1996: CarpetsPlus of America is Established

CarpetsPlus of America is established in the fall of 1996 by Ron Dunn and Jon Logue with the philosophy that emphasized independent store ownership backed by the buying power of a national chain. The core principle of this new venture is to provide independents with a menu of professional tools to grow a successful floor covering business and as an alternative to other groups that mandate the way dealers do things.

1997: First Member Signs On

In January of 1997, John MacCheyne, owner of MacCheyne’s CarpetsPlus COLORTILE in Fairbanks, Alaska, signs on to become CarpetsPlus of America’s first member. MacCheyne said, “The bottom line is if you’re in the floor covering business, and not associated with a group, you need to be. Joining CarpetsPlus when we did provided us with the foundation that we needed to help start, build and continue to grow our business.”

2000: CarpetsPlus Acquires Carpetland USA

The Carpetland USA group is acquired by CarpetsPlus of America in October of 2000. Carpetland USA stores are primarily located in the Midwest.

2002: CarpetsPlus Acquires COLORTILE

CarpetsPlus acquires COLORTILE in 2002 to become CarpetsPlus COLORTILE. In 1953, COLORTILE opened its first store in downtown Kankakee, Illinois. With over 60 years of national retail presence, COLORTILE is still the #1 consumer-recognized flooring retailer. Today, COLORTILE is still the most recognized name in the flooring industry. Members should take full advantage of COLORTILE’s great consumer awareness and use the name in branding strategy.

2002: Floorco Direct-to-the-Trade Launches

The Floorco Direct-to-the-Trade division is launched by CarpetsPlus COLORTILE in 2002 with a test store in New Orleans, LA, owned and operated by David Gaspard. The Floorco business model focuses on builders, realtors and designers with a showroom that never closes and requires a membership.

2003: Carpet Selling System Introduced

The CarpetsPlus COLORTILE “Define Your Style” Design Gallery carpet selling system is introduced in 2003 at the Minnesota Summit. The new system includes a walk-up kiosk to help narrow customers’ choices by using visual aids to define three important decisions – style, durability and color. Each of the six style categories is color-coded which makes it easy to look for that color in the showroom because the colors are replicated on the display cards.

2005: Alliance Online Member Site Goes Live

The CarpetsPlus COLORTILE Alliance Online member “backroom” website goes live in 2005.  This site gives members easy access to have what had to previously be printed and mailed. From pricing and rebate reports to current news and display performance, it’s all there at a member’s fingertips.

2006: Dual-Line Visa Card Program Offered

Through this unique program, participating retailers can offer customers increased purchasing power with two revolving lines of credit on one card. One line is dedicated for purchases at participating locations and the other line for Visa card purchases worldwide, everywhere Visa credit cards are accepted. Participating retailers can also offer special terms promotions on the retailer line of credit that allow cardholders to enjoy low monthly payments and no-interest rates.

2007: EcoChoice® Flooring Brand Launches

CarpetsPlus COLORTILE is the first group to introduce a brand based on environmental impact. Recognizing the importance of environmental initiatives to consumers, the EcoChoice Flooring brand is born. An assortment of environmentally friendly products, EcoChoice Flooring is merchandised to attract and perhaps be the deciding factor for environmentally-conscious consumers. A portion of the earnings is donated to the Arbor Day Foundation’s reforestation of America’s national forests and Rain Forest Rescue.

2009: UltraTouch® Brand Carpet Introduced

The family of exclusive, private brands has been expanded with the introduction of UltraTouch carpet. UltraTouch combines both value-oriented soft BCF nylon and soft BCF polyester into one display. The UltraTouch program has maximum impact at minimum cost. CarpetsPlus COLORTILE is the first retail group to put carpet made with these two fibers together in one display. This is an advantage to salespeople who are comparing these fibers as they talk with customers.

2011: Co-CEO Ron Dunn Goes on Drive Across America

Ron Dunn takes to the road on his first “Drive Across America” visiting members around the country. As he visits with each member, their families and their store staff, he learns about what works for them and their business. The goal is to visit every member’s store in the next few years to hear their story and then share their insights, experiences and successes.

2011: Web Pro Dealer Website Program Launches

Alliance Web Pro customizable dealer website program launches at Convention. The program is designed to help members develop a web presence in a very efficient and simple manner. Web Pro allows members to make a standard website template feel more like their own by adding their own pages and rotating out graphics for additional looks plus many other features. Web Pro makes even the brand-new user feel comfortable they can achieve this valuable goal.

2012: Proven Ways Book Released

Proven Ways book is published and released to all members of each division. Members are now able to take full advantage of the entire membership’s collective networking power. They can now have step-by-step instructions on how to begin implementing private sales, how to train sales staff, improve customer service and new creative marketing ideas that work.

2013: Media Pro Dealer Marketing Site Launches

Alliance Media Pro dealer marketing and advertising program launches at Indianapolis Summit. Members now have access to professionally designed, coordinated advertising and amazing campaigns. Media Pro provides members with complete creative campaigns to address some of the biggest challenges they face, without the hassles of doing it all themselves – and for less money. They get ad creative, jingles, radio and TV spots that help to control brand identity across all sales channels, including social media.

2015: CarpetsPlus Destination Brand Introduced

The exclusive new flagship program, introduced at the 2015 Atlanta Convention, will take member showrooms to the next level. The CarpetsPlus Destination program, the essential new anchor for member showrooms, features three beautiful displays that address color, pattern and performance. These new displays will make selling carpet fun again.

2016: First Hard Surface Destination Display Launched

Our first display featuring hard surface is added into our Destination program at the 2016 Tucson Convention. It will be an eye-catching, go-to display for all consumers who enter member stores. The Hardwood Destination display features a rich color palette, offering a wide range of options suitable for traditional or modern settings.

2017: Alliance Digital Marketing Launched

Alliance Digital Marketing was introduced as a complete online marketing package for members at the 20th Anniversary Convention in Atlanta in 2017. ADM includes Web Pro, SEO Pro and Social Pro. It also provides members with professional advertising pieces and videos to post.

2018: Floorco Flooring Gallery Launched

Alliance Flooring formed a strategic partnership with Nationwide Marketing Group, a large resource group for appliance, furniture and electronics retailers. The agreement names Alliance as their partner in helping members expand into flooring. Through this relationship, Nationwide will utilize Alliance’s private label brand, Floorco® Flooring Gallery to create a “store-within-a-store”. The comprehensive program will feature all product categories.

2019: Kitchen And Bath Design Network Launched

The Kitchen and Bath Design Network division was officially launched at Convention 2019 in San Antonio. Members can now diversify and grow their business into cabinets, countertops and hardware. With the addition of our Kitchen and Bath Design Network, our members’ stores can be a one-stop-shop design destination for more areas of the home than ever.

2020: First Ever Virtual Event Held

The event featured daily supplier special buys and product training. In addition, members were able to watch an impressive lineup of educational seminars and industry speakers discussing topics relevant to today’s changing market. Best Practices sessions featured Alliance Flooring members sharing what works for them to help other members improve their businesses and educate staff. Content was delivered in pre-produced videos presented in an “on-demand” format as well as some live events.

2021: New Merchandising Launched Virtually at Connect ’21 Virtual Product Showcase

This virtual event was the first ever where new merchandising programs were launched online.  The event also featured supplier special buys, product knowledge training, educational seminars, live webinars and Best Practices videos. Content was delivered in pre-produced videos presented in an “on-demand” format.