Article Number : 1704 |
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| Date | 1/29/2007 7:49:40 AM |
| Written By | LGM & Associates Technical Flooring Services |
| View this article at: | //floorbiz.com/BizResources/NPViewArticle.asp?ArticleID=1704 |
| Abstract | By Louis Iannaco Businesses usually stick around because they are run the right way, with people who care leading the way. Conklin Bros. Floorcoverings is one such operation. Serving the Bay Area since 1880, Conklin shows no signs of letting up. In fact, the business is stronger than ever... |
| Article | By Louis Iannaco Businesses usually stick around because they are run the right way, with people who care leading the way. Conklin Bros. Floorcoverings is one such operation. Serving the Bay Area since 1880, Conklin shows no signs of letting up. In fact, the business is stronger than ever. The company is committed to seek out and employ the most experienced installers who are pledged to maintain the Conklin reputation, notes Rick Oderio, spokesman for the company. Back in 1880, during the pioneer days of early San Francisco, the Conklin brothers, Frank and Joe, opened a carpet cleaning business called, The Pacific Steam Carpet Cleaning and Renovating Works. In those days, carpeting was made in 3-ft. widths and was used in hallways and hand-sewn together to fit room sizes. Pick-up and delivery for cleaning was done by wagon. As the carpet industry progressed, so did Conklin Bros., keeping pace with the floor covering needs of the constantly growing Bay Area. After the death of the Conklin brothers, Joseph Emmons and his son, Jack built the multi-store operation that now serves all of Northern California in both commercial and residential. There are six stores that comprise Conklin Bros. of California, with locations in San Francisco, San Mateo, Fremont, San Leandro, San Jose and Santa Rosa. The company recently celebrated its 125th anniversary in late 2005. “We had a blast with it,” recalls Oderio. “We did tremendous radio and TV, direct mail, and substantial in-store P-O-P. We had tremendous help from Karastan, and Pergo. We had an incredible month because of this.” Conklin is affiliated with Abbey (Santa Rosa, Fremont, San Jose) and its San Mateo location is a Floors To Go store. The company’s oldest store, established almost 127 years ago, is located in San Francisco. The size of the stores vary, Oderio notes, from 6,500- up to 20,000-sq.-ft. Oderio, who started with the company in 1975, has seen many changes during his time. However, the one constant he believes has been a major reason for the continued success of Conklin Bros. is, it’s a relationship-business. “We still pound the streets, we still make the phone calls. We like to keep our shelves clean and our business operations clean, but we still beat the streets. “It’s easy to buy into the threat,” he explains, “back in the ’80s it was Macy’s, and Sears and those big department stores were a concern. Now it is the big boxes. It’s very easy to buy into that fear. But I really believe that’s it’s a relationship business. People really do want to buy from people. You should look at the big boxes more as your partner, because when they advertise, they’re making people aware of our products. “Our real competition are the electronics, and automobile stores where people are spending their discretionary income,” Oderio says. “We’ve been successful in the Bay Area because we advertise, we install our products correctly, we follow up correctly,” he continues. “I look at it as a win-win for us. As an industry, our concerns are really where people are spending their discretionary dollars.” “Our locations evolved over the years,” he adds. “There was a time when we were 50/50, retail and commercial. The management structure at each location evolved. San Francisco, for example, was always part of the retail chain, and evolved into a commercial store.” One of the other things that worked for Conklin Bros. is its advertising. “Our number one media is now television,” says Oderio. “It’s been an evolution too. We had this jingle on the radio that was so well known, the radio station said we were one of the most recognized jingles in the area. We kind of put that to bed in the ’90s. We recently revived it and it was one of the smartest things we did. It has been a huge part of our success over the last few years.” Also, as part of its advertising, the company likes to say, “We survived the blizzard of 1880, the great earthquake of 1906, WWI, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, as well as Kodel polyester.” Another smart thing the company has done is stay up with the times, adjusting what it had to survive and florish. Regarding its current hot sellers, Oderio notes, it has to do with distinction. ”People want distinctive products. Back in the ’70s and ’80s they wanted to be just like Mr. Jones. Today they want to be completely different. “And the segment where we find tremendous growth right now is hardwood,” he explains, “for example, the handscraped and exotic woods. I’ve never seen any type of growth like this. “In carpet, it’s not your grandmother’s broadloom anymore,” says Oderio. “It’s not that same plush. It seems the more texture and darker colors are hugely popular for us. The wool products are taking off. We are probably doing 15% to 20% wool where it had just been a fraction of our business 10 to 15 years ago. In 2005, our carpet sales actually increased. They were going down 2% to 3% every year and the hard surface was catching up. We almost got to about a 55/45 split there and now carpet is creeping back up. “Laminates are another huge part of our business,” he notes. “We were late getting in but now it’s 10% of our business.” With all the products doing so well for the company and interest among consumers so high, installation is a top priority for Conklin. “It is our major focus and is another reason why we have been so successful over the years. Most of our installation people are on our payroll. We do some sub-contracting,” he admits, “especially on the commercial side, but, by and large, all our stores have people on our payroll. We are very happy with the overall result. It’s the key to our success and it’s the key to our future success. I think it’s the key for our industry as a whole. “These guys are not only on our payroll,” Oderio states. “They are part of our team. If something goes wrong, I know who the guy is that did the job and I know by his history how good of an installer he is and where the problem really lies. You curtail your problems far in advance this way. We have installers who have been with us for 35 years. One of the best things Oderio believes the company has done is to become afilliated with Abbey. There has been a number of things we get with Abbey which are huge to our organization. First, there is a story to tell. You have this buying power of 750 stores and it puts you on the same level as a giant like Home Depot in her eyes. “The other thing is,” he added, “as a smaller chain operation, doing our printing and our P-O-P stuff, is so time consuming, it takes a lot for somebody inexperienced like myself. With Abbey all of that is taken care of for me. I don’t have to worry about that anymore. “Another thing about being part of Abbey,” concludes Oderio, “we get to talk to retailers of all sizes. I think I’ve learned more from them than I’ve learned sitting in my office and doing paperwork. And these Abbey guys network. Here in the Bay area, we have a 26-store advertising coalition. We talk about advertising together, making buys and about our operations. That has also been huge for us.” |