February 19/26, 2018: Volume 33, Issue 18
By Ken Ryan
Haines, the flooring industry’s largest distributor with 2017 sales of approximately $495 million, has announced plans to exit the Bravo Services consortium, effective April 1, 2018. Haines, in a prepared statement, said the decision to end the relationship with Bravo, which dates to 2000, was based on the distributor’s inability to justify the cost and time commitment vs. the overall return on investment.
“Our decision, while difficult, is simply a matter of return on our investment from the efforts we put in,” Mike Barrett, president and CEO of Haines, said in a press release. In a follow-up call, Barrett told FCNews that over the past year he had evaluated the “the time and effort required to attend meetings, answer surveys, attend the annual [summit], plus our dues, and we frankly haven’t been able to justify a return on those investments.”
Barrett said he kept John Carney, executive director of Bravo, and John Sher, president of Adleta, and a group leader, apprised of his concerns the entire year. “So this, while not their hope, was not a surprise,” he stated. “John Carney and John Sher are great leaders in our industry, and we wish them and the Bravo members the best.”
Bravo disseminated its own release confirming the departure of Haines following a lengthy management review. “Bravo wishes to thank Haines for their many contributions to Bravo over the years,” Carney said.
Haines recently expanded its distribution coverage with Armstrong to the South (FCNews, Feb. 5/12). However, Barrett said that move had nothing to do with its Bravo decision. Also, in November, Haines and Belknap-White Group forged a partnership aimed at improving the effectiveness of both companies. As part of the deal, Belknap will hold limited shares in Haines through an equity investment, which would help Haines reduce debt and continue to invest in new initiatives.