New Name Reflects Broad Scope of World's Largest Floor Covering Group

May 2, 2001
CCA Global Partners

MANCHESTER, NH (March 2, 2001) -- The world's largest floor covering group is changing its name effective today, when Carpet Co-op of America Association, Inc, becomes CCA Global Partners. The change, approved by Co-op shareholders on March 1, reflects the company's tremendous growth and diversification since its founding in 1984 by Alan Greenberg and Howard Brodsky, co-chairmen and CEOs.

"When we started out, our organization had one operating unit - Carpet One -- with 13 members. Today our annual sales volume exceeds US$4 billion, and we have more than a dozen operating units and retail store brands and 2,000 locations worldwide. We offer a full range of flooring products and services, from higher end retail replacement, to residential building, to wholesale, to outlets," said Brodsky.

"We are proud of the leadership position that Carpet Co-op of America established and our track record of 25 percent annual sales growth in a highly competitive environment, but we believe that it is time to change our name to one that reflects the far-reaching scope of our organization," said Greenberg.

"The marketplace has changed dramatically in 16 years," he added. "Competition now comes from the large home centers rather than from independently owned floor covering stores. We have aggressively expanded in order to ensure the scale and professionalism needed to succeed in this environment. The CCA Global Partners name reflects that strategy."

The change to CCA Global Partners will not affect the names of any of the company's operating units or retail stores, which include Carpet One, the largest unit, as well as Flooring America, ProSource, GCO, International Design Guild, Stone Mountain's Carpet Mill Outlet, and Rug Décor. CCA Global Partners also has a majority interest in FloorExpo, which serves the residential builder's market under the Home Solutions™ brand.

"We know that the recognition and equity built into these brands are among our greatest assets, and our intention is to build these brands even further," said Brodsky. "While our corporate name will change, our commitment to our members and our membership structure remains the same."

The change to CCA Global Partners caps off a year of significant acquisitions for the company, which acquired the Flooring America and GCO franchise systems in November 2000 and purchased its majority interest in FloorExpo in October.

About CCA Global Partners

With $8 billion in aggregate gross sales and 74 consecutive quarters of profitability, CCA Global Partners is a formidable leader in the retail industry. Today, more than 3,000 retail stores in the United States and abroad benefit from CCA Global’s business leadership through its 13 different affiliate companies. CCA Global retailers are currently engaged in the flooring, mortgage, recreation and formalwear industries respectively including: Carpet One, FloorExpo, Flooring America, Flooring One, Stone Mountain Carpet Mill Outlet/GCO Carpet Outlet, International Design Guild, Lenders One, Lighting One, ProSource, Rug Décor, Flooring Canada, Tuxedo America Group and The Biking Solution. For more information, visit http://www.ccaglobal.com.