El Dorado Floor & Design opened for business in Folsom, Calif.

Store: El Dorado Floor & Design
Location: Folsom, Calif.
(30 minutes east of Sacramento)
Owner: Dave Roberts
Opened: Aug. 1

(First in a series)
Dave Roberts broke into the floor covering industry as an installer 20 years ago. After a three-year stint as a manufacturer rep, he crossed the bridge to the retail side and was running other peoples businesses since 1999. But in late 2005 he had an epiphany: He wanted to open his own store.

I felt I opened and ran these other stores successfully, and I was tired of doing it for other people, he said. It took 12 months to find a location, but Roberts finally settled on a high-traffic spot off one of the main roads in Folsom, Calif., surrounded by upscale retail and a new mall under construction.

The next step was equally important: alignment or independence. At the end of the day, Roberts achieved both by becoming one of the charter members of the S&G alliance program. I had discussions with Abbey about going into their program, he said. Then I heard S&G was starting its own group, and that was the direction I wanted to go. I was looking to align with someone, because the small guy needs an alignment. S&G had the name recognition and integrity I was looking for. But the big thing is I am still an independent retailer, but through the alliance I receive unparalleled support.

That support includes advertising, merchandising and margins, Roberts said. S&G has built such a reputation, he said. We will take S&Gs advertising on Comcast and attach a 10-second tag line of who I am. This avoids a lot of my production cost. Instead of spending $30,000 to produce the commercial, I spend $600 or $700 for a 10-second blurb to re-tag. At the same time, Donald Ratajczak, S&Gs advertising director, has helped fine tune the advertising for our new store.

As for merchandising, Roberts is particularly impressed with the way S&G markets its private-label system, which fuels margins. S&G has achieved margins better than the industry average through private labeling, importing and buying power. We are seeking to capitalize on that.

According to Gary Miceli, president of S&G, each retailer picks and chooses which products to take on. We will suggest to the owner what lines give the best margin opportunity, he said. They are independent, so they can take whatever lines they want, but we will make recommendations. We are trying to be different than a typical buying group that forces things on their members.

Miceli added that S&G is not a typical buying group in that the company has working stores. We know the formula will work because it is already working. We are not taking a chance. All the member has to do is implement the program.

Roberts is looking at doing $1.5 million his first year, but that number is not the focus. He is seeking margins of 35%, which is 3% above the average, and to become the dominant retailer in the town. Long term, he has lofty plans. I envision in my five-year plan expanding to a larger store, a little more on the S&G footprintshowroom and warehouse all in one.

For more information on the S&G retail alliance, call Steve Bicknell at 408.202.5177.

(Floor Covering News will provide monthly reports on El Dorados progress as an independent, aligned retailer.)