For many flooring retailers 2024 was a challenging year to say the least, what with persistent inflation and high mortgage rates putting a clamp on business activity. Dealers who closed out the year flat vs. the prior year considered that a small victory. And yet, there were retailers who posted double-digit increases. Why the discrepancy?
Don Cantor, owner of Lake Interiors in Chelan, Wash., thinks he has the answer. “Any of the businesses like ours that have diversified into other areas are doing fine relative to the ups and downs that we have seen,” he told FCNews. “The ones who are doing just flooring are having a tougher time.”
Cantor isn’t alone. Flooring dealers across the country have successfully diversified into other categories, giving a much-needed cushion to their businesses. Here’s how they did it…
Window Treatments
Venetian Carpet One Floor & Home, Houston
This Houston-based flooring retailer has continually expanded and adapted its business over the years to stay current. That includes window treatments, which, like other home furnishing categories, is constantly evolving. “For example, the window treatment business has become much more sophisticated,” said Gary Touchton, general sales manager, citing motorized controls as one big change. “We’ve totally enhanced our window covering presentation, which allows us to display the motorized blinds; people want to see it in action.”
Between 15% and 18% of the store’s business is window treatments. While other Carpet One Floor & Home dealers have added window treatments to their mix, many have merely dabbled in it. Not Venetian. Touchton said, when it comes to window treatments, you are either all-in or you are out. “You also need a dedicated person who knows the business,” he said. “If you are a floor covering specialty dealer and want to get into this business, you need to hire a pro to run that part of the business, otherwise you are going to make some expensive mistakes. It takes a level of sophistication and understanding of the product to make it work.”
Costly mistakes with measuring and trim work, for example, can easily be made if you don’t have a competent person doing the job, Touchton added.
Cabinets
Ted’s Floors & Beyond, Anniston, Ala.
Adding cabinets was a natural extension to Ted’s business since it was already in the kitchen and bath business. “It has taken some time, but we are going to add approximately $600,000 in sales this year as a result of [cabinets],” said Ted Gregerson, CEO.
It so happened that one of Ted’s salespeople had sold cabinets for Lowe’s and was familiar with 2020 Design Live, a space planning and visualization solution popular with kitchen & bathroom design.
Moreover, Wellborn Cabinet, a well-known cabinet manufacturer, was nearby in Ashland, Ala. “We also knew someone who installed cabinets, and they were willing to install any jobs we sold,” Gregerson said. “So, it was a very natural fit for us.”
In less than two years, Ted’s has an in-house cabinet designer, its own cabinet installer and a warehouse to store the cabinets prior to installation. “We project in 2025 we will add a minimum of $1 million in cabinet sales,” he said. “We are taking it slow so we do not get in over our head. Most of our sales come from flooring customers coming in to do a complete kitchen or bath makeover. We are beginning to get some word-of-mouth business for cabinets. If we continue to get that type of customer, our customer business could increase significantly over the next 12 to 18 months to where we are doing $2 million plus a year in cabinets.”
Paint
ICC, Indianapolis
“If at first you don’t succeed” could be the theme of ICC’s paint journey. It opened its first paint location during the height of the Great Recession. Then it ran into a second challenge as it was just the second Benjamin Moore store in the Indianapolis area; thus, getting traction proved difficult.
But ICC never gave up. To stir interest, ICC experimented with different marketing strategies—direct mailers, paid Google searches, traditional advertising in the local magazine and social media. “But the most effective thing was hiring an outside sales rep,” said Justin Thomas, general manager. “Having him out making calls every day is what really started getting people in the store.”
Business for ICC Paint & Décor has grown consistently year over year. “We now have our original paint store that is connected to our main flooring store,” Thomas said. “We also have two other standalone paint locations, and we are looking to maybe open a fourth location in another year or two.”
What Thomas found interesting during ICC’s paint venture was how loyal DIY customers and contractors are to paint brands. “The paint is obviously a big part of it; you have to have a great product,” Thomas said. “But being an independent retailer, we really drive home our customer service as a big selling point. I believe our superior service compared to other corporate-owned paint stores really is a key factor in our success.”
Countertops
Lake Interiors, Chelan, Wash.
Lake Interiors finished 2024 up nearly 25% in sales, with most of that increase stemming from non-flooring categories, which make up nearly two-thirds of his overall business. Countertops is a growing piece of that. From experience, owner Don Cantor has found that diversifying into categories beyond flooring has been the antidote to downturns as it provides a cushion during dips in business.
His advice for fellow flooring dealers? Diversify now. “If you say you’ll ‘try’ [to broaden your horizons] you’re setting yourself up for failure,” he said. “Like the Nike campaign says, ‘Just do it.’”
Lake Interiors is “doing it” in several non-flooring segments. As for countertops, Cantor said it generates roughly $150,000 a year in revenue. To make it work, the retailer collaborates with two fabricators who make his quartz and granite countertops. The retailer also sells laminate countertops. “If you’re in the cabinet business, you want to be in countertops because it is a natural fit,” he stated. “You can get higher margins with flooring if you are doing it right. However, countertops are a good add-on business.”
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