Danville, VA, July 10--Columbia Flooring announced the company would not be attending Surfaces 2004 in January.
“This is a decision we made in December 2002,” Columbia President David Wootton said. “Surfaces is a great event and has been very successful for us, but we decided prior to Surfaces 2003 that this year we would invest in programs that give us more quality time with distributors and retailers.”
Wootton said Columbia had planned to announce its withdrawal closer to next year’s event, but “in light of some recent high-profile Surfaces cancellations, we deemed it necessary to release a statement now.”
Columbia held regional meetings with distributors and retailers during the fall of last year and felt the localized approach worked very well for introducing new products and customer programs. These smaller, more-focused events were well received and contributed to the company’s decision to exit Surfaces.
“In addition, we are embarking on a program to construct a new design center and training facility at our Danville operation, which will set a new standard for the industry and further strengthen the leadership position we are striving to achieve,” Wootton said. “Last year we spent a very significant amount of money on our Surfaces program and quite frankly believe we can achieve better results by applying these funds to ensure more quality time with our distributors and retailers.”
