WIFI Panel at Alliance Convention Highlights Next Gen Female Leadership
It’s a familiar story for flooring dealers: second and third, and beyond, generations of family members often step in to lead their family’s flooring business. In the case of these next gen Alliance Flooring leaders, all are women who are moving up in their family’s businesses. The WIFI NextGen Women Leaders in Flooring Retail panel was held on March 3 in Orlando, Fla. at Alliance convention.
Amy Rush-Imber, publisher and editor in chief of Floor Covering Weekly, and vice chair of the non-profit Women in the Flooring Industry (WIFI), moderated a dynamic panel which explored several topics, including how women made their own unique mark on their company, what challenges they faced and how they overcame them. Each panelists shared their unique perspective and how it shapes their approach to the business.
April House with CarpetsPlus ColorTile in Winnsboro, Texas. House, a wife and mother has been at the store since 2019. “Starting out in the flooring industry was never a dream of mine, much less a thought,” she said. But after a series of life changing events, House joined the business and today, she said, “I wear many hats inside and outside of the business. Each day looks a little different, but sales and account management are my main job titles. Tony Fry, the owner and my father, frequently hands over a new tasks, titles and responsibilities. The ultimate goal is to allow him more time out of the office by handing over the bigger responsibilities a little at a time and eventually ownership in the coming years.”
Jandi Phillips & Jennifer Curtis of Right Carpet & Interiors in Alamoso, Colo. are part of the store which was established by their grandfather in 1977. Phillips began working at Right Carpet & Interiors in 2005; Curtis started in 2002. Inheriting the business when their father past, Phillips and Curtis collaborate together.
Kyriah Simmons of 3Kings Flooring in Fort Wayne, Ind. said that while she has been with the store for eight years, she said she has a lifetime of hearing about eh flooring industry. “I feel as if I was placed in the perfect position,” Simmons said. “Every day I enter the building my grandparents chose to be the storefront for our company in 1971, just three years after opening 3Kings Flooring. I take great pride in our values and work ethic which helps keep our store a light and fun place to work.” Simmons is married and welcomed her daughter Nellie Kay last year.
Corinne Gilbert and Amy Parker are with Gilbert’s Carpets Plus ColorTile in Big Rapids, Mich. Gilbert is part of the second generation of Gilbert’s CarpetsPlus ColorTile joining the business in 2020. While Gilbert’s pride has been in the community, Parker, with more than a decade of experience in the construction industry, focuses on buildng better business relationships and a rebranding which included a veteran floor giveaway program – Red, White and Blue (RWB) Dream Floor Giveaway. “It has brought great recognition throughout the surrounding communities and helped six veterans and three first responder families,” shared Parker.
Katelyn Hansen is with Wholesale Flooring, Fall River, Mass. & CarpetsPlus Colortile Kitchen and Bath in Somerset, Mass. A new mom of an almost one-year-old boy, Hansen said, “I grew up in the flooring business, with my parents opening Liberty Floor Covering in 1976. I slept under waterfall carpet racks and would jump on the pile of rolls of carpets in the warehouse with my siblings to pass the time.” While she has always worked in the family business in one capacity or another, Hansen started working full time with her father in 2008. “I deal with every aspect of the business, however my specialty and strength is in building our kitchen and bathroom design business, and making sure we have the newest and most on-trend products in both of our stores,” she said.
Adapted from https://www.floorcoveringweekly.com/main/topnews/next-gen-leadership-42650
