Kennesaw, Ga.—Customers of Floor & Décor Outlets of America are just one step away from the quarry. Through bypassing the traditional phases of the supply chain, the company can offer its customers quality hard surface products at a low price, company officials explained at the grand opening of its newest store here. “We feel this is a paradigm shift in the industry where we take products directly from the quarry, or from the manufacturer, in all the different hard surface categories and bring them right here to the floor where the consumer can pick and choose from literally thousands of options,” explained Stephen Newman, vice president of Floor & Décor Outlets who joined the growing chain at the beginning of 2004 after heading laminate manufacturer Witex USA for a number of years.

“Our logistics and supply chain allow us to give the consumer a value proposition and a wide array of products to choose from. That’s the foundation of this business,” he added. Last month, the company celebrated the opening of its third Georgia location—an 80,000-sq.-ft. facility at 1200 Earnest Barrett Parkway—and sixth overall since launching the concept in 2002. Following in the pattern of its other units, the new store gives consumers ample shopping time as it is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. “This is the sixth store opening in our chain of 10 that we want to get to this year,” Newman said. “We have enjoyed an enormous amount of success to date and we continue to look forward to that as we go in the future.”

In addition to the Georgia locations, the company has two stores in Texas—Dallas and Houston—and one unit in Florida—Jacksonville. Floor & Décor now employs 650 people. Along with extended shopping time, consumers will find an ample array of products as the new location features more than 1.5 million square feet of inventory ranging from all types of hard surface flooring as well as related decorative items. “Our concept is unlike any other in the industry,” said Michael Froning, president and COO. “We’ve taken two or three aisles of flooring typically found at most home improvement stores and expanded it into 75,000 square feet of flooring and accessories alone. Consumers do not have to special order or worry about appearances—they select their flooring and take it home with them the same day.”

In the wood and laminate section of the store, customers will find everything from 3/4-in. solid hardwoods to prefinished engineered or longstrip flooring. The company also offers pine products, vertical and horizontal bamboo, and an array of unfinished wood flooring from which consumers and contractors may choose, Newman said. “We start out with entry level price points on laminate and work our way through the chains from a systematic series of upgrades in different qualities, types and visuals—anything from an entry level 7mm product up to a high end visual with V-groove, rustic textures and pre-attached-backed products,” he explained. “We also offer both matte and gloss finishes with different thicknesses and widths to cover varying price points,” Newman continued, “and we offer entry level price points and additional price points on solid wood flooring covering the gamut of all the different flavors of species. “And,” he added, “we carry all the underlayments as well adhesives, setting materials—everything you need to complete the project.”

From the wood and laminate area, customers are guided to a full assortment of travertine and split brick pavers for outdoor use. A glimpse at some of Floor & Décor’s other products include: • Ceramics. “We cover all the different price points on glazed ceramic tile,” Newman explained. “Any type of color and size format, from 4X4- up to 24X24-in. is available.” The store also boasts a glazed porcelain selection. “We have some very beautiful Italian glazed porcelains,” he added. “And, we carry setting materials and any type of installation accessories, from tools to grouts, mortars, thin sets, and so forth.”

• Granites. The company imports granites from all over the world and offers a full selection of styles and colors. “We carry granites as well as granite edges that we have specially designed for us,” Newman said. “Instead of incurring the cost of having granite formed, consumers can purchase the granite, lay it anyway they want, and then finish it off with an edge.”

• Marbles. “We have a wide array of marble products with some pretty aggressive price points,” he said. “It’s selection, selection, selection and price to back it up.”

• Travertine. “We offer a huge selection of colors in a variety of sizes from 12- to 18- to 24-in.,” Newman said. “We also have modular patterns available.”

• Slate. “We pride ourselves on are our slate products,” he added. “We have an enormous array from around the world in all the different colors and selections, from peacocks to golds to blacks.”

• Tumbled Stone. “We also import our tumbled stone products from around the world and offer all the accessory pieces that go along with both tumbled marble and tumbled slate to make a full assortment of floor to wall combinations,” New-man explained. “Modular inserts as well and accent pieces to finalize the installation are also available. Our tumbled marbles include a wide array of colors, designs, shapes, and sizes to fit basically any room scene environment and any type of application you may be looking for.”

• Sinks. “We import mosaic sinks and offer a full array of travertine sinks in varying shapes and sizes,” he noted. “We also import accessory pieces in composite resin to accentuate and finalize any type of installation” How-to Help In addition to the thousands of products offered, the dealer offers its customers installation CDs, videos, and how-to pamphlets.

“We also have our Floor & Décor University,” Newman said. “We give classes every Saturday at all our stores. They cover all the installation processes of the different types of products we carry.” While Floor & Décor is geared to the DIY homeowner, Froning noted the chain’s target market also includes the professional builder. “Because of the wide range of flooring we offer, along with the convenience of same day pickup, we’re the ideal destination for the interior design and professional flooring community.”