It was estimated in 2010 there were between 11,000 and 12,000 establishments selling floor coverings in the U.S. That number, according to many experts, has contracted to an estimated 8,000 to 9,000 in 2015.
Steve Weisberg has come a long way from his preteen days when his father would wake up to find him waiting in the car to go to work at his company, Crest Carpet Distributors.
You know it is time to develop new interests when you’re on vacation and spend your time visiting flooring showrooms after 55 years in the business. Knowing as much or more than anyone in the industry about showroom design and layout, and having designed dozens of showrooms across the nation that actually helped the sales process, I’ve found the average retail showroom has shown little or no improvement since my entrance into the industry.
Industry legend Rose “Mrs. B” Blumkin founded Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM) in the basement of her husband’s store in 1937, selling home furnishings at rock-bottom prices. Over the course of the next 60-plus years, the innovative businesswoman shattered conventions to build one of the largest dollar-volume independent retail businesses, selling everything for the home—from furniture to flooring to electronics—in giant retail spaces.
Thirty years ago, three industry veterans—Howard Brodsky, Sandy Mishkin and the late Alan Greenberg—got together and put a business plan together for a retailer-owned cooperative designed to give the independent dealer a chance to level the playing field against the larger, national players in the industry.
