As it celebrates its 30th anniversary this month, Southwind is reminded that the success it has enjoyed is due in large part to its many loyal flooring dealers around the country. It’s these retailers who not only win with Southwind’s complete portfolio but also provide valuable feedback about their customers’ preferences.
With a nod to its dealer base, president/CEO Drew Hash told FCNews: “Together, we continue to grow businesses the Southwind Way.”
Hash was named president of Southwind in January 2023, during what was a transitional year for the company. “There was a lot of catching up to do,” Hash recalled. “We have had our hands full between the largest product introduction in our history—in both soft and hard surfaces—and the movement of our resilient products from China to other southeast Asian countries. It has been several years since we had really freshened up our lines. Specific to the movement of products, we have completed most of the heavy lifting and now have quite a different supply chain in place.”
Hash said the good news is that customers tell him Southwind has done an exemplary job of introducing visuals and specifications that are on trend and competitively priced.
Southwind also invested heavily in technology to make it easier for its customers to do business with the company. Some of those enhancements, Hash noted, have already been rolled out and some will be online during Q4 of this year.
Moreover, Southwind continues to emphasize its unique value proposition to customers, which includes delivered pricing on its palletized products, discount terms on all products and what it calls the “strongest” RSA incentive program in the industry.
The incentive program, Windfall Rewards, is designed to make it simpler for RSAs to redeem via points based on the material/retail price charged to the consumer. “While we have always had all types of merchandise and gift cards, we recently enhanced the program, and users can convert points to a Visa cash card,” Hash explained.
Service is king
Talk to Southwind dealers and you will hear a common refrain: Southwind listens to its retail customers and responds accordingly. “Their service is pretty much impeccable, and they keep a nice inventory at all times,” said Lloyd Bryson, vice president of sales at Dalton-based American Carpet Wholesalers of Georgia. “We are physically close to Southwind here in Georgia. With that in mind, we can place an order with them and get it in 24 hours. Suffice it say, we have been very pleased with Southwind.”
Southwind has been one of Flooring Depot of Panama City’s largest and most important supplier partners for the last six years—and with good reason, according to Barry McEntire, owner/president. “They are just a great partner,” he said. “I can call corporate management and they answer the phone and are very responsive. They have competitive prices and keep good inventory levels. We can typically get orders within two to three days, and they have a very diverse product line with great quality and design; they are very customer centric.”
For Chris Brumley, owner of Louisville, Ky.-based Nice Floors/ River City Flooring Company, the thing that stands out about Southwind is they are in lockstep with their retail customer. “They are making products that we are looking for, that are selling in our market. Why? Because they listen. Southwind is really in-tune with their customers.”
A case in point is WPC. As Brumley explained: “Southwind did not go down the roller-coaster with SPC the way everybody else did. They stayed with WPC, and their WPC kept us in business with them. Southwind has really earned our business over the last five to six years by having inventory available. During the pandemic they didn’t just shrug their shoulders like others about inventory availability; they gave us specific dates and were probably the most dependable supplier on delivery. We doubled down and did more business with them, with quality product and competitive pricing.”
Southwind does not take retailers’ praise for granted. The sales team and Hash are in its customers’ showrooms every week trying to better understand how it can add more value and earn the business. “Along with our traditional retail business, last year we began a single and multifamily organization that continues to gain more traction each month,” Hash noted. “We are excited about Q4 2024 and 2025. We have all our new products in place, and we see more traction literally every day. While we clearly have headwinds in the market, we will continue to tell our story, which is resonating well with retailers.”
As he looks ahead, Hash also reflected on what Southwind did to get to this point. “I give all the credit to our original owner, Ann Eaton, and her vision to be both a supplier of carpet and hard surface,” he said. “She jumped into WPC and LVT/LVP at the right time. We have two particularly important and capable supply partners that we have brought on board in laminate and hardwood. They are both extremely innovative and quality-minded, which align nicely with our strategy.”