Danville, VA, October 5 - Columbia Flooring invited representatives from distributors located in six North American markets to attend its first-ever Distributor Council meeting, held in Danville September 14-15.
Columbia executives shared new laminate and hardwood strategies, upcoming marketing and merchandising programs and gave their distributor customers a tour of the manufacturer's Danville engineered hardwood flooring plant, which is presently undergoing a $13.5 million expansion.
Columbia president David Wootton said, "Our company has undergone significant growth over the past year, and with expansion comes the need for careful strategy. We would be remiss in not soliciting the input of representatives from our distributor network."
"It was great to take a role in the planning stage of some of Columbia's upcoming programs," Wayne, New Jersey-based Hoboken Floors' wood product manager Bill Schollmeyer said. "We all tend to have our own myopic vision of the industry at large, and to get a close-up look and participate in strategy with one of our suppliers was very helpful."
Ralph Singer, CEO and chairman of Diamond W Floor Covering Inc., City of Industry, Calif., echoed Schollmeyer and added, "It was also great opportunity to air concerns on both sides as well as to interact with distributors in other markets."
