January 19/26, 2015; Volume 28/Number 15
By Nadia Ramlakhan
Over the past two years the flooring industry has seen changes in the economy, advances in technology and even a new generation of customers. In order to keep up with the times and stay relevant, many businesses are expanding, diversifying and simply trying to shake things up. FCNews asked seven retailers from all over the country what they’ve changed within the past two years to stay relevant in the industry today.
Garry Combs
Garry’s Ultimate Flooring, Belvidere, Ill.
“One of the biggest things we’ve done is open a second location a few towns over in Algonquin, Ill. The 1,500-square-foot space is more like a flooring boutique store. We’ve been open now for six months and our numbers are great. We’re doing better than expected.
“We’ve had our main location open for about 12 years and we’re doing [well] so we thought it was a good time to expand. We made it through really hard times, so in order to take it to the next level I felt I had to do something a little bit different.
“To stay relevant, we keep advertising and putting our name out there—I definitely think that has helped. The new location is much more customer oriented so we’re able to give our customers more value and more knowledge compared to the big box stores.”
Todd Ramsey
3 Kings CarpetsPlus Color Tile, Fort Wayne, Ind.
“The biggest thing for us is to focus on hard surface, which is a growing segment of the industry. One major thing we’ve done is add more square footage to our hard surface area. We’ve recently installed six new showers in the showroom with all new tile and we’ve added a listello wall of glass approximately 15 x 10 feet, showing a lot of product.
“What we’ve done with our mock-up showers has given us an edge; it allows our customers to visualize the product in their homes. It takes away the guesswork of what products are going to look like in their homes and shows off our workmanship as opposed to having to convince customers that we do good work—they can see it first hand. When customers look in our showroom they can say, ‘That’s what I want’ and ‘That’s what I like.’ If they want to incorporate or change something, they can.”
Sam Chesher
Carpet Wise Flooring America, Longmont, Colo.
“I think technology is important when it comes to staying relevant today because the consumer is seeing technological changes in other retail industries. At Carpet Wise we don’t measure with our hands anymore. Any [measuring] we do is done with a laptop or laser and is saved for later use.
“We can color code rooms for different floors and attach it to a customer’s file. If she comes back in a year from now we can easily pull up her information. In the old days you might spill a cup of coffee on the measurements or give it to the installers and when she comes back in a year you have to do the measuring all over again.
“When you increase your technological presence customers tend to view you as more competent and more professional. Your measurement mistakes are cut to a minimum and, more important, your customer feels that a thorough job was done with the estimate. I hear a lot of good feedback from customers. It’s about being willing to put a little more money toward the technological changes.”
Mike Breslin
Breslin’s Floor Covering, Galesburg, Ill.
“After our ceiling collapsed last year we moved to another location for nine months and we’re just moving back. We’ve redone the place entirely. It has been completely gutted, and we put in new lighting, new flooring and new windows.
“I’m sure that what we’ve done will make a vast improvement with the business as far as being able to display our products a little bit better. It has a more logical layout from the standpoint of a shopping experience that Mr. and Mrs. Jones would like to have. Our products are better categorized than they were in the past. Previously we had to put the ceramic samples with the wood, and vice versa, whereas now there is a nicer flow for the customer.”
Ben Boss
Boss Carpet One Floor & Home, Dixon, Ill.
“With the economy going up and down we did do something significant—we started diversifying. At the beginning of 2014 we got into the kitchen and bath business, and about two years ago we entered the window treatments business. Now we sell countertops, cabinets, sink faucets and more.
“Since then we’ve had modest increases in our retail business. In our area we’re known for flooring, so if a customer is remodeling [she] will come in for that first. Once she finds out we also offer kitchen and bath products she will feel comfortable purchasing everything from us. Then there are some customers who come in for cabinets and end up purchasing flooring as well. You never know what you’re going to get. We’re going to continue moving along with kitchen and bath and will keep our options open for other segments.”
Kevin Murray
Murray Floor & Window Coverings, Billings, Mont.
“One of the key changes for our business in the past two to three years was adding a Design Center concept to our already successful mobile shop-at-home system. We did this when business was a little soft in hopes of catching the wave on the next upswing in business. We wanted to differentiate ourselves from our competition in the area by offering a mobile store and Design Center solution so we could meet the needs of our clients. Now clients can make the decision of having us come to their homes with our mobile showroom or they can set up appointments for one-on-one meetings in our Design Center. The key to this is to give the customer the choice in how she starts the shopping process.”
David Pirko
Bishops Carpet One Floor & Home, Ithaca, N.Y.
“There’s really been more of a focus on trying to update the showroom with new and current products. We’ve moved displays, added new displays and gotten rid of some of our outdated stuff that wasn’t selling. Our showroom is constantly in flux, but over the last two years we’ve done more and have more planned for the future.
“I think product selection can help you stay ahead of your competition. Obviously when you bring in new products training has to go along with it. Anytime you bring in something new a lot of things change, so you have to keep everyone up to date. Training goes hand in hand with new products but it all starts with having the latest and greatest on your floor.”