Retail Q&A: 'We Want to Be the Go-To Company for Job-Site Finished'

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Champion Floor Company

Location: St. Louis
Employees: 29
Showroom size: 4,500 square feet
Annual Sales Volume: $4 million

WFB's Andrew Averill spoke with Ralph Kuehn, the owner of Champion Floor Company in St. Louis.

Describe your operations.

We're a dealer-contractor with about $4 million in sales. We do light commercial and residential work, and a lot of contractor work. We began as a hardwood floor company, and that's our purpose still. I would say more than three-fourths of our sales are wood-floor-related. The core of our business is hardwood installation, sand-and-finish and refinishing. We try to never forget who we are or where we came from. When we pursue jobs, we tend to lead people toward job-site finished rather than prefinished.

Why do you push job-site?

Ralph Kuehn, OwnerRalph Kuehn, Owner

Prefinished has been a wonderful, big part of our business and it's growing, no doubt. But we want to be the go-to company for job-site finished in St. Louis. We're not scared of it. My guys are well-versed at it. That helps us differentiate ourselves, because other outfits are tending to shy away from selling job-site finished. We also think those prefinished floors will have to be sanded someday, right? So there should always be a market for our services. We certainly do see the value of prefinished, and our installations are way up. But they're also up for job-site finished products, too.

What's the ratio of prefinished to unfinished?

Materials sales are approximately 60 percent unfinished to 40 percent prefinished. Keep in mind that every piece of unfinished generates additional sand-and-finish revenue.

How do you market yourself?

We don't do much marketing. We haven't needed to—knock on wood. It's referrals or website traffic. We're not your normal retail space. We are open 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m. during the week, even though we've got a 4,500-square-foot showroom. We're off the beaten path. We're not trying to get customers to come to the showroom.

You're not trying to get customers to come to the showroom?

We're not trying to get walk-in traffic, no. The process to me is backwards when customers come to the showroom and make selections. Then the crew goes to the home and realizes it's not the best application for the product they chose. We start at the home.

What's the process look like?

Someone calls in. They heard about us from their neighbor or online. I ask them what kind of project they want and then I tell them someone will come out to their place to talk to them about it and measure the space. Then we'll set up an appointment to come to the showroom.

What are the benefits of that?

As a homeowner, if you come in or you call me and explain the conditions in your house, you may be missing something. I feel better if I get to go out there and look at it and see the subfloor, see what the job-site conditions are, make sure we're not walking up four flights of steps to deliver the wood. We are selling our expertise when we do consultations, not a product. We sell the best product for the application. We're not selling where the margins are, like some retail places that push what's on sale. We look at the job first, listen to the customer and recommend a good way to go. We're not hard closers at all. We're the opposite. We're educators.

Do some appointments not lead to a sale?

All the time. But the better educated my customers are, the better the chance I have at getting the job. Often the customer who didn't choose us will call us for the next project.

So are your guys full-time employees?

Yes. We employ around 20 technicians. That's the way we've always operated. We do use subcontractors from time to time, when the workload gets a little too heavy. But we're always on the lookout to bring people in, train them and get them moving upward through the ranks.

Why did you choose the full-timers over subcontractors?

There's a benefit to the customers knowing these guys work for us. We're responsible for them. We're never going to say to the customer, "Well I can't get a hold of that guy to get him back to your house." If I can't get Corey there tomorrow, I tell them I'll be sure to get another guy there. We're not going to have to wait for the subcontractor to free up time. That differentiates us in the market, too.

Is it hard to find workers?

We absolutely struggle. Having young people willing to learn the trade is important. We're always looking to establish better ties with the community because as kids come out of high school or technical school, some of them are going to want to learn a trade. I actually like hiring guys who have been out in the world a little bit, like the guys who are 30 and haven't found their way yet. A couple of our best guys have been in that age group. They've had a few jobs, done a few things and now they're ready to try this. We like to train guys, bring them through the system and make them a part of the family.

Is your training system formal or informal?

It's a mix. Some of my sanding guys have been here 15 years or more. When we bring in a new guy, they go out with those lead guys. We'll know in a month if a guy will make it or not. If they look like they're going to stay, we invest in more formal education. We send people to the NWFA schools. We'll work toward getting them certifications. You need some schooling, but you also need to see the job site with a guy who has been doing it for 30 years.

What do you think of the next generation of workers?

If our technicians are brand new, you're teaching them things people with a little more experience already have—how hard it is to find a job, keep a job, work with people who you don't have much in common with. Those are skillsets that are learned. They're not automatic. We have a certain amount of guys we're teaching that to, but you can't have too many of those on the roster.

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