July 9/16, 2018: Volume 34, Issue 2
By Ken Ryan
Englewood, Colo.—“Peak performance” was the aptly named theme for Floors & More’s 2018 summer convention, held against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains. Peak performance was also appropriate for the overall health of the group, which between Big Bob’s Flooring Outlet stores and Floor to Ceiling/Floors & Kitchens Today experienced 12% to 14% growth in 2017, and 2018 is shaping up to be even stronger.
Sales are up and so isnew membership, which has spiked 16% in 2018. Those numbers do not include the pending list of verbal commitments. As founder and CEO Vinnie Virga explained, “We don’t count them unless they are signed, but the general outlook is very positive. The future looks incredibly bright.”
Floors & More, according to Virga, appeals to independent flooring dealers “because we have answers that you don’t get from other places. For example, our whole digital program is superb—no one is close. Another thing: No one understands the efficacy of traditional media like us, which is to say that traditional methods like TV and radio are not efficient anymore.”
To that end, Floors & More at convention announced plans to eschew TV and radio from its marketing and advertising strategy, with implementation to start in January 2019. In its place, according to Virga, will be “new- school” methods focused heavily on digital.
Compared to other buying groups, Floors & More is the outlier in the way it fully embraces non-flooring categories, thus the “More” in Floors & More. Virga estimated that while Big Bob’s is roughly still 80% flooring, Floor to Ceiling retailers are closer to 60%-40% flooring—and the gap is narrowing. To that end, Virga and Mike Cherico,
vice president, challenged members to unlock the fear factor and go after non-flooring opportunities even if it’s uncomfortable.
Certainly, there were opportunities for retailers at convention. For example, the exhibition area featured window treatment companies, vendors pitching blinds, kitchen and bath products, as well as cabinetry. One educational session was devoted to motorized shades and blinds from Lafayette Interiors.
However, no category got more attention than cabinets. It was announced that One Two One cabinetry, a division of KraftMaid, was offering Floors & More members exclusive rights to their cabinetry program for a 30-day period. As an incentive, dealers were offered a $10,000 credit for signing up.
That was good news for Rick Stoeckel, COO of Floor to Ceiling/Nelson Lumber in Hayward, Wis. His business, which was founded in 1995, is in the midst of a record-breaking year with monthly revenue exceeding $500,000, which is unprecedented. Half of that volume is coming from cabinetry. “You have to be in that business if you are a Floor to Ceiling dealer,” he said. “It is a profitable business and it is not difficult to manage. You are missing the boat if you aren’t in it; fortunately, there are programs here to help members.”
New programs, new vendors
Several new vendors have joined Floors & More since January. Newcomers include Gulistan, which essentially replaced Beaulieu; KraftMaid, Ribadao Wood Boutique and Rubi Tools. Floors & More invites its vendor partners to the general session as well as all activities during convention, which is not the norm among all buying groups. “I got a lot out of the discussions,” said Bruce Hammer, vice president of sales for Ribadao. He particularly enjoyed Pami Bhullar, Invista’s retail guru, talk about Stainmaster and the consumer.
Floors & More announced Cash for Core, a sales incentive program in which RSAs can earn money on certain core products and private-label offerings. How this spiff works: Once an order is placed, funds are loaded onto an RSA’s F&M debit card, which can be used for their own purchases. The program launches in August.
“The driving force in our business is to get our people excited and energized with our core vendors, and this spiff program does a great job with that,” said Jake Leppo, store manager with Floors & Kitchens Today, Norwood, Mass.
Exhibition excites
The convention included a two-day vendor trade show that featured brisk buying activity, according to suppliers. Nance Industries, for example, had multiple offers on its new DIY residential carpet tile line for Big Bob’s outlets. Meanwhile, Ribadao Wood Boutique, which received orders for several displays, had interest in its private-label offerings. Engineered Floors showcased two rigid core lines—Triumph and Revotec—as it takes a step into the world of luxury vinyl flooring.
“There is still an incredible amount of business out there in hard surfaces/LVP,” said Will Young, director of national accounts at Engineered Floors. “We’re not a one-trick pony anymore. We can go into a single-family builder and provide them with every surface.”
John Sheffield, vice president of sales and marketing for Gulistan, didn’t know what to expect as a first-time vendor. “I don’t know these dealers; for the most part these are all new accounts for us, which is a good thing.”