Forty years is an eternity, especially for a small business in the U.S. In fact, it is estimated that only 10% to 12% of businesses make it to their 40th anniversary. But Floor Covering News is among the rare; we have stood the test of time. Truth be told, like a good bottle of whiskey, dry aged beef and cast iron skillets, FCNews has gotten better with age. What began as founder Al Wahnon’s flicker of light has grown up to be a beacon in this industry.
It was April 7, 1986, when Al launched this magazine. It was exactly 26 days before I picked the $385 Kentucky Derby exacta on national radio, cementing my position as one of the nation’s best horse racing handicappers. (I was managing editor of an industry publication at the time.) It was a different lifetime, but it was a lifetime whose path would lead me to FCNews some 20 years later. (More on this to come.)
So yeah, I have been here for exactly half of FCNews’ existence. But if you would have told me back in 1986 that I would spend 32 of the next 40 years of my life talking about grout lines, locking systems, laminate flooring and distribution channels, I would have told you to pull up your carpet padding and check the subfloor for mold. Yet, here we are. This issue commemorates the 40th anniversary of FCNews. Frankly, considering the sheer amount of economic turbulence, a global pandemic, supply chain drama and everything else we have endured, we think we look fantastic for our age.
We have made it through the tail end of avocado green shag, the rise and fall of Stainmaster, the birth of laminate flooring and the carpet transformation from nylon to polyester while watching LVT take over the showroom floor like a waterproof tidal wave. We’ve seen trends roll in, roll out and then get repackaged as “retro chic” 30 years later. Through it all, our pages have documented every square inch of this ever-changing, relentlessly hardworking industry.
To understand how we reached this 40-year milestone, you have to go back to the bedrock. This publication wasn’t built on a whim; it was built on grit, relationships and a deep-seated belief in the independent flooring dealer. Al Wahnon launched this magazine with a clear, uncompromising vision. He didn’t just want to report on the industry; he loved the flooring world with an unmatched passion. He went to his friends at the mills, earned their trust and laid down the first planks of what would eventually become the industry’s leading voice. Al taught us that a B2B magazine shouldn’t just sit passively on a counter— it should act as a tireless advocate, a business consultant and a trusted partner for the people whose lives were synonymous with the flooring industry every day.
When Al passed away in 2011, the torch was passed to his business partner, Mike Blick. Mike, an avid horse racing “fan,” had known of me from my Daily Racing Form and WFAN radio days. In fact, truth be told, we would eventually own racehorses together while I was executive editor at Floor Covering Weekly. Conflict of interest? Maybe. It was among the things that led to my departure. Now you understand that path I alluded to earlier.
Before Al died, he and Mike in late 2005 had hired my good friend and business partner, Dustin Aaronson, to run sales. They had witnessed the incredible growth of the classifieds section at FCW under Dustin’s watch. I came aboard a few months later with the expiration of my non-compete. From day one we were put in charge. We were told to run the business as though we owned it—because someday we would. At the time FCW was 3X the size of FCNews in terms of revenue. I told Al my first week that in five years we would be No. 1. He thought I should be committed to an insane asylum. It only took three.
Upon Al’s passing, Mike immediately made good on his promise and put plans in place for Dustin and me to own this business, and those plans finally reached fruition 12 years ago. He didn’t just hand over a title or a spreadsheet of advertisers. He handed over a legacy of trust. Mike has been a mentor, a guide, a friend, a father figure. None of this happens without Mike’s belief in us and his unwavering commitment to this publication’s survival and growth. He cut a deal that was advantageous to all three of us. Call it a win win win.
Looking back over 40 years, our journey mirrors the incredible resilience of the independent floor covering retailer. Al started this magazine to give business owners the sharpest news, the smartest margin-building strategies and a steady hand through every market cycle. Together, we survived the high-interest rates of the late 1980s, the dot-com bubble, the catastrophic housing crash and Great Recession of 2008-09 and a global pandemic that turned our supply chains into complete pretzels. We navigated the rise of the Home Depots and Floor & Decors of the world, an evolution that many doomsayers claimed would wipe independent dealers right off the map.
But the doomsayers didn’t understand the flooring community. You didn’t fold. Instead, the independent dealer did what they do best: They adapted, they out-educated the competition and they stood their ground. They proved that the big box can sell a cheap pallet of material, but they can never replicate the localized expertise and deep community relationships that form the foundation of an independent retailer.
Today, we are incredibly proud to be the voice of this industry. We are proud to be the source of making dealers more profitable and professional. We are proud of the tight-knit relationships we have forged. We are proud to be around when others have fallen by the wayside. We are proud to be part of this great industry. This is an industry where a handshake still carries weight, where mill executives and local store owners can have conversations and where competitors still help each other out when an unexpected backorder threatens a critical job.
How did we get to where we are today, particularly over these last 20 years? The simple answer is the fundamentals—the blocking and tackling. But yes, it was more strategic. The first thing we did was redesign the magazine. It was an eyesore, to say the least. It looked so bad I didn’t want to put my name on the masthead until the new look was revealed. The second thing we did was change the focus to make the magazine more retailer centric. Give the reader what they want to read while educating them in any way possible. At the same time, I brought relationships that I had forged over 11 years at FCW. And to that end, I will be forever grateful to Frank Ready, the former president of Armstrong Flooring, who gave us his entire $300,000 ad budget on day one of our arrival.
But none of this happens without Dustin. There has never been anyone better at the advertising game. He is tireless, relentless. He makes a case to about 150 potential advertisers every two weeks as to why they need to support the next issue with an ad. Try selling your customers something every two weeks. He is the best at what he does. Not even close.
The impact of FCNews reaches depths that even imagination does not allow. That fact was proven on Halloween 2018 when I checked my email before walking out the door. A 27-year-old named Jes Smothers sent a note that would forever change my perspective on our impact; it was an email that would change lives. You see, a month prior I had written an editorial about my friend Steve Joss, a retailer in Columbia, Md., who I had met many years prior. Steve had MS much longer than our relationship went back but now was on dialysis three days a week because his one remaining kidney was faltering. The column was a tribute to his resolve, lack of complaining and unwavering positive attitude. It was meant to serve as a blueprint for handling adversity. Well, the column would prove to serve one more purpose: Smothers wanted to donate a kidney. Without getting into medical details, the end result was not only Steve, but also a 10-year-old dying boy, receiving new kidneys. That’s the power of FCNews.
As I look back on my 20 years here, 12 as co-owner with Dustin, none of this happens without our incredible network of readers, advertisers, manufacturers and distributors. Thank you for inviting FCNews into your lives for all these years. Thank you for trusting us to write your stories, taking our business advice to heart and occasionally holding our feet to the fire when we needed it. You have kept us sharp, honest and deeply proud of what we do.
In looking ahead to the next 40 years, one thing is certain: Technology will continue to evolve at a breakneck pace. We will see digital printing capabilities that make laminate and LVT/ rigid core look more like wood than actual trees do. We will see more sustainable materials, and we will see AI have an impact at every level. The trends will keep shifting, and consumers will become more educated.
But no matter how the landscape shifts under our feet, the core mission of this magazine will remain unchanged: Floor Covering News will be right here with you— solid, dependable, fiercely protective of the independent dealer and heavily padded against whatever bumps in the road come next.
Cheers to the past — and the next — 40 years.
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