Specialty flooring retailers are the drivers of this industry. Their success fuels every channel, from residential retail to commercial. To honor these businesses, FCNews is publishing its inaugural Retailers of the Year issue. It’s an effort to call attention to those retailers who are excelling or differentiating themselves in some aspect of their business. In this issue, suppliers and vendors nominated retailers who they believe deserved to be featured and why they stand out from the pack.
FCNews’ Retailers of the Year issue features some of the industry’s most accomplished dealers from influential buying groups as well as smaller retailers with no group affiliation. In other words, it reflects the retail industry as a whole.
In choosing their top retailer partners, suppliers looked beyond sales volume to other key attributes such as communication skills, trust, company culture and even benevolence as differentiating factors. Suppliers/vendors nominated up to four retailers (or distributors, in some cases) for consideration and explained why they stand out. FCNews then narrowed down the winners based on the scope of merit attributed to each.
Throughout this week and next, please visit FCNews.net each day as a new winner will be showcased. Today’s highlight is Mohawk’s nominations and winners: Avalon Flooring, Watkins Floor Covering and Kelly’s Carpet Omaha.
Avalon Flooring
Philadelphia, Pa.
What Mohawk had to say:
Avalon Flooring is a fully engaged Edge retailer with a wealth of knowledge for soft surface products. As the first Mohawk Floorscapes dealer to start selling SmartStrand more than 15 years ago, Avalon Flooring places a large emphasis on educating their new retail sales associates on SmartStrand technologies and fiber benefits. They provide regular product knowledge seminars with Mohawk sales members who educate retail sales associates at their 17 showrooms spanning across New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware to ensure proper training.
As SmartStrand experts, Avalon Flooring runs exclusive SmartStrand ad campaigns to further consumer knowledge around the products while stocking SmartStrand fibers in custom showcase pods on the showroom floors for further brand awareness. Avalon Flooring demonstrates the same support to the Karastan brand, as they are the largest Karastan dealer in the Northeast, both overall and in SmartStrand sales. Their retail sales associates also place a large emphasis on Mohawk’s proprietary All Pet Protection Warranty during the sale, ensuring that consumers know of SmartStrand’s durability and the added protection they receive from the new All Pet pad.
Devoted to giving back to their community, Avalon Flooring is actively involved with American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Make a Wish Foundation and the Avalon Flooring Fund, which assists Avalon’s own employees in financial need. With 17 showrooms across New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, Avalon Flooring has remained dedicated to being an active member of its local communities, and staying connected to the people who make these places very special.
Watkins Floor Covering
Jacksonville, N.C.
What Mohawk had to say:
Watkins Floor Covering has been a strong Mohawk supporter since becoming a Mohawk Color Center in 2006. Since then, they have opened a second location, won “Mohawk Color Center Dealer of the Year” three times in the Southeast and Northeast regions, become an Edge Premier Dealer and a Mohawk Omnify participant.
As a strong SolidTech dealer, Watkins Floor Covering strongly advocates for the product by promoting the Uniclic locking system, emphasizing Mohawk’s All Pet Protection and by utilizing Mohawk’s Neighborhood Ad Manager for campaigns to drive retailers in. To ensure their retail sales associates and installers are properly trained, Watkins Floor Covering hosts multiple training events at both of their locations where they bring in Mohawk sales associates for installation training.
Voted as the “Best of the Best” from the Jacksonville Daily News, Watkins Floor Covering is heavily involved in their community. They are proud supporters of the Wounded Warriors group in Jacksonville, N.C., where the largest marine base in the world, Camp Lejeune, is located. They also show support for the local Chew program that helps feed school kids and are adamant supporters of local homeless shelter.
Kelly’s Carpet Omaha
Omaha, Neb.
What Mohawk had to say:
Family-owned and operated since 1986, Kelly’s Carpet Omaha places a strong emphasis on unsurpassed quality and service. Kelly’s Carpet Omaha became a Mohawk Floorscapes dealer in 2002 and has since then utilized Mohawk’s expertise in creating a store layout that is unique and easy to navigate while providing a comfortable shopping environment.
Inspiring their customers with the best in product selection, quality and value is top of mind for Kelly’s Carpet Omaha. In 2017, they completely remodeled their showroom to better highlight their top-selling Mohawk and Karastan products. The expansive remodel included media displays for presentations, a commercial division expansion and new purchasing and installation facilities. To further promote their strong partnership with Mohawk, Kelly’s Carpet Omaha invests in advertising and eye-catching store signage that tells the Mohawk and Karastsan stories. Their sales team also reinforces this partnership during the sale, specifically with the SmartStrand and All Pet Protection Warranty stories.
Kelly Carpet Omaha also places a large emphasis on environmental responsibility, which they reflect in the policies, practices and philosophy for conducting business in an environmentally responsible manner. In their local community, Kelly’s Carpet Omaha has given back to two police departments, donating two K-9 police service dogs in Iowa and Omaha.
