Article: EDITORIAL: Welcome to 'Joe's Boring Carpet'

Is creativity in merchandising dead? I'm beginning to think so.

I've spent some time lately taking a visual survey of retail floor-covering stores both locally and in cities where I've traveled. Mostly, I see the same store over and over.

The outside looks like a Laundromat - neon sign with "Joe's Boring Carpet" in red letters; huge windows through which you can see rows and rows of samples that all look alike; more often then not a hand-painted sign screaming that some line or other is 20-percent off and padding is free. What is the story here?

Other retail sectors feature merchandising that is vibrant and alive. We remain mired in a merchandising ...

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