Grapevine, Texas—It’s not often that nearly 1,200 members of any group can agree on something. But with Retail 2.0, CCA Global’s new merchandising and digital marketing system, the overwhelming consensus is the selling system works.
At conneXtion, CCA Global Partners’ annual convention here, the storyline once again revolved around the ongoing rollout of 2.0, which is now in roughly 60% of retailers’ showrooms. “Retail 2.0 will be the merchandising system for CCA,” John Gilbert, president of Carpet One Floor & Home, told Floor Covering News. “We’re getting very little, if any, pushback, which is very unusual for any coop.”
Keith Spano, president of Flooring America/Flooring Canada, agreed, adding: “Very few have not wanted it. It has exceeded our expectations.” The remaining members are expected to have it by the end of March.
Both executives agreed the timing is right for what they say is the most significant initiative in its history. It comes at a time when retail traffic has slowed for most dealers. CCA retailers saw 2023 numbers come down a bit from the previous year, albeit sales are up 10% from 2019, the last “normal” business year before the pandemic.
To illustrate that retail traffic has slowed, CCA executives cited a Google trends report showing interest in flooring has fallen more than 40% from May 2020 through November 2023; however, it is on par with 2019 figures. At the same time, marketing investment is also down.
Executives urged members not to fold up their tents; rather, they need to be proactive amid the tepid retail climate. “We need to invest now when things are soft,” Spano advised. “We need to invest in marketing, invest in our teams, invest in consumer financing. When others are pulling back, we need to be investing. We need to double down on our initiatives.”
Topic A among initiatives would be Retail 2.0, which aims to simplify the shopping experience for consumers and allows RSAs to upsell those customers. Put another way, it is the antidote to a slowing retail environment. For the 60% of members who have the system up and running, it already is a welcome sight.
“When members see it in their showrooms they just light up,” Gilbert noted. “But it’s not just about showrooms; so much of it is digital—therefore, everything has to be tweaked to maintain relevancy. We built Retail 2.0 to be adaptable; everything is fungible.”
Retailers all-in on 2.0
With near unanimity, Carpet One and Flooring America retailers have embraced the new selling system for a variety of reasons. Schneider’s Flooring America, Vernon, Conn., was one of the first 100 dealers to have 2.0 installed. According to Paul Deschenes, general manager, while his RSAs are “all-in” on the selling system, the response from customers has been just as strong. “Their initial reaction has been, ‘Oh my God, this is beautiful,’” Deschenes told FCNews. “I had a customer who took a few minutes to find the sample she liked, which happened to be the most expensive sample in the showroom, and it turned into a $6,000 sale. It doesn’t get better than that.”
That sentiment of simplification was echoed by several other dealers at convention. “I wouldn’t go back to the old ways,” said Bobby Merideth, president of Flooring America OKC, Oklahoma City, who was also among the early adopters. “We had a customer walk up to the unit, saw the color and style she wanted and that was it. So simple. It’s fantastic.”
Jim Fink, president of Corter’s Flooring America, Williamsport, Pa., said Retail 2.0 has made a tangible difference in his business within just the first four months of installation. As he explained, “So much of the selection process is based on colorways, and with this system it really narrows down the decision-making process for those looking for a certain color. This is also going to help a lot of dealers whose stores are more cluttered.”
The color selection process has been a big hit for homeowners as well as designers, according to Zach Green, vice president, Great Southeast Flooring America, Melbourne, Fla. “Designers don’t care about price, they care about the color,” Green stated. “[With Retail 2.0] they go to the color they want, and boom—it is done. Within a minute the designer will pick the color they want.”
For Pierre Abboud, owner of Foothill Carpet Flooring America, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., listening to the success stories of 2.0 has made him a bit envious. He is expecting shipment in March. “Our old samples are aging, so it’s time to update our store and bring in the new samples,” he said. “When that happens Retail 2.0 is really going to separate us from other retailers in our market, and it will bring in more customers.”
Education abounds
CCA held 44 educational sessions during conneXtion, many of them led by retail members. Among the most interactive was run by Dan Hussey of Totally Floored Flooring America on “Margins and Profitability.”
Hussey spoke about the “power of 1%,” explaining that if flooring retailers could increase their gross margins by just 1%, which is very doable, it would make a world of difference in their business.
“We are leaving too much money on the table,” he told fellow dealers. “Go back and raise your gross margin 1%, and that would mean an extra $35,000 or $70,000 at the end of the year, depending on your store size.”
Installation Excellence
The in-house training arm of CCA Global Partners, which launched in 2023, has completed floor installation education for 320 individuals, in 23 cities, across the U.S. and Canada.
CCA launched the Installation Excellence Program to help find and retain qualified installers. The member-exclusive initiative —launched in conjunction with industry veteran Robert Varden —helps members train and recruit flooring installers.
Enhancements to the program include providing members with access to a dedicated recruitment team focused on non-traditional search methods to find qualified local flooring installers. “The sheer volume of installers trained in our first year exceeded our expectations,” said Nicole Harding, vice president of CCA Global University. “We conducted the training right in our member’s warehouses, so they were part of the action and learning.”
