History
The Carpet One organization was the first business formed by CCA Global Partners, a cooperative incubator founded in 1984. Under the banner of CCA Global Partners, the Carpet One model was used by its founders to found a total of fourteen affiliated cooperatives for the floor covering industry, mortgage banks (Lenders One), bicycle shops (The Biking Solution, later The Bike Cooperative) and lighting retailers (Lighting One). [2] [3]
Carpet Co-op of America launched in 1984 as a cooperative for independent flooring retailers by Alan Greenberg and Howard Brodsky, who had been working together in the early 1980s as co-chairmen of a national flooring association. Both were presidents of the American Floor Covering Association as well as owners of independent retail flooring stores. At this time Brodsky owned three stores in New Hampshire while Greenberg owned five stores in the St. Louis area. [4]
Brodsky and Greenberg spent about one year developing their business model, deciding between becoming a franchise or starting a co-op. They decided to create a model that incorporated the best of franchising together with the best elements of cooperative models. They decided on a model with three pillars: buying, marketing and management. [4]
Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its business model, brand, and rights to sell its branded products and services to a franchisee. In return the franchisee pays certain fees and agrees to comply with certain obligations, typically set out in a Franchise Agreement.
A cooperative is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise". Cooperatives may include:
Early in the genesis of Carpet One, Sandy Mishkin, a carpet retailer from Atlanta, joined the organization. Mishkin is a co-founder and president of CCA Global partners.
Carpet One was founded in 1985 with thirteen initial members. Each store had to pay $12,000 to join, but there was no monthly franchise payment. By the end of that year the cooperative had retail sales volume of $25 million for its 26 members. By the spring of 1986 there were approximately fifty members. [4] [5]
From the outset, the company sought to innovate, uniquely introducing warranties such as guaranteeing customer satisfaction, promising to replace carpet if the customer was not completely satisfied. They also instituted a lifetime installation guarantee. These two guarantees gave the members of the cooperative a competitive advantage in the marketplace. [4]
In 1989 Carpet One launched the “Good as Gold” program for their membership. This program independently tested their carpets, promising they would not matt or become crushed, verifying them as “Good as Gold.” Together with a ten-year insurance policy against crushing, the certification boosted sales by 25%. [4]
Between 1987 and 1990 Carpet One grew at an average rate of 75 new retail stores each year. During this time, the company held two conventions each year to evaluate and implement improvements in their products, performance and profitability. [4]
By 1995 Carpet One had 525 retail store members with total sales of $1.5 billion. [6] In 1995, Carpet One created the Installation Excellence program that rates the levels of service based on consumer surveys and provides certification for salespeople and installers. [7]
In 1996 Carpet One obtained licensing of exclusive brands such as Bigelow and LEES for Living carpet, which came with a 25-year stain warranty. They also had exclusive product placement for Liz Clairborne Flooring. [4]
In 1999, Florence Henderson became a celebrity spokesperson for Carpet One. [8]
In 2001, Carpet One launched the SelectAFloor selling system. The merchandising system was developed over four years and was intended to make life easier for the consumer and the sales person by dividing carpet offerings into six lifestyles. [9]
Carpet One entered into a partnership with Liz Claiborne in 2002 to be the exclusive seller of the fashion designer’s new flooring line. [10]
In 2004 Carpet One commissioned architectural and design firm FRCH Worldwide to create a showroom that would embody the Carpet One brand. The result was Destination Carpet One—a concept that allowed the showcasing of products in a consumer-friendly way. [11]
In 2006, Carpet One added “Floor & Home” to their name to represent the expanded offerings beyond carpet, such as hardwood, tile, and other home products. [12]
The Healthier Living Installation system developed by Carpet One Floor & Home helps differentiate Carpet One Floor & Home stores by focusing on the quality of the installation. The program launched in 2011. [13]
Carpet One founders Howard Brodsky and the late Alan Greenberg were inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame of the US National Cooperative Business Association in 2009. [14] [15]
Awards
Carpet One Floor & Home won 2014 PR Daily’s Social Media Awards in the category of Best Use of YouTube for its Beautiful Design Made Simple video series. [24]
John & Beth Hughes of O’Brien’s Carpet One Floor & Home, Colorado Springs, CO, earned the Alan Greenberg Award in 2017. [25]
Guy & Michelle Pylypiw of Oshawa Carpet One Floor & Home, Oshawa, ON, received the 2017 Wally Hileman Award. [26]
Members of Carpet One vote for Partner of the Year prior to the annual convention. The award recognizes the business that has had the greatest impact on the Carpet One Floor & Home membership during the previous year. Shaw Industries was the recipient three years in a row, from 2011–2013. [27] Shaw also won this award four years in a row, from 2014–2017. [28]
In 2017 the Carpenter Company won the Specialty Partner of the Year award for their innovative carpet cushion products. [29]
