Article Number : 3150 |
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| Date | 4/7/2008 7:04:47 AM |
| Written By | LGM & Associates Technical Flooring Services |
| View this article at: | //floorbiz.com/BizResources/NPViewArticle.asp?ArticleID=3150 |
| Abstract | By Steven Feldman HICKSVILLE, N.Y.— Eric Demaree, the man credited in large part to taking Home Depot’s flooring business from the ground floor to No... |
| Article | By Steven Feldman HICKSVILLE, N.Y.— Eric Demaree, the man credited in large part to taking Home Depot’s flooring business from the ground floor to No. 1 retailer, has been named president of Carpet One Floor & Home replacing Evan Hackel, who is heading up a new CCA Global Partners division called BizUnite. Hackel retains his position as the organization’s senior vice president of groups. Demaree, a 32-year industry veteran, joined CCA Global three years ago as president of Stone Mountain, GCO and The Floor Trader. He was later named COO of Carpet One. But his true claim to fame was making Home Depot the most dominant retailer by launching programs and opening more than 1,000 stores as merchandising vice president. “I feel very fortunate to step into a company that has been innovative and an industry leader for so long,” Demaree told FCNews. “My role and responsibility is to lead this very talented team of managers so we can deliver more value to our Carpet One owners in what I consider three critical areas: 1. Driving more traffic into their stores; 2. Helping them close more sales; and 3. Helping them close more sales profitably. “It is the latter where I am going to focus the bulk of my time in the short term as we face this tough economy.” Demaree will stress to Carpet One retailers that they must take advantage of all the proprietary brands, warranties and programs that are add-on sales. “They have to teach and train their sales associates. They have to sell financing and warranty systems like EverGuard. The truth is if you are going to have less traffic, you will have to sell a higher ticket and close a higher percentage of customers.” Demaree believes his experience and success at Home Depot will serve him well in his new role. “During my 11 years at the home center I learned how to look at things through the eyes of the consumer—we had an unlimited amount of consumer research that enabled us to promote, present and position product offerings in a way that appealed to what the consumer wanted. In simple terms, they said, ‘Give me a place I can trust, a place where I can make the proper decision for my home.’ So my method when I visit stores is to take off my title and experience hat, walk outside and look at things the way any consumer would. That includes the messaging, the signage and the visual experience that makes me want to buy. The most important question a retailer must ask is whether his store is grand-opening ready every day.” He believes the thing most retailers miss is they get so far down in their business that the business runs them instead of them running it. “You have to be very diligent on covering the seven Ps: promotion, presentation, product, positioning, pricing, people and promise.” Rick Bennet, co-CEO, CCA Global, called Demaree “an organized, dynamic leader with a great personality. He is aggressive and will lead Carpet One Floor & Home to acquire more market share.” And Howard Brodsky, co- CEO, added, “Eric gets retailing and understands product, the market and this business.” BizUnite is a Web-based business platform designed to help independent business owners across industries maintain their independence and aggressively compete against corporate conglomerates. “Evan will do a tremendous job leading BizUnite to success,” Brodsky said. “The growth that Carpet One Floor & Home has experienced is an example of Evan’s leadership abilities.” |