The Coatings AllianceThe Coatings Alliance was founded in 1998 to create a new collection of ultra-premium paints that combined the winning attributes of the major brands into a single line. For years, supplies of superior paint products had been compromised by an alarming trend: the rapid consolidation of paint manufacturers and suppliers. Once a major brand would buy out smaller, localized paint suppliers, to economize, it would change the paint formulas. Since the brand name might not change, customers would be left to discover negative changes in coverage, durability and application only after they had opened the can and started a project.

Independent retailers were hearing mounting complaints. Their business was suffering from declining product quality as well as outright losing suppliers. Sources for the kind of unique, high quality products were scarce. When Greg Stebbe, owner of Walls Alive in Calgary, Alberta, lost yet another supplier to consolidation, he contacted Tom Hill, industry expert and former chief chemist for Pratt & Lambert. “I called Tom to see if he knew of another good supplier. When he asked if I had ever thought of making my own paint, I first thought he was crazy. But then it got me thinking that it might be possible,” said Stebbe.

Over the next months, Stebbe and Hill met with other retailers to consider the launch of a new line of premium paints. In October 1998, they established The Coatings Alliance.

The Coatings Alliance comprised a winning combination, Hill’s wealth of coatings industry experience-from formulations to distribution to manufacturing, and the retailers frontline contact with designers, contractors and other customers. Based on market research, an understanding of the industry and the capabilities of the retailers, they created a unique business model and plan that made every retailer-member a part owner of the company with a significant role in determining the direction for the new paint, C2 Collections of Color, and later C2’s LoVo. Michelle Quaranta, joined the Coatings Alliance in 2006, and opened Colori Paint Boutique.

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