Empire Today, LLC is an American home improvement and home furnishing company based in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, specializing in installed

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of Pile (textile), pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fiber, synthetic fibres such as polyprop ...

and

flooring Flooring is the general term for a permanent covering of a floor, or for the work of installing such a floor covering. Floor covering is a term to generically describe any finish material applied over a floor structure to provide a walking surface. ...

. The company operates in more than 75 metropolitan areas within the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and is most well-known for TV ads featuring a distinctive jingle that recites the company's phone number and name. The company's name comes from the slogan on some of its commercials, "Empire today, carpeting tomorrow". Empire Today claims that it is the largest in-home sales flooring company in the United States.

History

Empire Today LLC (commonly referred as Empire Today) was founded by entrepreneur Seymour Cohen in 1959. It was initially known as Empire Plastic Covers, a private, family-owned business in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

from a small office space. Cohen decided to expand the company's product line in response to growing customer request. In 1965, Empire Plastic Covers changed its name to Empire Home Services, adding carpet to their product line. Over the years, Empire's product line grew, as did the company's national presence. In December 2002, the company was sold, and then in January 2003, adopted its current name: Empire Today. It was acquired by the investment company Mercury Capital LP. In 2016, the company was sold to

H.I.G. Capital H.I.G. Capital, LLC is a global alternative investment firm with $69 billion of capital under management. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt capital, debt and equity capital to middle-market company, middle ...

, a private equity firm, for an undisclosed amount. In February 2022, Empire Today acquired Sitton Contract Flooring, a flooring contractor based in California.

Carpet recycling

In 2023, Empire Today implemented a carpet and padding recycling program to minimize the environmental impact of their day-to-day operations. All of the padding removed by Empire Today's installers that can be recycled, will be recycled as part of their program in cooperation with Carpet America Effort (CARE) and Carpet Landfill Elimination and Recycling (CLEAR). In first quarter 2023, Empire piloted the program in select areas, and the program is currently operational in more than 25 of Empire's service areas. Since the program's inception, over eight million pounds of carpet and padding have been recycled, according to Empire's waste tonnage reporting.

Empire Today's advertising is prevalent throughout major metro areas across North America. The company's television and web ads feature the "Empire Man" character. He was originally portrayed as live-action but is now portrayed as a cartoon character at the end of their advertisements.

Empire Man

The "Empire Man" was introduced in 1977 as a live action character and later adapted into a popular animated person that has grown to become a cultural icon, especially in the

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities ...

. The "Empire Man" has been seen internationally in commercials and other media, has spawned a line of collectible

bobblehead A bobblehead, also known by nicknames such as nodder, wobbler, or wacky wobbler, is a type of small collectible figurine. Its head is often oversized compared to its body. Instead of a solid connection, its head is connected to the body by a ...

dolls and inspired the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

to declare an official "Empire Day" at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

in 2007. The live action "Empire Man" was portrayed on television by Lynn Hauldren, a former ad executive, from 1977 through 2011. After Empire Today retired the live character in favor of an animated version, Hauldren continued to provide voiceovers for the ads until his death in 2011, though ads with his voiceovers continue to air on television. Since 2017 the "Empire Man" has been portrayed by Ryan Salzwedel in various television spots.

Advertising jingle

Empire Today's advertising jingle, which has been broadcast since 1977, is a widely recognized theme. The jingle is simply a small vocal group singing out "8005882300" (the company phone number) and the company name. Over time, many different revisions to the song have been made, such as the word "today" being added in 2003, as well as the 800 part of the phone number also being added in 1995. Lynn Hauldren (also known as the Empire Man), a barbershop quartet performer, wrote and sang the tune to accompany the singing of the company's phone number, and recorded the jingle with an a cappella group, the Fabulous 40s. The famous Empire Today advertising jingle has made the Empire Today phone number one of the most recognized numbers in the country.

References

External links