Article Number : 919 |
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| Date | 3/15/2006 2:51:23 PM |
| Written By | LGM & Associates Technical Flooring Services |
| View this article at: | //floorbiz.com/BizResources/NPViewArticle.asp?ArticleID=919 |
| Abstract | By Steven Feldman Anaheim, Calif.—Carpet One members were urged to strengthen their commitment to the brand at the group’s bi-annual convention held here last month. To that end, members will be required to comply with the company’s national identity standards sooner rather than later... |
| Article | By Steven Feldman Anaheim, Calif.—Carpet One members were urged to strengthen their commitment to the brand at the group’s bi-annual convention held here last month. To that end, members will be required to comply with the company’s national identity standards sooner rather than later. “This organization as a whole must be united behind the Carpet One brand,” said Evan Hackel, president of CCA Global Partners, Carpet One’s parent company. “Building a national brand is the passion of the group, and management is igniting that passion.” He added, when a member doesn’t adhere to national identity standards —exterior signage, for example—he is inconsistent with the group’s goal of creating a national brand. According to Hackel, about 80% of Carpet One members already comply with the standards. But there are those who still do not fly the Carpet One teal and white moniker on the outside of their stores, focusing instead on building their own store brand. “When our members execute the brand on a local level, they are supporting the entire membership,” he said. “And when you have nearly 700 members and more than 1,000 stores, that’s what builds the brand.” Glenn Altarac, president of Floor Decor in Rockville Centre, N.Y., could have taken issue with the strict enforecement of the protocol. After all, Floor Decor has built its own brand in the community for 32 years. But Altarac recognizes the importance of taking his signage from brown and white to teal and white. “This is the only Carpet One store in Nassau County that benefits from the Long Island Railroad transporting more than 100,000 commuters past my front door every weekday. This is necessary for the group’s vision. I have no problem with it at all.” Exterior signage is critical in building a brand, Hackel said, because you have a limited amount of time to capture the consumer’s attention. And the way you do that is with clear communication. “All Carpet One exterior signage must be displayed with or without local identity. This will allow us to dominate the retail floor covering landscape.” Charlie Dilks, COO of Carpet One, noted “we live in a world that responds to brands. Brands represent a promise to the customer. And we need to effectively communicate our brand promise. A sign communicates a brand, and that sign must be clear and easy to read.” With that, Carpet One commissioned Graj + Gustavsen, one of North America’s leading brand agencies, to revise its logo. However, extensive research revealed there was too much equity in the existing one to make wholesale changes. The opportunity was in the message. The result: The words “floor” and “home” will be added to all signage. “The word ‘floor’ will increase customer awareness that we sell all types of flooring,” Dilks said, “and ‘home’ creates the impression we sell better goods and communicates the true value we bring to our customers’ most prized asset.” Carpet One will be incorporating the new logo into its advertising and store signage over the next year. The one drawback for some members is the agency suggested retailers refrain from using such words as “carpet,” “floor” and “home” in the store name to avoid redundancy. Such could be a problem for Joel Schreier, president of Home Carpet One in Chicago. “We are working on it,” he said. “I support the branding initiative 100% and am confident reasoned analysis will be used with respect to any potential naming conflicts.” The issue for Schreier is balancing his nearly four decades of establishing brand equity on a local level with the group’s national branding standards. “We’ve been Home Carpet for 36 years, and ‘floor’ and ‘home’ shouldn’t negate the value we’ve built in our identity,” he said. “But we’re loyal. We joined Carpet One in the late ’80s; we were one of the group’s first 150 stores. We bleed Carpet One teal!” Hackel noted the goal is for Carpet One to build on its 41% brand awareness with consumers. But it’s more than about building a name; it’s about building a name with value and also differentiates from other retailers. He said that will be achieved through a variety of initiatives, beginning with local identification—exterior signage—and continuing with local and national advertising. Mystery Shopper Initiative Brian Metcalfe, vice president of Carpet One University, announced the results of the group’s mystery shopper initiative, where member stores are evaluated in an array of categories and compared to the likes of Home Depot, Lowe’s, Lumber Liquidators, Floorscapes and Abbey. “This is a great way to measure performance and improvement, and a way to get valuable feedback from customers.” Hackel told Floor Covering News he was pleased Carpet One posted the highest scores but noted some of the results were eye openers. Most surprising was the wide margin by which Lowe’s outshined Home Depot. “[Also], what’s quite clear is that consumer expectations of home centers are lower than those of specialty retailers. They are more accepting of salespeople who have less product knowledge because of the perception they will get a better deal.” Going ‘Direct’ CCA’s Global Direct division, which imports or purchases direct from manufacturers, has entered into a new business agreement with Armstrong World Inudstries to supply members from its buying groups with a 3/4-in. solid domestic oak in 2-1/4- and 3-1/4-in. widths. The product is made in the U.S. and will be stocked at all five CCA warehouses. Frank Ready, president of Armstrong’s flooring division, sees Global Direct as a land of opportunity. “We’ve seen it is here to stay, and members are taking advantage. We asked ourselves, ‘What can we do to take advantage?’” He noted Armstrong is simply supplementing what CCA is doing on the import side. “The product we are supplying it is currently importing from the Far East. It is business we didn’t have. It was business our distributors didn’t have. We are just looking to get a piece of the action in which neither we nor our distributors were getting involved. If not us, someone else would have gotten the business.” Paul Murfin, Armstrong’s vice president of sales, assured FCNews this should in no way be construed as a change in the mill’s distribution philosophy. “The primary vehicle for servicing our key customers is distribution. They provide good service and add value. This was simply a case of displacing a product CCA was already selling.” Marketing To Hispanics Hispanics are the fastest growing demographic in this country, particularly in the Southwest. Recognizing this, Carpet One realized it needed to develop advertising and marketing materials to address that marketplace. Broadcast and print mediums will be targeted. “Home Depot and Lowe’s have done that as well,” Hackel said. Finally, Carpet One is in the process of relaunching its proprietary Lees brand with significant input from members. “We are involving our members in the entire process,” he explained. “The idea is to engage the members.” Hackel added while the brand is tremendously successful, it was launched in 1999 and could use some updating in the way of product and merchandising. |