(part 1 of a series)
Over the past four decades, I’ve had the opportunity to observe the flooring business from many perspectives—as a trainer, inspector, consultant, investor, customer and industry observer. I’ve worked with independent flooring retailers, major manufacturers, installers and one of America’s largest home improvement retailers. Looking back, the biggest lessons I learned had very little to do with flooring—and everything to do with people.
When people built the business
In the mid-1990s, a friend of mine attended an entrepreneurship program at Babson College where Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank returned as a guest speaker. According to my friend, Arthur reflected on Home Depot’s early days and the challenge of raising capital for a company that existed only as an idea. Then, spotting someone in the audience, he smiled and said, “You wouldn’t give me $5 million.” The gentleman stood and replied that instead he had invested in the DeLorean Motor Company. The room erupted in laughter.
Whether every word was spoken exactly that way is beside the point. What stayed with me was the lesson. Even experienced investors sometimes fail to recognize extraordinary opportunities while they’re unfolding. Success always appears obviously in hindsight. According to Arthur’s book, “Built from Scratch,” Ross Perot had a similar story about not investing. I would discover that lesson myself over the next 40 years.
During that time, I’ve seen the flooring business from about every angle imaginable. I’ve trained retail sales associates, inspected flooring failures, worked alongside installers, advised retailers, met manufacturers and distributors, and spent countless hours listening to homeowners describe both their successes and frustrations. What I learned surprised me. Flooring has never really been about flooring. It has always been about people.
Most consumers think flooring is simply selling carpet, hardwood, luxury vinyl or ceramic tile. Anyone who has worked in the business knows better. Every sale can involve moisture testing, subfloor preparation, measurements, estimating, scheduling, manufacturer specifications, installation challenges, customer expectations and, occasionally, problems that don’t appear until weeks after the installation is complete. Unlike most products sold in retail, flooring begins its real life after it leaves the store. That reality explains why flooring has always been one of the most challenging departments in retail.
My first day training at Home Depot
One of my earliest experiences with Home Depot has stayed with me ever since. I had been asked to conduct flooring training at one of their stores. Before the doors opened that morning, the store manager greeted me and asked what time I wanted to begin. “As early as you like,” he said. “That way we can finish up and go play golf.” Then he grinned. “But don’t get too attached to these people.” I looked at him. “They’ll all be different next week.”
At the time, we both laughed. Later, I realized he wasn’t exaggerating. Every time I returned to that store, there seemed to be new faces behind the flooring desk. It wasn’t because people didn’t work hard. It was because flooring demanded far more than most departments.
Associates needed product knowledge, technical understanding, estimating skills, installation awareness, problem-solving ability and, most importantly, the patience to help customers navigate one of the biggest purchases they would make for their homes. Many simply didn’t stay long enough to develop that expertise.
A million-dollar department
During one period, I helped train associates outside the flooring department, including kitchen designers, because staffing demands required them to answer flooring questions as well.
A close friend who worked within the system once showed me the sales numbers for a flooring department occupying a small footprint inside the store. It generated well over a million dollars in annual business. That combination—high revenue, technical complexity and constant customer interaction—made flooring one of Home Depot’s most valuable departments. It also made it one of the hardest for staff to be successful.
Meeting Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank
One of the great privileges of my career was meeting Home Depot founders Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank. What impressed me most wasn’t simply what they had accomplished. It was how they listened. Over the years, I had met independent flooring retailers who were so busy running their businesses that they rarely had time to hear new ideas. Bernie and Arthur were different. They asked thoughtful questions, listened carefully and treated every conversation as though it mattered.
During one discussion, Arthur looked at me and smiled. “You ought to work in our flooring department,” he said. “We can make you a millionaire.” At the time, Home Depot stock was selling for around $17 a share. He explained how employee ownership was creating wealth throughout the company and encouraged me to invest. I took his advice. Looking back, it was one of the best investment decisions I ever made.
At the time, however, I doubted many flooring associates would remain with the company long enough to benefit from that opportunity. Once again, I was wrong. One of my closest friends has now spent more than 20 years managing a Home Depot flooring department. When I recently asked her why she stayed, her answer surprised me. “The stock has been wonderful,” she said. “But it’s really the customers. People come back asking for me.” That answer told me everything I needed to know. Even inside one of the largest retailers in America, relationships still mattered.
Independent flooring retailers taught me another lesson. Several quietly admitted that while flooring provided a good living, their greatest long-term investment wasn’t the carpet, hardwood or vinyl they sold. It was the shopping centers they owned.
The real estate appreciated while the business paid the mortgage. I never forgot that observation. Sometimes, the smartest investment isn’t the product. It’s the ground beneath it.
Looking back, those early experiences revealed something that has remained true throughout my career:
- Product knowledge matters
- Technical expertise matters
- Experience matters
- But trust matters most
The flooring business has always been built on relationships—between retailers and customers, installers and homeowners, manufacturers and dealers. When those relationships are strong, problems get solved. When they weaken, no spreadsheet in the world can replace them.
Those early years represented one side of what I now think of as the “Orange Pendulum.” It was a time when people drove the business. But every pendulum eventually swings. And as Home Depot continued to grow, another force began reshaping not only the company, but much of retail itself.
Lisbeth Calandrino has been promoting retail strategies for the last 20 years. To have her speak at your business or to schedule a consultation, contact her at lcalandrino@nycap.rr.com.
The post What Home Depot taught me about flooring–and people appeared first on Floor Covering News.
What Home Depot taught me about flooring–and people Posted First on
https://fcnews.net
Orange, Calif.—MSI has launched a Checkerboard Looks page featuring flooring and wall tile options inspired by the classic pattern.
F
Dalton—
Flowood, Miss.—The National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) has announced 
Orlando—Shaw Industries has opened registration for the Shaw Flooring Network