decided on what new Carpetland USA private labeled displays to take as well as what changes to make to existing displays.
In addition to choosing their product lineup, the close-knit group felt they improved their existing displays to provide a productive shopping experience to the consumer.
Suppliers showed cuttings of the newest styles
Logue feels the meeting was a success. “This was a very productive meeting. Really, it was the best we’ve ever had. Fashionable new products were chosen from our supplier partners as well as some more value-oriented items they needed to round out their mix on the showroom floor.”