Flooring 101’s formula for success

[Oxnard, Calif.] With four stores in California and a fifth store opening in the next month or so, Flooring 101, based here, is more than a simple retail success story — it’s a study in chasing the American dream, working hard and doing things the right way.

Owner Jimmy Poulos came from Greece without command of the English language or money in his pocket. But today, he owns and operates an $18.5 million retail business that continues to thrive, even in one of the toughest markets.

“Hard work is the foundation but we adjust with the market. I went and studied Home Depot and Lowe’s. Those people don’t give anything away. All I have to do is match prices and double the service level. The only way I could beat them is by service and I did that very well.”

Poulos came to the U.S. in 1971. “I wanted to become an engineer. I didn’t have money so I got a job in a liquor store at night filling freezers.” He went to school in the mornings and studied during the day.

While working in the liquor store, he met a flooring installer. Poulos, in fact, had done some installation work back in Greece so he asked the man if he could tag along on Saturday, his day off.

The 21 year old Poulos soon worked for that man. “I was a good worker. He paid me $8 an hour and at the liquor store, I was making $1.80 an hour. I worked with him every Saturday for a bit then joined the union and saved the $450 for the test.”
He took on as much installation work as he could get and soon trained others to work with him. “I was young and worked like a mule,” recalled Poulos.

With his installation business booming, he bought his first store in Ventura, where he also bought the building for the store, something he is adamant about with each store he opens. “Own the property and you control your destiny; your expenses are fixed. I control the property and the cost,” he said.

Principles and profits
Flooring 101’s main location is here in Oxnard where it has a 3,500 square foot showroom, 32,000 square foot warehouse and its offices.

At this location, Poulos said there is a “tremendous emphasis on stock. Here we stock over 1,000 rolls of carpet as well as hard surface.” This store merchandises 60 percent hard surface and 40 percent is carpet.

Poulos said that one of the reasons that he got through the downturn was that a third of his business is cash and carry. “I was very, very competitive,” he said. “I bought a lot of bargains, closeouts. I knew what was needed and I bought well. My overhead was paid by cash and carry.”

Helping him along the way was Ian Newton, general manager. “I met Ian when he was 17 years of age and he’s been with me for 36 years. I got him to work as a helper. What I saw in him was he was like me. He was an immigrant and he wanted to work hard. He was 20 years of age when I asked him to run Oxnard. It’s one of the best decisions I ever made.”

Newton came to the U.S. from England. “I had an uncle who was installing carpet so I went to help him part time but he was retiring so I went to look for work locally. I had a chance meeting with Jimmy at a local flooring supply company called Victor Kemp. Turned out Jimmy was looking for extra help. The rest is history 35 years later. We have a very close relationship that has served us well through the years. I am truly grateful to have had such a great mentor in life as well as work,” recalled Newton.

Poulos said that the future of his stores but also specialty retail is bright. But, he said, “They have to move from selling merchandise to selling the service. That’s premium. Tomorrow Amazon.com will be selling carpet — someone has to service it.”
Flooring 101, in fact, services 10 Costco stores. “I can’t believe how much they sell in 10 square feet of space,” he said.

Strength of partnerships
Flooring 101 is a member of the National Floorcovering Alliance (NFA). “We are honest with each other. Financials are right in front. They know what we do. They are very good people. One of best things I did was join NFA 12 years ago.”
Being a strong vendor partner, added Poulos means having competitive pricing and good service as well as good product. “Stay behind the product. We have good relationships with mills. And we have good NFA vendors.”

But when asked about the most exciting new product out there, Poulos immediately named USFloors’ Coretec product. “We embrace the product, respect the product. I believe it is going to perform as well as laminate but is waterproof.”

And while laminate has been a hot topic of conversation, Flooring 101 had a strong handle on that too. “We received on the first day after [the 60 Minute segment] 35 phone calls. People wanted us to reassure them,” said Poulos. “We asked all suppliers for certificates in writing. We had one supplier that didn’t supply and we threw that stuff away.”

Poulos also understands the importance of strong and devoted salespeople on the selling floor. So much so that he pays more than 30 percent to 40 percent more than the average store, he said.
“The reason is, our salespeople, I don’t see as employees but as partners. I give them a percentage of profits. And installers, I love them unconditionally. Not a lot of people are well paid in our industry. And nobody realizes we can’t do anything without [installers].

“We hire the best salespeople available and give them the tools to make it happen. Working with our core suppliers has to be a true partnership and we have built some great relationships along the way,” said Newton.

Driven to succeed
Poulos has an unwavering work ethic that stems not just from the opportunity he saw in America, but the culture that had emerged in his homeland Greece.
“This is the United States of America. Where I came from, what you knew didn’t count, it was who you know. Hard work wasn’t praised in Greece,” said Poulos. “The motivation for me was the opportunity. The light at the end of tunnel was so bright. In Greece, it was so dim. Your reward is proportional to effort here. That’s what America taught me.”