St. Petersburg, Fla.—For 2025, Floors & More transitioned to a single-event format—as opposed to separate winter and summer events—and the strategy appears to be paying dividends. The group reported a record number of retailer members in attendance here this week.
“We had over 50% of our member showrooms present at this event, which is a historic turnout for us,”’ said Vinnie Virga, Jr., who was recently elevated to president of Floors & More. “Also, the event was our largest from both a showroom and membership perspective of any event we’ve ever done. And we attribute part of that to just how engaged our members are and just how many great new people we had join the program.”
Traditionally, Floors & More held its winter event in Las Vegas, two days ahead of Surfaces. According to Virga Jr., the switch enabled management, members and vendors to focus more exclusively on the group. “Moving from Surfaces was a big help for show attendance for both vendors and members,” he explained. “When you have a large show like Surfaces—which is a great event and we encourage our members to go to—it’s so easy to be distracted in Vegas when you’ve got that going on in the background and it’s very hard for our vendor partners to be able to really focus on our exhibit hall and also focus on the big giant behemoth that is Surfaces. So I think it allowed everyone to step away from the business and be here just for this event.”
Moreover, according to management, moving the Floors & More standalone event from winter to early spring still gives members ample opportunity to curate their showroom offerings for the year despite the later convention start. As Virga Jr. explained: “The reality is the first quarter is not the biggest sales quarter of the year for vendors or retailers. The second, third and fourth quarters are much stronger. So the way we see it is, hey, we’ve gone through the first couple of months, we’ve got kind of a feel for the year. Our vendors have officially announced their programs, which they do at Surfaces, but they don’t always have the products ready at Surfaces. So by March things are ready to start placing. So from a timeline perspective, it works really well because not only have they been announced, but now they’re ready to show and get out to the showrooms.”
‘Outshine’ the competition
In keeping with past Floors & More conventions, the focus is on giving retailer members the tools they need to succeed in business, rain or shine. That mission is more critical this year as businesses face economic uncertainty and faltering consumer confidence in many areas of the country.
To that end, the prevailing theme for this year’s convention is “Outshine,” a nod to the group’s competitive spirit. “The goal is not to perform at average; you need to be above average—and the only way to be above average is to run your business above average,” Virga Jr. stated. “That’s above average service, above average ethics and work ethic, really dedicating yourself to the process and trusting in the process.”
That also means it’s not the time to pull back on marketing despite the current economic climate and the broader feeling of uncertainty. That was the overarching message that Vinnie Virga, Sr., Floors & More CEO, delivere to members in his opening remarks. “When we outshine our competitors, we have an advantage that allows us to one, be successful no matter what’s going on in this crazy economy; and second, it also allows us to get good margins. And if we don’t have good margins, we don’t make money. If we don’t have money, we can’t invest in the business. One of the beautiful things about being one of the most highly recommended businesses that outshines everybody else’s, you can charge just about whatever you want and the people will pay it, if your reputation is that good.”
More importantly, Virga Sr. advised retailers to make adjustments and prepare for any challenges—present or future—that could impact their business. To illustrate his point, he quoted Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway: ‘Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.’ More importantly, you have to be able to drown out the noise.”
(Look for more coverage of the 2025 Floors & More convention in the April 7 edition of FCNews.)
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