10 Ways to Build Upon Your Flooring Business

Prior to the economic crash of 2008, it was a lot easier to make money in the flooring industry.  The industrial landscape has changed since then, forcing business owners to be more creative with how they generate revenue.  Before the recession, showrooms could easily just sell tile or hardwood products if that was their specialty.  It’s still possible but it has become a lot more challenging if your product offerings are limited.

Very rarely does a customer only want to just redo their floors.  If it’s a new construction project, they are going to need other interior home products to complete the work.  If it’s a renovation, they may want to do more than just the floors since they’re already ripping things up and making a mess.  Including other related ancillary products to your offerings could increase your chances of making a higher sale.

Many consumers are lazy and don’t like to piecemeal their projects.  They would rather just blink their eyes and see their newly renovated home appear in front of them.  Having to travel to different stores for each facet of their home project can be very overwhelming to the simple minds of most customers.  Even going from one department to another at the big hardware stores can cause somewhat of a sensory overload.  Having the following products available to your customers and being able to hold their hands and walk them through the design process could be the difference between you getting the sale or one of your competitors.

1.    Kitchen Cabinets

The kitchen is undoubtedly one of the most important rooms in the house.  Homeowners know that not only is this one of the most utilized rooms, but renovating it significantly increases the resale value of the home.  Cabinets are somewhat more complicated than flooring products because they’re available in so many different sizes.  However, the good news is that you don’t necessarily have to warehouse all of these components.  There are plenty of cabinet manufacturers that create standard sizes and will drop-ship the sizes you need.

Having a carpenter on staff who is capable of fabricating customer cabinetry is definitely a lot to tackle initially.  Prefabricated cabinets are available in a variety of standard sizes that will allow you to create a kitchen of just about any size.  Fillers can account for the few inches that the standard sizes don’t accommodate.  Know your clientele to determine whether to carry traditional, contemporary-style cabinets or both in your showroom.

2.    Countertops

All kitchen cabinets need countertops.  The most common options are quartz, granite and laminate.  There are plenty of vendors of quartz and laminate that would be happy to provide you with showroom samples and no cost to you and refer you to authorized fabricators who will take measurements, fabricate the countertop and provide the installation.  Many fabricators also stock granite slabs.

3.    Backsplash

The average kitchen has about 40 square feet of backsplash space on the wall above the countertop.  This space can be adorned with mosaics, glass or the same material as the countertop.  Mosaics are an expensive but visually aesthetic option.  Glass is cost effective and easy to clean.  A glass vendor can custom make the pieces to fit into this area and the back of the glass can be painted any color.

4.    Bathroom Vanities

Other than the kitchen, the bathroom is the second most important room in the house.  Many of the same companies that offer kitchen cabinets also offer bathroom vanity components.  Vanities are generally 21” deep, rather than kitchen base cabinets which are typically 24” deep.  For the most part, that is the only difference between them.

5.    Plumbing Products

If a customer is building or renovating their bathroom, they may also need a sink, tub, toilet, faucet, shower, etc.  Contact your local plumbing supply wholesaler for these products.  You may just need to purchase a few to keep in your showroom or have a catalog handy to show pictures to your clients who are embarking upon these types of projects.

6.    Glass Enclosures

It’s always a good idea to have a glass vendor at your disposal who can help you with custom building a shower enclosure or supplying shower doors.  They will most likely be able to do the installation as well.  All you need to do is take measurements and present the options to your customers.

7.    Window Treatments

You’re already doing work in the house.  Why not offer drapes, shades, blinds, blackouts, etc. as an adjunct to your other products?  As with your glass vendor, there are most likely wholesale window treatment suppliers available in your area who can help you include these products into your lineup.  Consider both manual and motorized window treatments for both your cost conscious and lazy customers.

8.    Wall Panels

For contemporary-style homes, wall panels can drastically change the look of a space.  These may not be your top selling products but for the right customers, it will distinguish your operation from your competitors.  Remember that some customers don’t know what they want until they see it.  Some may not even consider the possibility of utilizing wall panels or may not even know what they are.  It’s your job as the retailer/designer to present all of the options to your customers for possible consideration.

9.    Stone Veneer

For traditional-style homes, nothing warms up a room like the look of stone on the walls.  There are manufacturers that offer both natural stone and engineered stone options.  You can subcontract a mason to do the installations.  Stone veneer can be applied to both interior and exterior walls and can also be utilized on chimneys and fireplaces.

10.  Ceiling Tiles

The ceiling is the fifth wall that is often overlooked.  However, there’s nothing duller than a plain, white sheet rock ceiling.  Ceiling tiles are available in plastic, metal and a variety of other materials, most of which are very easy to install.

For more information about increasing the revenue potential of your flooring business, please call Ashlar Consulting Corporation at 305-849-9399 or visit www.AshlarConsultingCorp.com. 

Increasing Revenue of your Flooring Business

After the recession of 2008, home renovations and new construction projects dropped considerably.  It had become more challenging to keep interior home design businesses profitable thereafter.  Business owners in this field have had to be creative in order to make money.  One way is to introduce related ancillary products into their lineup.

Very rarely does a homeowner just want to redo their floor. Since they’re ripping everything up and making a mess, they start to think about updating their kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, etc.  Why not capitalize on your already existing customers by offering other items that they will need at the same time that they’re embarking upon their flooring project?

Some flooring store owners who have exclusively been working with floors for years find themselves being somewhat intimidated by other products that they are less familiar with.  However, as times change, so must your business.  The kitchen and bathroom are the two most important rooms in a house.  Regardless what the other rooms look like, the kitchen and bathroom can significantly increase the value of a home.  Homeowners know this and pay close attention to these areas when either building or renovating their home.

How does a flooring store get into the cabinet business?  It’s really not too difficult.  There are manufacturers that can supply you with all of the products you need to venture into this area of the business.  There are basically two different types of cabinets: custom and prefabricated.  Either way, store owners won’t have to warehouse any inventory. 

Custom cabinets are undoubtedly more expensive than prefabricated cabinets and have a longer lead time.  Prefabricated cabinets can fit into any space utilizing fillers where the standard sizes fall short.  Most cabinets are available in wood and melamine. There are pros and cons for both.  Wood cabinets usually have solid wood doors with plywood boxes.  Wood cabinets are traditionally more expensive than melamine, which is basically a type of particleboard or medium density fiber (MDF).  The downside of this material is that if it is exposed to moisture, it can expand.

Let’s talk about the components.  With kitchen cabinets, there are base cabinets and wall cabinets.  Base cabinets are traditionally 34.5 inches high and 24 inches deep with a variety of different widths.  Wall cabinets are usually 12 inches deep and vanities are normally 21 inches deep.  Store owners can purchase cabinet design software to map out the layout of a kitchen when presenting projects to clients.  There are even free cabinet design tools available online that can get the job done.

Since the height and depth of kitchen base cabinets are mostly standardized, they are commonly identified like this: 42” wide sink base (SB42), 24” wide drawer base (DB24), etc.  Prefabricated systems usually have every standard size available. 

Installation is an issue that needs to be taken into consideration.  If you’re not a licensed contractor, you either need to hire one or partner with one in your area.  If you know a reliable contractor you can subcontract to do installations, it won’t cost you anything and you can add an additional 10% to the contractor’s fees for your profit.

There are plenty of other vendors that could help you fill in the gaps, such as plumbing distributors who can help you purchase sinks wholesale as well as companies that fabricate countertops.  The backsplash could be a perfect opportunity to sell the mosaics that you may offer as well.  Most flooring store owners who go this route are finding out that there is more money to be made selling cabinets than selling floors. 

For more information or for assistance with including cabinets to your product line, call Ashlar Consulting Corporation at 3054-849-9399 or visit www.AshlarConsultingCorp.com.