Alan Greenberg, industry pioneer and co-founder and co-CEO of CCA Global Partners, died Aug. 28 after a long battle with cancer. He was 63.
A St. Louis native, Greenberg was widely recognized for both his business acumen and passion for the flooring industry. He entered the business in the late ‘60s, joining his family’s Tile Town-Carpet City store after graduating from St. Louis University. The company grew into one of the largest flooring dealers in the area. In 1983, Greenberg parlayed his industry experience into his own store, Sun Carpet. Under his leadership, the company expanded into a four-store chain.
A year later, Greenberg met independent retailer Howard Brodsky, who ran three flooring stores in New Hampshire. Both men shared a vision of leveraging the buying power of flooring retailers to secure better deals from large vendors and offer a consistent, coherent marketing message. From these seeds, flooring retail giant Carpet One (now Carpet One Floor & Home) was born.
Now a part of CCA Global Partners, Carpet One comprises more than 1,000 flooring stores across the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. CCA Global Partners also oversees flooring stores including FloorExpo, Flooring America, International Design Guild, ProSource, Rug Décor, and Stone Mountain’s Flooring Outlet/GCO Flooring Outlet. Other companies under the CCA umbrella include Flooring Canada, Flooring One, and non-flooring businesses Lenders One, Lighting One and the Biking Solution.
Greenberg remained active in the industry throughout his life. Among his many roles, he served as president and chairman of the Retail Floor Covering Institute and sat on the board of the World Floor Covering Association. He was inducted into the WFCA Hall of Fame in 2002.
He is survived by his wife Sharon, daughter Darcy, son Tod, sister Lois and extended family. A funeral service is planned for 1 p.m. Thursday at Congregation Shaare Emeth Temple, 11645 Ladue Road in St. Louis. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Floor Covering Industry Foundation, Alan D. Greenberg Memorial Fund, 2211 E. Howell Ave., Anaheim, CA, 92806.