[Woodbury, N.Y.] Stanton, based here, continues on its growth path with a strategy to expand its portfolio and make the company easier to do business with. Indeed, since its start in 1980, Stanton has transformed from a carpet supplier housing an expansive lineup of soft surface brands to launching its first hard surface line with the Decorative Waterproof Flooring collection. In August, it finalized the acquisition of Floors 2000 further broadening its luxury vinyl offerings while adding in tile and glass mosaics.
Stanton brought its first line of vinyl to the market in 2020, just prior to the pandemic. Still, explained president and CEO Jonathan Cohen, it has performed well. “It’s been a good business to us and made us look into the market to see if there was a company we could partner with,” he said. “Hard surface is going to be important going forward.”
Dictated by a standard to not dilute the business that has already proven successful, Cohen said, “We were proactively looking. We are always planning growth — organically — but always looking for synergies in acquisitions. Especially in LVT where there has been meteoric-like growth.”
That is where Floors 2000 came in. First and foremost, it provided a cultural fit. While that company was not in the market seeking a buyer, president Jason Jones, offered, “In January, we were approached by Stanton. It felt comfortable with the family feeling and we felt like it was an extremely good merge.”
Floors 2000
Like Stanton, Floors 2000 is a family run business and today is led by its third generation Jason Jones. What started in 1950 as a small retail business grew to importing its own hard surface products to eventually servicing more than 1,700 Lowe’s stores nationwide.
Four years ago, when Lowe’s shifted its direction, so did Floors 2000. “We changed our business structure and strategy to go after mom-and-pop stores,” shared Jones. “We found agents proficient in that area and grew [the business] to 750 stores.”
While Floors 2000 wasn’t aggressively seeking ownership, Jones offered, “It was always our goal to figure out a way to have someone come through and buy us but we weren’t actively looking. But with Sy (Cohen, Stanton chairman and founder) and Jonathan staying active in the business, they felt like family instantly. We can grow the Stanton business with Floors 2000 under it.
Perfect Marriage
As they looked at strengths that could be shared with a goal to expand both businesses, Cohen said there exists certain synergies. “Part of the goal from a synergy standpoint,” he shared with FCW, “was to help with technology platforms and leverage sales teams. We know there is opportunity for us to expand beyond the Southeast so we are ramping up and leveraging some of the Stanton sales team.”
With synergies laying the foundation, there also exists diversification that will allow Stanton and the Floors 2000 brand to grow beyond their current footprints. “Floors 2000 has a great product line, a price point and aesthetic we don’t have. We are mid-high and Floors 2000 is more mid-level,” Cohen said, adding that with 150 vinyl SKUs, the plan is to expand Floors 2000 across the U.S. There are also 160 porcelain tile SKUs in the Floors 2000 assortment.
As Stanton works to integrate the two companies and become more important to the floor covering retailer, Cohen admitted that integration is never an easy undertaking. While Floors 2000 has onboarded to Stanton’s operating systems over the last 60 days, he said, “We are still getting the kinks out but we are making great strides.”
At the core of the union is a familiar dynamic among the two companies. “It is a cultural fit. If you nail that, everything comes into place,” Cohen said, noting that though the company partnered with New York-based Dunes Point Capital in October 2021 and has private equity investors, it continues to run very much as a family business.
Pumping up the Portfolio
With a full assortment of soft surface products — both indoor and outdoor — and the newer Decorative Waterproof Flooring line, the acquisition of Floors 2000 will expand what it started in vinyl while adding tile and mosaics, an all-new category for Stanton.
“The driver was LVP but tile is a meaningful part of the company. We will ramp up luxury vinyl and once that is set, look at increased distribution on the tile side,” explained Cohen.
Floors 2000 has a vast LVT assortment including Addiction, pictured here.
Mitch White, vice president of sales, said that not only will the acquisition of Floors 2000 expand the company’s overall product offering but also its customer base. “This expands the dealer base and LVP too. There are more dealers out there that weren’t dealing with us on the soft surface side.” As part of its commitment to hard surface, Stanton will evolve to a hard surface selling team.
When it comes to bringing on tile, Cohen said, “Stanton getting into LVP was a learning curve and we are still learning. I don’t underestimate tile going forward. Tile is more difficult from a transportation point. It’s heavier, more prone to damage.”
To support its growing offerings, Cohen noted, that the company is also looking at logistics. “Right now, Stanton is in Calhoun, Ga. and Floors 2000 is in Pensacola. There will likely be a need for a distribution center on the west side of the country. That’s a natural progression,” he said.
While there will continue to be operational integration, branding will remain unique. “Floors 2000 will be its own brand and you will see that continuing for years to come,” said Cohen, adding, “We each have our own signature style and look and we will maintain that.” This is something Stanton has a strong track record with as it acquired soft surface brands over the years.
While each product line has its own personality, the approach is the same. “Our approach is the same as style and color first. Their product is really nice but in a different way [than ours.] They are in synch with our profile.”
Standing on Strengths
But when it comes to other aspects of the business, the companies will continue to integrate and lean into their respective strengths. For example, said Cohen, “Jason does a phenomenal job with freight. It’s such an important part of the cost and it’s helpful for Stanton’s business.” He said sample inventory is another strength Floors 2000 holds.
Jones noted the companies are looking at logistics and how they do things differently. “We are putting things together to create more opportunities and efficiencies.” For example, he said Floors 2000’s service is particularly good. “We provide quicker service than other national brands. Inventory and pricing give us an edge.”
Added White, “It is extremely impressive what retailers say about their service – all the things you’d want to hear.”
Stanton is indeed on a growth trajectory. Explained Cohen, “We are trying to be more important. That is why we came out with hard surface — so we can be more important to our customers and this accelerates that process. We expect the business to increase substantially.”