(The retail community is counting down the days until Mohawk’s Edge Summit takes place this winter. As such, we’ve tapped several retailers, large and small, to explain what they’re looking forward to most.)
Reason to attend: Networking
Craig Phillips
President/CEO
The Flooring Edge, Akron, Ohio
I have always said Mohawk Edge Summit comes at the perfect time of year. We are finishing up our year and looking forward to a fresh start in the coming year. The convention is something to look forward to with new product introductions, marketing initiatives and special buys to get the excitement going for the next selling year.
Mohawk Edge Summit is the perfect reset for me and my business. Among all the benefits of attending—and why my senior leadership team have attended since the early 2000s—are the networking opportunities, which are tremendous.
Through the years we have developed relationships with key members of the Mohawk leadership and product teams that truly give us industry insight that we would not get without these face–to–face interactions. In addition to the insights, we have relied on our relationships with the team when we have had real issues that need resolved. Occasional issues that we simply would not have been able to navigate from the field level. We also use the time at convention to network with our peers from across the country. In addition, the peer sessions that take place at the Summit are centered around best practices.
As fellow dealers we share best practices and discuss real life experiences that help everyone come away from convention with fresh ideas to improve our businesses. As one example out of many, we hired a businessdevelopment person to go out and look for new business opportunities in our market after hearing the success that a peer had in doing the same. We have found, and continue to find, opportunities in our marketplace. Dedicating the resources to this has been huge for us.
My main takeaway: Edge Summit is time well spent for myself and for my senior leadership team.
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