A typical World of Floors store does approximately $2 million a year in sales.

Burnsville, Minn.— Floor To Ceiling Interior Design Showrooms (FTC) has been given a sister as its parent company MRM (Midwest Regional Marketing) acquired the World of Floors (WOF) franchise operation for an undisclosed price.

WOF was formed in 1998 as an offshoot of the previous New York Carpet World. Headquartered in Macomb, Mich., the group currently has 17 franchise stores in lower Michigan, plus a showroom in Wilmington, N.C., and one soon to be announced in Florida. Last year, WOF members did approximately $40 million in sales.

Along with purchasing the WOF name and franchise agreements, Emil Pedick, WOF’s president, and Jackie Myers, head of operations/executive assistant, have agreed to stay on in their respective roles.

Though WOF is a specialty flooring retail store with less than two dozen locations, and FTC has more than 200 franchised one-stop interior design and decorating showrooms that include everything from “the floor to the ceiling,” executives feel there is a great deal of synergies to be realized from this acquisition.

Steve Sindlinger, CEO and president for FTC and newly appointed CEO for WOF, noted, “The purchase results in substantial synergy for both organizations. Not only will both groups benefit by the greater buying power, but by the added efficiencies of consolidated advertising, merchandising, displays and promotional efforts as well. Likewise, this gives our members the opportunity to offer a second brand and expands their potential customer base.”

Pedick added, “We have sat down and discussed with the WOF members the growth plan, and all members have remained with the group and are excited for the future.”

Sindlinger noted FTC members have expressed a strong desire to acquire a WOF franchise. “We’re very excited about growth. There is strong interest; WOF has a great name.”

He explained, “Floor To Ceiling members will be given first opportunity [to purchase a franchise]. WOF members will also be given the FTC opportunity if an FTC does not already exist in their market. Fortunately, there are only a few overlaps.” No timeframe has yet to be established for when non-members will be offered the opportunity to join either group.

Though FTC’s largest product type among members is flooring, he explained the two groups typically attract a different type of consumer. “Traditionally, the typical Floor To Ceiling customer has been more likely to be focused on a complete project, such as remodeling a room or even an entire house. Flooring is just one part of that overall project, along with cabinetry, lighting, window treatments and more.”

As for the WOF customer, Sindlinger said she is usually looking for a competitively priced solution to a flooring problem. “The merger of these two companies extends access to a new kind of customer for each group. Both consumers and contractors will benefit through more aggressive marketing programs.”

One reason is about half of each group’s suppliers are already affiliated with the other organization. “Most of the national vendors do parallel with both groups,” Pedick said, but local distributors and international suppliers are different.

“We understand the importance of advertising, collective merchandising and new technology in growing our franchise’s businesses,” he added, “but most importantly we have created an open dialogue with our members so our systems work very well for them. Floor To Ceiling will provide the wherewithal to take these practices into other markets.”

Sindlinger was quick to note while Floor To Ceiling has enjoyed national success, there is much to be learned by the regional experiences of World of Floors. “The systems and communications practices of WOF will help us become an even better business partner to our members.”