Floors & More outlines strategy to weather down economy
[Las Vegas] Floors & More’s CEO and founder Vinnie Virga, Sr. welcomed Floor to Ceiling and Big Bob’s members here at Winter Convention 2023. Virga Sr. reported that 2022 was surprisingly strong for its vendor partners and, he said, “Most of our members had a strong profit year.”
Factors facing retailers today, he shared, include improvement in finding staff and installers; average ticket growth outstrips inflation again; significant increases in many costs of running a business; and, supply issues are getting better, he reported, adding that too much inventory may become an issue. But, he said, “The best prediction for the coming year is you’ll either tread water or be down.”
With that in mind, Virga Sr. outlined the things Floors & More will offer to strengthen retail businesses from digital assets through Carole Cross’ Mobile Marketing, an expanded vendor base and private label programs among other tools. Other key objectives, Virga Sr. outlined, are significant improvements made on the digital front to drive more traffic.
“We are offering a cohesive plan for digital strategy and how to handle the leads you get from that,” Virga Sr. explained. “How you handle this in a down economy is mission critical. You have to track every name, every email and should be tracking until they purchase or say ‘no.’ ”
He added that it is all about staying relevant. “Quality is definitely a part of it and paying attention to detail and service and being engaged in the business and working on what needs to be worked on,” he advised.
And Floors & More leadership is there to give a helping hand, noted Vinnie Virga Jr., vice president. “We are there to have the conversation with [members] and give ideas and tools to utilize. We aren’t telling them how to run their business but helping them. It’s like with Carole (Cross) — our members are forward on digital marketing as it gets more and more important.”
Another asset provided to members is a consultation program. Explained Virga Jr., “The consultation work helps and it isn’t a phone call but in-store so we can see their business and see any problems.”
The group also welcomed eight new members since its meeting last summer. Vinnie Virga Jr. predicted by the end of this year, Floors & More will boast more have more than 100 members.