James (Jim) Marcus was a major East Coast Carpet Manufacturer in the 1940s. Together with partner George Stone, Marcus formed Aldon Rug Mills, which at first produced mats and area rugs. The company later started a separate broadloom business, which grew rapidly. Marcus later sold that business and started a new company, Commercial Carpet Corp. At its peak, Commercial had 125 full-time salesmen and five regional managers. Marcus expanded that enterprise by selling product to distributors. That led to the successful formation of Viking Carpets (room size rugs and broadloom) and Robertson Carpets (broadloom). In 1978, Marcus and his wife, Helen, moved to California to run the Western operation of Commercial Carpet Corp.