The Face of Competition

As promised in my last post I will show you what floor covering store competition looks like. There are many, many reputable companies in Dalton, Georgia and I am going to show you just a few.

Myer's Carpet Company has been a fixture in the community for over 50 years and offer many high end products such as wool and custom area rugs.




Beckler's Carpet has also been around for the
better part of half a century. Beckler's is also a
family owned company offering honesty, integrity and a wide assortment of floor coverings.

Next we have Carpets of Dalton, long established as one of the largest in the country. Not only do they offer all sorts of floor coverings, a wide selection of high end furniture and appliances can be found under "The Big Sign".

Georgia Carpet Industries is owned by a
friend and has experienced tremendous
growth over the last couple of decades. GCI
offers a huge inventory of carpet, vinyl, and other floor coverings mainly to dealers and builders, but sports a full
showroom for the retail customer.

Another decades old company and also a friend of
mine is Owen Carpet Company. They, like the rest of us, maintain a huge inventory of floor coverings to service their wholesale carpet customers.


One of two Carpet Express locations in the area.






ifloor.com (a Washington state company)
felt they needed a store way down here in
the southland.





And of course American Carpet
Wholesalers of Georgia. We needed more of a warehouse location to accomadate many trucks on a daily basis. Although many customers come to our showroom on a regular basis.

INC Magazine Recognition

For the second year in a row, INC magazine has recognized American Carpet Wholesalers of Georgia as one of the fastest growing companies in America. Last year we were number 4060 on a list of 5000 and this year we improved our market position by coming in at 3489 on the list.

With so many bankruptcies and company failures, how did we manage to not only stay on the list, but also improve our ranking. It is the attitude of our team members. They believe without question that our company is the best. It is our customers who have given us such great customer reviews and recommended our company to family and friends. It is offering a great value on name brand floors at a time when getting the most for your dollar is important. It is our suppliers who have continued to support us. It is all of these things and more that helps this company continue to thrive and outpace the competition.

Last year we were honored to be named to list. This year we are honored, humbled, and very thankful for the recognition. It would not be possible without great team members. Congratulations belong to them.

It was July - So what happened?

For as long as I can remember, July has been the worst month of the year for floor covering sales. "It's July, you may as well take a vacation," was the phrase most oft used in our industry. In years before the whole town of Dalton, GA shut down. Restaurants, dry cleaners, tire dealers, it did not matter. The whole town was on vacation. There are over 100 carpet outlets here, and the majority closed for the week of July 4th. Sales were miserable and the state of the economy was not a factor.

Dalton Georgia Carpet Outlets have long been famous for floor covering discounts and wholesale carpet prices. So famous in fact that "The Today Show" broadcast live from the area as the place to buy floor coverings. People would drive from 100's of miles away to buy floor covering. But not in July.

Normally when the calender shows July 1, I go into a state of depression. There are only meager sales but the overhead keeps on rolling. This year was no different July came and I made adjustments to expenses to try and minimize the pain. But wait, the first week was good and then the second week was OK. The third week was great and so was the fourth. This was something I had never witnessed, a great month of July! In fact I had to go back 2 years to find any month that American Carpet Wholesalers had more sales. So what happened to make July 2008 such a great month?

Nothing really stands out. No single product really stood out as the reason. No extra large sales. I spent less on advertising. The only thing I see at present is we had a tremendous amount of customer referrals, which relates directly to my previous post about customer reviews and doing the right thing.

Accolades must be given to our whole team. Sales, customer relations and order fulfillment. I have previously stated our team was the best and this just reaffirms my belief. Needless to say, I am a happy camper and so are my creditors!

Bliss by Beaulieu

Well we finally have started getting the new Bliss by Beaulieu carpet line on our website. Images are coming a bit slow as we have not received our showroom display yet. Hopefully it will arrive soon. We are anxious to start showing the products to our customers.

Alloc added to Our Product Line

In response to many of our customer's request for a commercial laminate flooring at a reasonable price, American Carpet Wholesalers responded by adding the Alloc line of beautiful laminate floors. While Alloc Commercial Laminate is designed for commercial use, Alloc Original and Alloc Domestic are warranted for light commercial use

With Alloc Laminate's exclusive and patented mechanical locking system you are assured of close fitting seams and the joints will remain secure.
With superior joint integrity, stain, fade,wear, and water resistance Alloc laminate floors will be a popular choice for our commercial and residential builders. We are extremely excited about Alloc's product line.

Southeastern Freight Lines Honors ACWG

SEFL named American Carpet Wholesalers of GA, Inc as one of their top 25 accounts. Considering that we are in Dalton, Ga along with the big names such as Shaw Industries, Mohawk Industries, Beaulieu of America, and about 100 other carpet manufacturers, this is a huge honor. Just think, 6 years ago it was very hard for us to get supplier recognition. My staff and I realize as long as we continue to provide products at a fair price and great customer service we will continue to grow and set sales records. All I can say to my crew is "You've come along way, baby". Thanks to all.

Congratulations from Inc. Magazine

This is a letter from the publisher of Inc. Magazine on making the list.


Dear Jerry,

Congratulations again on making Inc.'s list of America's fastest growing private companies. Over the years, we've seen many companies leverage their appearance on the list to actually accelerate their growth. That’s one reason I hope you’ve been sharing the achievements of American Carpet Wholesalers of GA with your employees, customers, and the many others who have contributed to its great success.

You can also view former President Bill Clinton’s speech. In both his presence at the event and in his remarks, I think he showed that he understands the important role entrepreneurs play in America’s economic success. He and I also both share the belief that entrepreneurship is one of our best hopes for expanding opportunity in the nation’s distressed and emerging communities. We'll begin recruitment in the next month for the Inner City Entrepreneur Initiative, a high-impact mentoring program between successful entrepreneurs and emerging growth companies in America's inner cities.

Sincerely,

John Koten
CEO and Editor In Chief
Mansueto Ventures

Inc Magazine Press Release

Copy of Press Release Distributed by Inc Magazine.
"Excuse me while I kiss the sky."
This a lot of work and a lot of dedication by my entire staff.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jerry Bryson,
FIRST-EVER LIST OF THE 5,000 FASTEST-GROWING BUSINESSES
REPORTS TOTAL REVENUE OF $194.5 BILLION

American Carpet Wholesalers of GA, Inc. Ranks No. 4060 on the 2007 Inc. 5,000
With Three-Year Sales Growth of 60%

NEW YORK, August 23, 2007 – Inc. today ranked American Carpet Wholesalers of GA, Inc. #4060 on its first-ever Inc. 5,000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. The Inc. 5,000, an extension of Inc. magazine’s annual Inc. 500 list, catches many businesses that are too big to grow at the pace required to make the Inc. 500, as well as a host of smaller firms. Taken as a whole, these companies represent the backbone of the U.S. economy. “Our growth can be attributed to great employees who believe that above all else, providing the best customer service will keep the phone ringing and customers coming back over and over.” says Jerry Bryson, President and CEO.Based in Dalton, GA, American Carpet Wholesalers sells name brand floor coverings such as carpet, area rugs, commercial carpet tile, vinyl tile, hardwood flooring and laminate flooring directly to the consumer via their website ( www.carpet-wholesale.com ). Consumers save up to70% over traditional local brick and mortar establishments. A great deal of these products are in stock and ready to ship at one of their facilities

Let's try something new!

Blogging is something new for me, but I will give it my best shot. Flooring is something we all use, but reading about it is not something we will rush to the public library for books about . A lot of info and images can be seen on my site http://www.carpet-wholesale.com/ .

We at American carpet wholesalers maintain a full showronn for our instore customers, but we also maintain a 30,000 sq ft warehouse to service our online customers. Operating online is a very competitve neighborhood. While I have competitors that I respect and admire, I also have competitors that I am not too fond of. I will not name names. Lets just say they reside on the west coast and the east coast respectively. And some in the middle as well.

This month brings new challenges for all of the products we sell, carpet, hardwood floors, laminate flooring, luxury vinyl tiles, carpet tile, and accessories. Rising petroleum prices as well as rising labor costs have forced most of our suppliers raise prices. At American Carpet Wholesalers, we will absorb some of the increase, taking lower profit margins and pass as little
as possible to our customers.

The economy is not helping us out either. While people are watching their pennies and new home construction is at a virtual standstill, all housing related businesses are facing greater challenges everyday. It appears that there isn't a white knight out there to guide us thru this downturn.

Because of our sales volume at American Carpet Wholesalers and our extremely efficient operation, we will continue to offer our customers a great value for their dollar. Last year we were honored by Inc Magazine as one of the top growth companies in the nation. This year we are thankful that it appears we will not only stay on the list, but move up the ladder a little.