You know it is time to develop new interests when you’re on vacation and spend your time visiting flooring showrooms after 55 years in the business. Knowing as much or more than anyone in the industry about showroom design and layout, and having designed dozens of showrooms across the nation that actually helped the sales process, I’ve found the average retail showroom has shown little or no improvement since my entrance into the industry.
Wouldn’t it be a dream if your website could be more than a yellow pages ad and instead become a magnet for attracting more of your ideal customers online? Like most retailers, you probably have a website out of necessity so your customers can find your location, hours and general information about your company story and the product lines you carry. For those who want more out of their website, follow these seven tips.
You’ve all heard the hype. Everyone’s on Facebook and Pinterest and Instagram. There’s tweeting going on everywhere, but not a bird in the sky. And something called Snapchat where messages disappear…but you might be able to advertise there?
Social media continues to innovate the ways people communicate and receive information in the 21st century. This is not just true for keeping up on what your friends and family are doing, but can have a real impact on the way you run your business as well.
Industry legend Rose “Mrs. B” Blumkin founded Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM) in the basement of her husband’s store in 1937, selling home furnishings at rock-bottom prices. Over the course of the next 60-plus years, the innovative businesswoman shattered conventions to build one of the largest dollar-volume independent retail businesses, selling everything for the home—from furniture to flooring to electronics—in giant retail spaces.
A lot has been happening at Beaulieu Commercial in the past few months and at the epicenter of the activity is Steve Hillis, the president. Steve has been there and done that in all of the best places in the commercial floor covering business and was just about ready to take himself out of circulation and, yes, retire.
Amy Johnston of Flooring Services in Livonia, Mich., is the first certified installation manager to receive designation from the Flooring Contractors Association’s (FCICA) Certified Installation Manager (CIM) program.