Volume 26/Number 16; Dec. 17/24, 2012
CMH Space Flooring Products has acquired “certain select assets” from Bayard Sales Corp., expanding its territory throughout the Mid-Atlantic states and doubling its population base. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
As part of the deal, Bayard’s owners Don Wohlfarth, Sr., and Don Wohlfarth, Jr. will stay with the company in “top leadership roles” in the newly named Bayard Region “to help grow the business,” noted Hoy Lanning, CMH’s CEO.
CMH was already considered the industry’s third largest distributor with 2011 sales estimated at $135 million (FCNews, Oct. 24/31). With this purchase, the company’s sixth since being founded in 1989, sales for this year are projected to be $185 million, putting it on the cusp of the No. 2 spot, held by BPI.
“We have never set a goal to be No. 1 in sales,” Lanning told FCNews. “Our goal is to be known as the best distributor in the industry and fill the needs of our customers, suppliers and employees above their expectations. This is a great opportunity for both companies as our territories literally bumped and we share many key suppliers, not to mention having the same philosophy of providing quality products at competitive prices with an emphasis on superior customer service. Bayard has a great reputation for outstanding customer service and some of the best people in this industry.”
In terms of shared vendors, he said they include Congoleum, Burke, Henry, and Beaulieu, Shaw and Mohawk for carpet. “We will grow these products as well as Formica Flooring, Mercier and several other wood lines. We can sell other products from CMH in the Bayard Region as well.”
In addition to giving Bayard customers an opportunity to select from a wider range of products, Lanning said CMH will introduce its own programs to the Bayard Region.
For Bayard, which was founded in 1943, Don Wohlfarth, Jr. said, “This is an opportunity for us to strengthen our operations and logistics to satisfy our customers’ needs. The ownership of CMH Space is a great group of business professionals and we have been friends for many years. Our combined staffs have decades of experience that will benefit established customers, new customers, and both current and new vendors.”
With the purchase, Lanning said CMH now has a presence in 14 states as well as Washington, D.C., servicing upwards of 10,000 retailers through 18 locations, including three master distribution centers—N.Y., Atlanta and Harrisburg, Pa., the last of which came from Bayard.
“The combination of CMH and Bayard,” he explained, “will give customers in the Mid-Atlantic region great service and logistics, top salespeople with support of customer service and outstanding inventory to assist dealers with material quickly. [Bayard] saw the synergies of sharing resources and cost. This gives them everything they need to grow.”