Best Practices: Bob Wagner’s Flooring America – July 2026

By Jessica Chevalier

Early in his career, Bob Wagner was a traveling salesman selling correspondence courses across the Southeast. He had a wife and young son at home in Pennsylvania, who disliked that Bob’s job took him away from them for extended periods. Just before one such week-long work trip, Bob’s son, Matt, became hysterical, not wanting his father to leave. Without any inkling of a plan, Bob quit the job and stayed home with his son.

At the time, Bob had a friend who was installing flooring. Bob knew nothing about carpet except “the fuzzy faces up,” Matt reports, but Bob and his friend got some carpet samples and hit the pavement, going door to door. 

BUSINESS STATS
Location: West Chester, Pennsylvania and Middleton, Delaware
Years in Business: 51
Number of Stores: 2
Annual Revenue: $10 to $15 million
Number of Employees: 37
Promotional Mix: Digital, social, community support
Affiliation: Flooring America

Bob’s life had not been easy. He had been born in 1946 with a cleft palate, which made it almost impossible for him to be understood without the use of an orthodontic appliance. High school proved challenging, and a guidance counselor told Bob that he’d be lucky to get a job as a janitor. 

In spite or perhaps because of, the challenges Bob had faced, he was determined to succeed. In 1975, he opened Bob Wagner’s Mill Carpet in a 500-square-foot space that had been a mom-and-pop grocery store owned by his parents, who lived upstairs. The store was located in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. 

Then, in 1979, he built a larger property in Downingtown that served as both a showroom and warehouse. 

In 1989, the company expanded to add a second location in West Chester, Pennsylvania. (Interestingly, this marked Flooring America’s expansion into its 50th state.)

“I consider my father an American success story,” says Matt. “He had nothing, except the guts to get this business started. He had it harder starting this business than I do continuing it. I am proud of him and grateful for this opportunity.”

SECOND GENERATION

Matt grew up and journeyed to the other side of Pennsylvania to study computer science at Carnegie Mellon. After graduation, he got a job in the computer science field in Washington, D.C., then earned an MBA. He then began working as a consultant, which required a good amount of travel and, thereby, time away from his new wife, Jenn.

“My dad called me on a Friday night,” Matt recalls. “He said, ‘Matthew, I’m sick of this business and will sell it unless you want to come run it. I need to know by Monday.’ My wife and I thought about it and prayed about it, and I went into my job and resigned on Monday. That was 32 years ago, and I would do it all over again.”

Matt and Jenn went on to have two children, Sam (30) and Emma (27), who runs the renovation division, and Matt values that his career at Bob Wagner’s, rather than as a computer science consultant, allowed him to have dinner with Jenn and the kids most evenings.  

Bob died in 2009 at age 63. 

 GROWING & CHANGING

Bob Wagner’s has four divisions: residential new construction, residential remodel, commercial and renovations. The retail business offers all flooring categories and is also a Hunter Douglas Gallery. 

In 2007, Matt built a location in Middletown, Delaware, following a flush of residential new construction that his builder partners were doing in that area. 

Around four years ago, the company sold the original location to a neighboring business that sought to purchase it and consolidated all the Pennsylvania employees in the West Chester location, which it remodeled to accommodate a renovation business, outfitting the showroom with kitchen, bath and shower vignettes in addition to flooring. The company is focused on growing its renovation work in West Chester and will then add those operations in Delaware, as well.  

DIGITAL DRIVEN, COMMUNITY FOCUSED

“The majority of our business is driven by digital advertising,” says Matt. “The world finds out who you are through your online presence—your website, Google reviews, your digital reputation—and then you have to layer on local advertising.” That local advertising can include yard signs, direct mailers, supporting local charities and participation in community events.

Ultimately, Matt believes that the greatest challenge Bob Wagner’s faces is “trying to stand out in a world that is very noisy. We are digital and can reach everyone, but there is so much noise. Once customers get to know us, we tend to win.” 

Bob Wagner’s approach to community support isn’t just about sponsoring a team or putting up a banner, but being a part of the fabric of the community. For the past 14 years, Matt and Jenn have run the High 5 Soccer program, which pairs children with special needs with a middle- or high-school-aged buddy for gameplay. Matt and Jenn’s participation was inspired by their autistic nephew. Last year, High 5 had 65 players. 

“This is a great example of why we are different,” says Matt. “We are blessed with a team of employees who care in the same way and volunteer their time. That’s what I value and what my dad valued. And the more people in the community get to know you, the more trust they have.” 

CHANGING & THRIVING 

Bob Wagner’s diversification into renovation is rooted in the belief that it makes customers’ lives easier. “If you’re involved in a project, it makes sense to own it. That way, there’s one neck to choke when things go wrong and one hand to shake when they go right,” Matt laughs.

He continues, “We want to be known for the full project, not just as a flooring store but as a home remodel store. People trust us and our brand, and we have a team to guide them through large projects, leveraging our years of experience to make the process comfortable.”

Part of the success in these efforts is finding installers who meet Bob Wagner’s standards across all the trades they serve, and that can be a challenge. It isn’t just about the right skills but also the right values. And it isn’t always a speedy process. “Over time,” says Matt, “you end up getting people who value the craftmanship that your reputation requires.”

On the staff side, Matt is grateful for the training offered through Flooring America. “They have made it easy for knuckleheads like us, who aren’t formal trainers, to get new team members up to speed quicker, then we show them our way, mentor them through challenges and share the 51 years of wisdom we have.”