Omaha, Neb.—Shaw is partnering with Nebraska Furniture Mart—one of the nation’s largest home improvement retailers—to launch the first-ever Anso Gallery. The novel showroom-within-a-showroom concept is the byproduct of a nearly year-and-half-long collaboration to create an elevated, in-store carpet buying experience. The high-impact destination, which occupies roughly half of the space dedicated to carpet at the flagship NFM store, features Shaw Pet Perfect carpets made with Anso high-performance fibers.
“This gallery exceeds my expectations in terms of how warm, inviting and practical it is,” said Tim Baucom, CEO and president of Shaw, during the official ribbon-cutting ceremony here this week. “I’m already hearing impressive results in terms of the way consumers are reacting to this concept.”
More importantly, Baucom cited the fruits of the joint efforts between Shaw and NFM in this endeavor. “This is what happens when we really think about the customer experience,” he explained, citing all the players across the supply chain working toward a singular objective. “It’s about who installs, sells, buys and specifies our product. In today’s connected world, there are so many influencers. Ultimately, the person with the check is the one who uses our product.”
None of that happens, Baucom noted, without great partners. “I can’t think of a better partner than Nebraska Furniture Mart,” he said. “Their tenacity, commitment to excellence and their respect for vendors as partners. This approach is designed to renew and revitalize our core—soft floor covering. This is an established category that we’re investing in the future to give ourselves the tools to be that clear leader in terms of thought and product. You have to have partners that challenge you to achieve that.”
Dave Chambers, director of flooring for NFM, expressed his excitement about the concept. “It means the world to us to be the first retailer to launch the Anso Gallery,” he told FCNews. “It’s a testament to the strategic partnership we have with Shaw. Both organizations came together to deliver on an experience that’s new to the brick-and-mortar retailers in terms of carpet retailing. We’re going to continue to improve on it and enhance that experience for the consumer.”
At its core, the launch of the Anso Gallery concept reflects Shaw’s reputation for listening closely to its customers when developing/conceptualizing products and programs. “I’ve never seen two teams come together better to achieve a goal,” said Scott Sandlin, executive vice president, residential division, Shaw. “This deal came together over 14 months in the middle of a supply chain situation. This was a classic story of two great teams coming together and making something special happen.”
Look for more on this story in an upcoming edition of Floor Covering News.