Features

Selling CALI Successfully

Thursday, January 4, 2024

How retailers are leaning into the lifestyle brand profitably

[San Diego, Calif.] CALI’s unique lifestyle branding and value proposition is designed to give its retail partners — regardless of where they’re located in the country — an authentic story to sell by.

“The CALI team prides ourselves on knowing what we stand for, and we’ve been focusing all our efforts on making our product quality and branding just as clear to the rest of the world,” Doug Jackson, president, told FCW. “Any product or display representing our brand is designed to immediately communicate fresh, easy-going, authentic California style. If we’ve done our job right, it should make our partners’ jobs easier too.”

Indeed, for The Carpet Shoppe in Honolulu, CALI is a perfect fit. “CALI’s aesthetic fits perfectly with our Hawaii market,” shared April Katada, operations director and owner of The Carpet Shoppe. “Since their foundation is rooted and inspired by Hawaii, our teams feel a special connection to CALI — this relatability is the bridge that connects CALI products to our local customers.”

Phil Koufidakis of Baker Bros. in Arizona said that “the products sell themselves,” adding, “The lifestyle is a West Coast featured style which fits perfectly for us. The quality of the product is great and there is just enough product to fit every lifestyle and budget. The uniqueness stems from the CALI vibe and its product colors. Also, their go-to-market strategy to this point has created great synergy between key dealers and CALI — it’s a true partnership.”

And in an industry with saturation across many hard surface categories, CALI has established something unique that gives its customers an edge. Explained Bruce Odette, president of Carpet Exchange with several locations throughout Colorado, “CALI has found a unique niche in the LVP category. They have done a great job at bringing the West Coast vibe to the assortment. Our best strategy has been to feature CALI’s products in our large format slant walls. This tends to showcase the flooring products in a real-life setting, providing inspiration and guidance for customers. The realism in their textured embossing also sets them apart. This combined with a multitude of style options displayed in clean white racks is a recipe for success.”

CALI, said its customers, works closely with them to provide exclusivity allowing them to compete effectively in a given marketplace. “As a proud member of the NFA, we love nothing more than exclusive products and aggressive price points and CALI checks both boxes for us. Limited distribution for their key partners coupled with on-trend design makes the CALI lineup a top choice for our team. We feel confident that when we introduce CALI products to our clients that our closing ratio will increase,” said Scott Browne, president of Macco’s Floor Covering Center based in Wisconsin.

The company has also worked hard at expanding its portfolio to allow retailers to tell the story across different product categories for both inside and outside the home. “One thing that makes CALI exceptional,” explained The Carpet Shoppe’s Katada, “is that they offer solutions for the entire home (inside and out). We find their outdoor program with the turf and decking options extremely valuable. Being able to offer this to our valued customers gives us potential to gain more market share.”

Noted Tom Urban, general manager, Great Lakes Carpet & Tile in Florida, “CALI has a great story and all of their employees embrace the culture, which in turn makes it very easy for our RSAs to show and sell all of their products. They focus on keeping the selling system simple and very clean with great products and on-point styles and colors.”

Images from a recent video shoot exemplify the CALI lifestyle brand.

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CALI puts substantial muscle behind creating a full story from visuals to the vibe. “Our product and branding teams have been in overdrive, working to put out collections your customers will be naturally drawn to with quality they can trust,” Jackson said. “From new hardwood lines to luxury laminate and LVP, each color has been crafted and curated to deliver the coastal vibes and attitude CALI specializes in.”

And that, said CALI’s customers, makes all the difference. For example, Koufidakis noted he takes advantage of the messaging CALI creates. “We feature all their displays and branding. They’ve done a great job of marketing their displays and they stand out in the crowd.”

While not located in a classic coastal region, Carpet Exchange, with 19 stores in Colorado and one in Wyoming, also leans into the aesthetic CALI created. “CALI does an excellent job promoting their product and brand via social media. This creates an awareness and demand for their styles in the marketplace,” said Odette. “The image they are projecting resonates with the consumer, and they top it off by featuring a color pallet with clean white oak looks. This is currently the most sought-after visuals for real wood flooring.”

CALI floors set the stage for a relaxing time — all part of the CALI lifestyle.

Added Macco’s Browne, “CALI does a tremendous job of marketing their products in our showroom. Their creative displays stand out amongst a sea of competitive products. Customers and designers gravitate toward the beach themed displays and the coastal inspired product offerings keep them focused on the CALI offerings. Getting consumers inspired and emotional about their new floors makes the sales process fun for everyone involved and nobody does that better than CALI.”

Urban at Great Lakes noted the attention to detail in everything from displays to graphics, product and price points is an advantage. “They work hard on keeping the selling system simple. All of their styles are current with what consumers are looking for. They have stayed steady with great pricing and being able to fulfill orders promptly which keeps RSA’s focused on selling all of their products.”

Katada said that she takes advantage of all the creative CALI offers. “We love all the programs they roll out — everything is executed with top quality. Because CALI is a lifestyle brand, our customers easily relate to the visuals and messaging they provide. I like their modern take with digital campaigns across different social platforms like Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. Their online installation videos are helpful and educational for any installer,” she offered. “The brand is fresh and modern, and attracts our local customers in a positive way.”