Best Practices - February 2008

By Sonya Jennings

KW Flooring’s 23 stores, all located within 65 miles of Cincinnati, Ohio, have been successful even in a market that has many taking cover. Having a business plan and sticking to it is the main ingredient for success, according to Steven Russell Contois, chief operating officer of KW Flooring. The company’s employees are part of the creation and implementation of the yearly plan, and they all judge their success by how the business is performing in relation to the business plan goals.

To keep every employee aware of how the company is performing, each person attends quarterly strategy sessions that are fun and engaging, often with a game-show type atmosphere to create excitement about the company’s achievements, individual top performers, and the road ahead.

“When we rent meeting space for these quarterly sessions, we are loud and cheerful, playing games like ‘Who Wants To Be a Flooring Millionaire,’ ” Contois says. “Our meetings do not sound like your typical business meeting. They are informative and fun at the same time.”

Having a specific plan with a budget makes it easier to say where and when to spend money. If the operation is dedicated to a plan, it takes away the lure of spending money emotionally—either the money is in the budget or it’s not. Even within spending parameters, Contois asks this question of every dollar that goes out: “How much more flooring will we sell if we spend this money now?”

The company was founded by Kurt Weisbacher in the 1940s. With steady growth over the years, the company’s store mix now includes Big Bob’s Carpet Outlet, Carpet One, Prosource Wholesale, Schumacher Custom Hardwood Flooring, and Buddy’s Flooring America stores. Simultaneously covering the high end and value end of the market, part of the company’s strategy is to stay out of the middle of the market, where competition is brutal. KW’s value division includes its Big Bob’s, Buddy’s and Prosource stores. The fashion division, or higher end, includes Carpet Land/Carpet One stores and Schumacher Custom Hardwood Flooring.

Another ingredient to success is the company’s focus on merchandising. Particularly in the upper end of the market, but now even in the value stores, the “feel” of the store is very important. “Ugly stores just don’t work, you must cater to your female customer and make her feel at home,” Contois says.

As part of a coalition that helps struggling stores regain their footing, Contois points out that one of the common themes he sees in failing stores is a weak advertising budget. He believes that at least 5% of store sales must be invested in a consistent advertising program, including direct mail and/or mass media. He notes, “At this point, television seems to be the most effective, but that may change over time with DVR eliminating commercials.” It’s important to be aware of what works and to understand that the method may need to change in accordance with advertising trends.

KW Flooring is proud of its low employee turnover. The company keeps good people by creating an entrepreneurial environment. By giving employees autonomy and empowering them to take care of their own customer-service issues, they feel like owners of the business. In addition, each member of the team has a voice. There is not layer upon layer of management, and each employee has full access to executives. The company invests in employees’ careers with training and education and hosts events and outings to bond the team closer together. Some stores have a once per month bowling team, and there are golf outings with smaller groups. When business plan goals are achieved, the team celebrates its victories together.

“We create a fun place to work,” Contois says.