Flooring America/Flooring Canada, a division of CCA Global Partners the nation's largest floor covering cooperative, today kicked-off conneXtion TM, its newly branded bi-annual meeting that connects its more than 500 independent floor covering retailers at the Phoenix Convention Center in Arizona. Aspiring to become what "SXSW (South by Southwest)" is to technology and music industry, conneXtion convenes entrepreneurs from across North America to participate in thought-provoking discussions and share ideas to grow their businesses.

Promising to be one of the best meetings yet with attendance at full capacity, Flooring America and Flooring Canada tapped Guy Kawasaki well-known Silicon Valley author, social media guru, speaker, investor and business advisor as the keynote speaker. Most recently, Kawasaki joined Google as an advisor to Motorola to create a Google+ mobile device community.

Visionary entertainer and VJ, 2ndNature joins conneXtion to deliver a dynamic audio /visual performance that will captivate members. Emmy nominated, 2ndNature has worked with world-class corporations like Under Armour, Lenovo, Blackberry and Nissan to create content and deliver unforgettable performances.

According to Keith Spano, President of Flooring America, "We can't wait to unite members at conneXtion, the new iconic brand for all Flooring America and Flooring Canada's meetings moving forward. Our goal is to create a hip and stimulating environment for our entrepreneurs to connect and share business ideas."

He added, "Flooring America and Flooring Canada members experienced a great 2013, with 45% of our members seeing a 20% increase in business FY13 over FY12 and the vast majority of our members outpaced our industry growth of 5%. In 2014, we want to ensure our members continue to leverage the sound strategies we implemented to propel their businesses forward."

2014 promises to be an exciting year on the marketing front for Flooring America and Flooring Canada members. Frank Chiera, Vice President of Marketing, comments, "2014's marketing initiatives will focus on connecting to the consumer by continuing to leverage customer reviews and referrals across social channels, reaching new audiences through digital campaigns, refreshing traditional creative campaigns and capitalizing on local events to build stronger relationships within our members' communities."

He continues, "As a company, we recognize the importance of the millennial, LGBT and Hispanic shopper as being vital to the future growth of the business. Last year, we formed a 30 Under 30 council comprised of thirty individuals from our 500 independent retailers who possess an entrepreneurial spirit and who fit a similar profile to the millennial segment to gain valuable insight as we launch the 2014 marketing campaigns."

In addition, Flooring America and Flooring Canada will unveil its new Lead Delivery System (LDS) application designed to enable sales and design consultants to easily access customer information.

The merchandising team will present new products and displays designed to appeal to the new market segments in which Flooring America/Flooring Canada will target in the future. A new laminate Merchandising System will be offered to accommodate the up and coming Millennial consumers with a good, better, best line of products that will meet the needs of younger customers.

Spano concludes, "At conneXtion, we want to provide our members with the tools they need to connect all aspects of their businesses from marketing and sales to merchandising and product innovation. We are more excited than ever to reinvigorate our members and have them obtain the tools needed to continue to build strong relationships with customers and exceed customer expectations in 2014."

For more information on Flooring America/Flooring Canada, visit www.flooringamerica.com or http://www.flooringcanada.ca. Become a fan on Facebook and follow us @FlooringAmerica or @FlooringCanada.

About Flooring America and Flooring Canada

Flooring America and Flooring Canada are divisions of CCA Global Partners the nation's largest floor covering cooperative. With more than 500 independent, locally owned flooring retailers, Flooring America's member stores work hard every day to become the most recommended flooring stores in North America. Flooring America's independent retailers strive to make customers deliriously happy by guiding, advising and finding the right floor to make homes beautiful. We are the flooring store where friends send friends for their new floors.

For Flooring America
Michelle DeLuties, 617-429-0958
michelle@m-dcomm.com