By Irene Ross
[Bloomington, Minn.] Unique Wood Floors — a family-owned hardwood flooring retailer founded here in 2003 — has been working steadily to find ways to bridge the gap between wood flooring mills and the end-user with a goal of streamlining the consumer shopping journey.
The company accomplishes this by combining both non-traditional and traditional supply chain models.
“The wood business is getting more and more complicated and it’s increasingly necessary to manage customer expectations,” noted Winston Zheng, founder and CEO.
Consumer Education
Slow and steady growth, word-of-mouth and a strong focus on education are the company’s go-to-market strategy.
Winston Zheng said Unique Wood Floors is looking to be the go-to advisor for on all things hardwood from design to delivery and final installation, adding that “even subfloors can be tricky,” and teaching the consumer about pre-installation, acclimation and ongoing maintenance.”
That is what makes the company stand out, he says.
His son, Andrew Zheng, sales and marketing manager, added, “There’s so much information on the internet today word-of-mouth is especially valuable. Customers describe actual experiences with us, which gives more credibility.”
“But we do a little advertising, such as in Midwest Homes or Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine. The company also spends a little on Pay-Per-Click, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and trade shows.
Sound Business Practices
With private label/factory-direct comprising roughly 60 percent to 70 percent of its business, Unique Wood Floors buys lumber sourced from China, Indonesia, Canada and South America. The floors are developed by Unique Wood Floors inspectors--most of whom are certified by the National Wood Flooring Association (NFWA)--and stocked in the company’s warehouse.
The remainder of the the inventory comes from manufacturers, such as Mohawk, Mirage and BellaCera, among others.
“Having control of the Manufacturing, Distribution, and Retail aka Factory Direct allows us to compete nationally and ship products all over the United States and Canada to builders, remodelers, and home owners,” said Andrew Zheng.
The company sells mainly to residential builders, designers and homeowners, with about five percent of its business going to the commercial industry.
From the start Winston Zheng has put an emphasis on buying only from experienced mills adhering to the strictest eco-friendly harvesting techniques. But, he said, legal harvesting isn’t enough and so he also makes sure all products in Unique Wood Floors’ portfolio have good indoor air quality and no VOCs.