Carpet One Holds Retail Pro Convention in Dallas

Manchester, NH, March 28, 2007--Carpet One Floor & Home held their 2nd annual Retail Sales Professional Convention (RSPC) in conjunction with the member convention in Dallas earlier this month. The two-day event truly made an impact on the sales professionals who came from throughout North America, providing them will valuable training and product knowledge that they could apply on the sales floor and share with their sales teams. “We were thrilled with the outcome of this year’s RSPC,” said David Hendler, Vice President of Retail for Carpet One Floor & Home. “We had an amazing group of sales professionals there who were passionate about their craft and excited to learn and absorb the knowledge and training we provided during the event. We’re already looking forward to the 2008 RSPC!” The sales professionals attended some events with their store owners, then spent the remainder of their time at RSP Convention specific sessions including special selling skills breakout sessions, panel discussions around merchandising and product, and activities that gave them the opportunity to network with peers and key vendors. The three breakout sessions - Find Your Inner Sales Professional; No Plateaus Selling; and Mystery (Shop) Solved - were definitely a highlight of the convention. Attendees raved about the peer panel in the No Plateaus breakout, noting how helpful it is to hear best practices directly from highly successful Carpet One Floor & Home sales professionals. A vendor round robin gave sales professionals valuable information about the products they sell and tips for selling those products more effectively, while the product panel gave them insight on product trends and upcoming programs. In all sessions, sales professionals were able to ask questions and converse openly with panel members. Rebecca Stewart, a sales professional from Brent’s Carpet One Floor & Home in Newhall, CA praised the product sessions: “The product knowledge round robin was a phenomenal program, allowing retail sales professionals to gain critical product knowledge in order to increase sales.” The sales professionals were not the only ones to benefit from the vendor round robin. According to the eight vendor sponsors - Anderson, Armstrong, Daltile, IVC, Mannington, Mohawk, Nourison and Shaw - this event was a very good investment in both time and money. "The vendor round robins offer a great opportunity for us to share information with the sales professionals, who are the front line with their customers,” said Joyce Lowe, Nourison’s Executive Director, National Buying Groups. “We've planted seeds for the future that will increase our business because these sales professionals now have a better understanding of our product than they did before. And the best part is that they will take this knowledge back to their store and share it with the rest of the staff. We’ve provided them the information they need to be successful in selling our products." A major component of Carpet One Floor & Home’s Five-Year Plan is sales professional engagement. “The RSPC is just one component of the sales professional engagement initiative of our five year plan,” added Hendler. “Sales professionals are the front line with our customers, and their contribution towards our success cannot be over-stated,” he added. Other sales professionals felt that the greatest aspect of the convention was the opportunity to meet and interact with other Carpet One Floor & Home sales professionals. Mark Weaver from Bear Carpet One Floor & Home in Sugarcreek, OH explained: “The sales training and product knowledge was great, but most helpful was simply a few days interacting with other sales professionals from across North America. You can learn a lot from other people’s attitudes and experiences.” Andy Ryba from Earls Carpet One Floor & Home in Moose Jaw, SK agreed, noting that he “learned a lot of new ideas to enhance his career.” In addition to all of the breakouts and product knowledge sessions, sales professionals also took a break to have a little bit of fun. The group participated in a scavenger hunt throughout the exhibit hall to learn more about key Carpet One Floor & Home vendor sponsored programs. Though it was educational, the activity also allowed for some friendly competition among the attendees as well as the opportunity to get to know one another better. The RSP Convention concluded with an awards ceremony to recognize the top Carpet One Floor & Home sales professionals. The following awards were presented: The ReSPeCt Award for Community Service: Pattee Neiman from Carpet One Floor & Home - Gulf Coast in Panama City, FL. This owner-nominated awarded is presented to a sales professional who has done something notable and significant to support their local community or a local cause. Neiman has been a proponent of the Carpet One Welcomes Your Support breast cancer awareness campaign, spearheading her store’s local efforts for the past two years. Storeowner John Shepard credits Pattee with the success of the program and commends her for her dedication. The Customer First Award: Samuel Woods from Wall to Wall Carpet One Floor & Home, Eau Claire, WI. The Customer First award is presented to the sales professional who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to provide outstanding customer service. Nominations were made by storeowners and store managers. Samuel Woods certainly went the extra mile to help a customer by driving 45 miles to adjust the temperature in his home after the customer, who was out of town, called to tell Samuel that his pipes had burst! Though Samuel had already completed installation in this home, he still took the time to ensure that he prevented any further damage to the home or to the customer’s new vinyl flooring. The No Plateaus Award: Chris Aubrey from Brent’s Carpet One Floor & Home, Newhall, CA The No Plateaus award is selected by Carpet One Floor & Home’s Director of Training John Umbaugh and recognizes the sales professional who has shown the greatest improvement in performance since attending a 2006 Fast Start Program. One year after attending the Fast Start program, Chris has sold a total of one and a quarter million dollars in volume at margin percentages that are five points higher and an average sale that is 20% higher than any other sales professional in his store. The SPEcial Award for Sales Professional Engagement during the 2007 RSPC: Johnny Lown from Carpet One Floor & Home of Fayetteville, NC. Awarded to the attendee of the 2007 RSPC who demonstrates the greatest level of Sales Professional Engagement during the convention in the form of enthusiastic participation in all sessions and activities. After a highly successful 2007 RSP Convention, Carpet One Floor & Home is already in the process of working with sales professionals and store owners to plan next year’s event.

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