Flooring America/Flooring Canada (FA/FC) has kicked off ConneXtion—its bi-annual convention that connects more than 500 independent floor covering retailers at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas.

According to the company, the national meeting convenes entrepreneurs from across North America to provide actionable steps to drive profitability and help them to improve their businesses.

At ConneXtion, Flooring America/Flooring Canada executives will highlight how the cooperative is approaching retail with a unique perspective.

“By creating a nice synergy between fashion and technology and differentiating FA/FC ourselves from the competition, our retailers can deliver a 'wow' experience for customers at retail," said Keith Spano, president of Flooring America. "We want consumers to view their flooring purchase as the biggest fashion statement that they will make in their homes. We will provide our members with the strategies to give this experience to customers.”

Product diversification remains an important objective for the organization as they form strategic partnerships with best-in-class organizations such as iRobot. FA/FC encourages members to offer product variety from cabinets and countertops to plumbing fixtures and paint.

FA/FC's new website design will provide consumers with a seamless experience across multiple devices including desktop, mobile and tablets, according to Frank Chiera, senior vice president, marketing and advertising at FA/FC. “We had five goals to achieve with the new site design—optimize SEO, great content, simple and modern design, consumer usability and responsive across multiple devices. These sites have been designed to address any growing needs that we might have as a company to stay ahead of the curve and continue to drive traffic to our members’ stores.”

FA/FC’s marketing team will also provide details on its first-ever Building Buzz event, featuring a powerhouse lineup of leading social media and marketing executives. The two-day conference, being held Sept. 20 to 22, in Tampa, Fla., will focus on how to help members and sales professionals navigate the rapid changes in digital marketing and social media. Attendees will leave with actionable tactics that will help retailers drive more business through local digital marketing initiatives. 

Also being launched at ConneXtion is FA/FC’s new charity campaign—The Installing Happiness Project. The charity program will allow members to work with the charity of its choice at the local level while continuing to receive support from the cooperative.

For more information, visit flooringamerica.com.