[Orlando, Fla.] Abbey Carpet & Floor aims to “connect” its dealers in every way possible to the customer, advertising, merchandising and members services here at convention last month.
“For the last four or five years, our biggest concern was survival,” said Phil Gutierrez, chairman and CEO. “Now at this point, it’s about making money.”
Abbey Connect, the theme of convention and programs offered here, is a roadmap of sorts, according to Steve Silverman, president and COO of Abbey, to guide members to future growth. And the timing for committing to the available programs, he said, is perfect as economic indicators all point up.
While retail sales of floor covering are reported to be up 5 percent to 7 percent, Silverman said, “As a group, your business was twice that of the industry growth.” He added that he expects to finish this year ahead of last. “It’s been a long time coming, but 2013 was the best year we have had since the beginning of the recession.”
David Hardy, Phil Gutierrez and Steve Silverman (right) of Abbey flank keynote speaker Randy Merritt, Shaw.
Convention attendance was up as well. Silverman said this year’s surpassed every convention since 2006.
Gutierrez also noted that while traditionally, Abbey has been about sourcing products and all that comes with it, in the last six or seven years, “we’ve gotten involved in giving you the tools to lower costs and increase sales.” All of which were covered under the Connect banner.
Abbey Connect, according to Silverman was developed to, “help improve the effectiveness of your advertising; present you with a new method of communicating with the consumer; give you a guide to a more effective product selection process for an improved assortment on your selling floor; and, we will discuss a plan we have put in place to proactively communicate with you,” he told members here.
“We offer what they can’t do,” added Silverman. Still, he told FCW the morning after General Session, “You can do all the pay-per-click, all the advertising, but once they are in the store, you can’t let them leave without making a purchase or you’ll never see her again. You need the merchandise and the sales team that can listen to the consumer, have outstanding installation and good follow-up.”
Keynote speaker Randy Merritt, president of Shaw, used five “Ps” to talk about key areas for thriving at retail today: People, Product, Presentation, Participation and Prescription (plan).
First, Merritt said, you need great people and he believes that over the next 10 years, they will be hard to find. “If you have great people today, nurture them, train them, look at what you can do to keep them. You need great people to thrive,” he said.
Great product is also a requirement and being part of Abbey, which searches the globe for strong product, Merritt noted, gives members the advantage of beautiful product and great merchandising.
Presentation, he said, is how your customer sees you. “Today’s consumer is much more sophisticated and educated,” he said, noting details like what the store looks like, what the signs look like, what the people look like, even what the bathroom looks like.
But, he said, presentation goes beyond the physical store offering stats such as 95 percent of flooring customers search on line before coming into the store; more than one-third of Americans own a tablet. “We are dealing with consumers that are connected 100 percent of the day,” he said.
Merritt also said that standing out in the community is key to success. “Don’t underestimate the value of participation in your local market,” he said, noting things like working with local schools or putting your name on the Little League shirts. These things, he said, help to make you stand out in your community.
The last piece of the puzzle Merritt referred to as making a prescription. “Be prepared to thrive,” he said, noting that much like a doctor writes a prescription to help a patient improve, dealers too need a prescription for thriving.
Importance of Internet
“Technology is the biggest challenge facing the industry,” Silverman told FCW. “91 percent of consumers go on line before they go into a store to learn about you — are you a business they can trust and feel comfortable buying from? If you don’t have an updated website, you could lose that customer.”
Just about every workshop and every speaker at convention emphasized the importance of the internet and having a highly visible website — all things that Abbey is poised to help with.
“Web technology aids the consumer locating product,” explained Silverman. “Technology opens up new worlds and consumers expect a highly visible website. It’s important to create a need to come into your store and purchase flooring. The online consumer knows more than you think.”
Some important stats to keep in mind, according to Silverman: 78 percent of Americans are regular internet users; 91 percent of U.S. adults have smartphones. “Our programs can only be a benefit if you use them,” he said, adding that some 65 percent of members have Abbey customize pages for them.
A proprietary pay-per-click advertising program is also available to members. Noted Silverman, “Abbey’s Customer Connect program is the only proprietary, internally developed pay-per-click program in the flooring industry. If you go outside Abbey to find an agency or provider of pay-per-click internet advertising, you will spend substantially more with a company who knows little, if anything about your business, or the flooring industry.”
Product advantage, merchandising connect
Silverman said that not only do Abbey private label collections keep consumers from comparison shopping, they protect store margins.
David Hardy, executive vice president of merchandising and member services, emphasized the breadth of product built around key trends and housed under private label brands to give members a competitive edge.
Strong supplier partners such as Shaw, Mohawk, Beaulieu and Armstrong among others offer programs under Abbey brands such as the highly popular Infinity Soft nylon from Shaw. Soft in fact is a main focus of the product lineup. “We’ve been talking about soft for four years and soft offerings from suppliers are expanding rapidly,” Hardy stated.
He also documented recent investments being made in U.S. production of LVT. “It’s important to tap into this category as it grows market share,” adding that dealers need to embrace new looks and technology, such as USFloors’ COREtec product, available in the market now.
Key programs from Abbey include proprietary brands like American Showcase, Alexander Smith and Legendary Beauty.
Silverman told FCW that one area Abbey members stand apart from other stores is that the display systems are homogenous to make it pleasing to look at. Fixtures are all at eye level and designed similarly giving stores a cohesive and neat look.
Members connect
And while Abbey procures a wide variety of soft and hard surface product, it is all of the support that comes with it that is a key benefit of membership.
Each Abbey store is assigned a specific member services representative to assist them. Explained Hardy, “The purpose is to build a relationship. When a problem arises, you know where to go.” Member services addresses dealers’ needs be it production dates, shipment tracking, samples or POP material requests.
Abbey has a new partnership with Alliance Data for a private label program called Credit Connect. “Credit is once again coming back,” said Hardy. “Consumers are looking to credit to finance big purchases. They will buy more, they will buy up.” Alliance Data partners with many top name brands outside of flooring, such as Zale’s and Victoria’s Secret.
The group also encouraged its members to accept American Express, a favored card by shoppers.