Mohawk ColorCenter Dealer Stares Down Her Hurrican

Port Charlotte, FL, March 2, 2006-- When Hurricane Charley ripped through South Florida in 2004, it caught Marjorie Benson in a particularly bad place. Her store, Friendly Floors, was in transition from one location to another. She and her husband had just finished renovating their new building, and were preparing to move out of their previously leased space. Then the hurricane hit, severely damaging both buildings. For many retailers, that would have been the end of the line. For Benson, it was a new beginning, and a turning point in her life that ultimately led to Friendly Floors being selected as the Mohawk ColorCenter Dealer of the Year for 2005. Friendly Floors was selected from more than 2000 Mohawk ColorCenter stores nationwide as the dealership that most completely executed the concepts and ideas behind the Mohawk ColorCenter Concept. Friendly Floors was singled out for the Dealer of the Year Award based on a number of criteria set up by Mohawk, including sales growth, consumer experiences, promotion and installation ideas, commitment to training and addressing customer expectations, community involvement, and excellence in promoting the store concept. It was not an easy road to get to this point. Immediately after the hurricane, Benson realized that she had put most of her capital into renovating the new building, which was uninhabitable. There was no roof, and no electricity. But Benson, armed with a strong sense of community, realized that she wasn’t the only one facing the destruction. She arranged for a tent to be set up outside the new store building, and began working with customers to complete insurance forms and get orders placed. “We went a little nuts,” she said. “We began advertising heavily just to let people know we were still there, even though we didn’t really have a store of our own.” The tent graduated into a shed. Mohawk provided a trailer to store inventory. And word spread around Port Charlotte about this store that was still working hard to make sure people had a place to get replacement carpet for their homes. Word also got out about how Marjorie Benson would help people who were underinsured, providing discounts and terms that they probably couldn’t get anywhere else. “We went through some lean times,” she said. “But after a while, as claims got processed, business exploded.” And by weathering out the rough period after the storm, Benson found herself with enough cash flow so she could begin rebuilding her store. When it came time to outfit the store with fixtures, she again found help from Mohawk, which helped with the installation of a new Mohawk ColorCenter Elite system. “Michael Porter (her Mohawk sales rep) told me, ‘whatever you need, we’ll be there for you,’” she said. “Mohawk was the best company for me to align with and the beauty of whole ColorCenter Elite system adds instant credibility to the store.” Business continued to get stronger. The store founded 20 years before by Benson’s parents, Marge and Walt Behrmann, found itself in a sparkling new location with one of the strongest display and selling systems in the marketplace. It also found itself in a position of tremendous respect among the residents of Port Charlotte, not just for Benson’s generosity to her neighbors, but for her personal tenacity in rebuilding and improving her business. “Marjorie’s story is a remarkable one,” said Manny Llerena, vice president of retail marketing for Mohawk. “I think Marjorie is a shining example of how our industry can react to help people who need it, and she is certainly a role model to anyone who is facing a daunting business challenge.” The best comment, however, comes from Benson herself, who described her reaction after being named Mohawk ColorCenter Dealer of The Year just 18 months after a hurricane virtually destroyed her business: “I was blown away,” she said.