California's Carpet Spectrum: Best Practices

By Jessica Chevalier

It is common knowledge that many retailers in the industry have worked up through the ranks of flooring, starting their careers as installers, retail sales associates or flooring manufacturer reps. Husband and wife team Jason and Stacie Fromm, who own California-based Carpet Spectrum, had similar career paths, both having worked as sales associates in the retail flooring business during their college careers.

However, post-college, Jason and Stacie pursued MBAs before taking over Carpet Spectrum in the mid 1990s. Equipped with a big picture view of business, rather than only a perspective bred from inside the flooring industry, Jason and Stacie approach the operation of Carpet Spectrum as a business first and a flooring business second. 

UNIQUE DIVERSIFICATION 
The best example of Jason and Stacie’s unique approach is in how they have diversified Carpet Spectrum. Yes, like others, they have moved beyond flooring into accessories such as baseboards and underlayments, but the Fromms have also taken advantage of their proximity to Los Angeles to expand beyond the horizons of a typical flooring retailer. 

A little more than a decade ago, the executive producer of a popular television show purchased flooring from Carpet Spectrum for his home. He was so pleased with the professionalism of the company and the quality of its work that he then hired the company to complete flooring work for his television show. In the completion of that project, Jason and Stacie met more individuals in the entertainment industry and began picking up work from them. Through word of mouth referrals, a new business niche was born for Carpet Spectrum.

“It’s a unique industry with high barriers to entry,” says Jason of entertainment work. “There are very few competitors, but it is a highly competitive marketplace. It’s a growing niche for us that depends on building strong relationships.” Though there aren’t many flooring companies at work in the entertainment industry, the work is highly sought after, and competition for jobs is fierce. As with acting, it isn’t just luck and proximity to Hollywood that established Carpet Spectrum as a go-to for television and movie work. It’s strategic planning and strict control over the Carpet Spectrum image. 

To start, Carpet Spectrum inventories over one million square feet of product. This allows the company to present first quality product at reduced prices, and it means that Carpet Spectrum is ready when called upon, a significant boon in the fast-moving world of entertainment. 

In addition, Carpet Spectrum puts strong emphasis on service and installation. The company employs its own installers, which it calls mechanics, and always has. Not only does Carpet Spectrum make sure that its mechanics are up to date on the latest practices and techniques, but it also provides premium tools and supplies for them to use. “We believe that if we have certified mechanics and equip them with the right tools, then we are making their jobs easier,” says Jason. “We try to stay on top of improvements in the industry, and we inventory all supplies. Because we choose all premium materials, we have a much lower failure rate. Our mechanics know how to prepare the surfaces and install the flooring. They are also great inspectors. If poor materials come through, they will catch it.” 

The beneficiaries to these best practices are many. First and foremost, the clients win because Carpet Spectrum is looking out for their interests. Jason explains, “Flooring is not a purchase made on a regular basis; in fact, it’s one of the most expensive purchases made in a client’s lifetime. If a client questions our installation rates, we tell them openly that our rates may be 10% higher, but that using quality materials and having a certified mechanic do the job is worth the difference. Many of our clients are professionals themselves and command a higher wage in their industries, so they respect that it’s worth spending a little more to get a proper installation.” 

Carpet Spectrum’s manufacturer partners also benefit because the company’s practices result in fewer claims. In fact, Jason reports that Carpet Spectrum has avoided many more manufacturer product claims than it has had to file because of its mechanics’ attention to detail and use of the best supplies.

And for the mechanic, it means the ability to perform to the highest standard and, thereby, maintain job security and command a higher wage. One of Carpet Spectrum’s mechanics retired after a 28-year tenure with the company, and the current head mechanic on the soft surface side of the business has been with the company for 24 years. As you might expect with a steady paycheck and the best supplies at hand, the top mechanics in the area are eager to work for Carpet Spectrum. 

And for the company itself, doing business the right way means fewer headaches and positive client referrals. In fact, Jason considers “word of mouth” his most successful and significant advertising medium. 

Carpet Spectrum has another unique arm of its business; the company facilitates design consultation for a national retailer. Jason explains, “There are a few major retailers who don’t control their own programs from start to finish. We facilitate in-home consultation, measuring and estimation and installation services for a major retailer that is growing by leaps and bounds.”

In addition, the company does commercial work, most of which is mainstreet and a small portion of which is specified.

Jason cautions that diversification can be challenging. “One of our challenges has been maintaining our standards. As we have diversified, it has required more time and intensity.” 

Make no mistake, however, residential replacement is Carpet Spectrum’s bread and butter. “Long term, we plan to continually grow all of our entities. We aren’t necessarily focused on any one, but we won’t ever forget our residential replacement roots.” 

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS IN RETAIL
To provide a quality experience for the shopper, Carpet Spectrum focuses on merchandising and product selection. The company’s primary location is a 13,000 square foot showroom in Lomita. The company’s 2,000 square foot satellite location in Hermosa Beach is about eight miles away, though this typically equates to a 30-minute drive due to heavy traffic. Both stores carry all the flooring product categories, but the selection at the Hermosa Beach is greatly abbreviated. Says Jason, “The selection [at the Hermosa Beach store] is representative of what’s in the large location. Often clients begin in the satellite store and end up coming to the primary location, so it works as a starting point to expose them to what we offer.” Jason and Stacie work hard to keep both showrooms fresh and representative of the current trends.

The Fromms typically hire sales associates through referral. The store currently has several sales associates who have been with the business for more than two decades. Jason and Stacie are committed to continuing education for their associates, and each is trained to handle all activities of the business, from sales to administration. The associates are not paid on a commission basis, as Jason believes it’s important that clients feel they can work with any sales associate in the store, rather than being chained to one particular associate’s schedule. 

And the focus on education doesn’t stop with the staff. Says Jason, “We are selling product, but product is secondary. We want our customers to be educated in what they are purchasing. Clients who are well-informed will choose better products.”

That doesn’t mean that Carpet Spectrum, which is located within blocks of several home centers, doesn’t have price competitive products. It does, and Jason is happy to sell these products as long as the customer has a good grasp on what they are buying. This is where education, again, comes into play. “For customers who are looking for lower priced products, we explain the pros and cons, attempt to understand their intended use for the product, then educate. If we have done our due diligence, then the customer will make an educated decision, and most will never return saying, ‘You sold me something that didn’t perform properly’ because their expectation level is not unreasonable. We don’t oversell products.”

Like all good retailers, Carpet Spectrum is design and fashion oriented, and the sales team offers design assistance to clients as well as complementary samples and in-home consultation. 

Jason believes that women often drive the purchase of flooring at the outset, focusing first on the fashion aspect of the purchase, and their male partners become a part of the process, focusing on the more technical aspects of the purchase, during the in-home estimation. As such, Carpet Spectrum’s fashion-oriented sales associates work solely in the showroom, while those who are oriented towards the technical details do the in-home estimating. 

Carpet Spectrum’s estimators must be adept at their jobs because they not only complete the measuring, rough diagrams and estimates in the customer’s home, but they also present the estimate to the customer at that time as well, “We like to go over the estimate with the customers in their residence. We explain it in the time and place, and discuss questions there. The industry standard is not to finalize estimates in the home, but we feel it’s important to address questions that arise before we begin the job, not halfway through. We have almost eliminated change orders with the exception of prep issues because you never know what you’ll find when you remove old flooring.”