As long as new buildings are being constructed and old ones are being renovated, there will always be a need for flooring. Whether it’s carpet, tile, hardwood, or linoleum, each building needs floor covering to make it clean and safe for occupants to walk on.
Abbey Carpet is one of the largest providers of flooring in the United States. They have over 800 locations around the country, many of which are franchised. They provide some of the top names in flooring and window coverings to contractors and homeowners alike.
They are currently trying to expand their brand even farther, bringing their products to more consumers than ever before. To aid in this mission, they are accepting applications to add some new franchisees to their team.
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Sixty Years of Flooring
Abbey Carpet started as a single store in Sacramento, California in 1958. Seeing the need for flooring on the rise, they began selling franchise licenses in the early 1960’s to bring their products to a wider audience and increase their sales.
By beginning to sell their franchise licenses at this time, they earned the distinction of being the first registered franchise to ever exist in the state of California, narrowly edging out McDonalds for the title.
After nearly 40 years of operating in Sacramento, the decision was made to move the operation to Bonita Springs, Florida, which was not even a city at the time that the move was proposed. The reason for the move was simple: accessibility. According to President and COO of Abbey Carpet, Stephen Silverman, operating a national business out of the Pacific time zone posed a lot of issues, especially considering that many of their vendors and suppliers were located on the East Coast.
In 1996, Abbey relocated to Florida and continued their efforts at becoming the top flooring retailer in the country.
Knowing they had a $1 billion company meant that they had the means and the opportunity to reinvest in the business and take it even further. Over the years, they have acquired and developed other franchised brands, such as Floors To Go, and The Floor Club, to expand their offerings.
With the acquisition of The Floor Club, Abbey Carpet opened themselves up to a different revenue stream: sales directed at builders. While original Abbey Carpet locations, and Floors To Go catered to the consumer, The Floor Club is geared toward selling to the builders who are constructing and renovating homes and offices. By having a distinction between the two, Abbey Carpet is able to provide a different approach, depending on who the customer is, and utilizing the best sales tactics to close the deal.
Today, all Abbey Carpet locations are owned and operated by their franchisees, leaving Abbey Carpet to focus on the development and growth of the brand, instead of on the success of corporate-owned stores.
Applying for Abbey
To become an Abbey Carpet franchisee, applicants must first contact the Abbey corporate office to express their interest. They will be asked to fill out an application, detailing their previous business experience and their current financial status.
Applicants who successfully complete the application process will be invited to purchase a franchise license for a cost of $32,000. This will allow them to use the Abbey Carpet name, as well as grant them access to the vendors and suppliers that Abbey uses.
For many stand alone carpet businesses, they are restricted to the vendors that operate in their area. Without being able to branch out and utilize the services of other vendors, they may find that it is difficult to bring in the higher ranking brands that customers sometimes prefer. This puts them at a huge disadvantage behind the competition.
With the license purchased and vendors lined up, the new franchisee will need to begin constructing their store. For some, this will be unnecessary, because they already have an existing location. Stand alone carpet stores may choose to partner with Abbey as a way to expand their business and get the support that is provided by the franchisor.
For those that do not have an existing business, they will need a showroom that measures approximately 20,000 square feet to house their more than 200 samples from various suppliers. They will also need warehouse space to hold all of their inventory. When customers purchase flooring from the location, they like it to be readily available and installed professionally. Having to order every single kind of flooring and wait for it to arrive before it can be installed will quickly drive business away. Even the flooring that needs to be ordered because it is not sold often enough to be kept in stock will need space to hold it after it comes in but before the installation occurs.
To pay for this new space, as well as the inventory and staffing of the store, the franchisee will need approximately $44,000 to $84,000 in startup costs. This is actually a very low start up estimate. Many other franchises estimate their low-end start up costs at over $100,000. While each location will vary on what they actually spend, this low estimation is a good sign of a cost-effective investment.
Being an Abbey Carpet Franchisee
Once the franchisee has opened their location under the Abbey Carpet name, they will get the full experience of being a part of the Abbey Team.
On top of the benefit of having access to the large list of vendors, Abbey Carpet franchisees will also have access to the corporate team. This team will help the franchisee navigate their business and assist them when problems arise. While they can’t do everything, nor can they bail the franchisee out of every bit of trouble they may find themselves in, they can offer advice and solutions when issues arise.
Most franchisor charge their franchisees royalty fees for the services that they provide, such as support and training, but Abbey Carpet does not. Considering that the average royalty charged by franchisors is 6 percent of total sales, this can add up to some pretty significant savings for the franchisee.
The franchisee does not get away without having to pay any ongoing fees, though. They will need to pay Abbey Carpet for the advertising that they do. Abbey Carpet does all of the national advertising for the brand, and will feature the franchised locations on their website, allowing customers to find the Abbey Carpet location that’s nearest to them.
For the advertising services that they provide, Abbey Carpet charges a pretty high fee of 6 percent of total gross sales. The average advertising fee for franchisors is 2 percent. Because they do not charge any royalty fees, this still puts Abbey at a lower cost in ongoing fees than many franchise opportunities.
Between the low start up cost and the lower ongoing fees, Abbey Carpet works out to be a cheaper franchise opportunity overall.
Current Franchise Performance
When determining whether or not a certain franchise opportunity is a good one or not, there are many factors that should be considered. No one single factor can tell the potential franchisee everything that they need to know about the chain, so thorough research into the franchisor’s entire operation is necessary to make a sound decision.
Abbey Carpeting is one of the largest flooring franchises in the country, but that does not necessarily make them viable. Over the last eight years, they have been experiencing a downturn in the total number of franchised locations that carry their name.
Between 2010 and 2016 alone, they had a net franchise growth rate of -58. That means that even if they opened new locations during those years, there were still 58 more closed than were opened.
Having numbers that low points to a serious issue within their franchise system.
Adding to that fact, their website does not openly advertise their desire for franchisees. It would be assumed that a company that was actively trying to attract new franchisees would want to get the word out as much as possible. Even with a dedicated franchising website, a link on the company’s main page would be expected.
Despite their lack of acknowledgement that they want new franchisees, they continue to accept applications. Potential franchisees who are considering partnering with Abbey Carpet are able to contact them and get more information, they just may have to work a little harder to submit their expression of interest.
Going with Abbey
Opening a franchise location is a big decision. Whether it’s the total commitment to operating a company under someone else’s brand, or simply running a business at all, it takes careful consideration before making a final decision.
With an Abbey Carpet location, it can be hard to determine the worth. They have low fees and startup costs, but their viability is being called into question. They have been experiencing negative growth for a while and have not yet seemed to recover from it.
At one point, they were worth nearly $2 billion. It’s unclear what they are worth these days, but with their recent losses it’s hard to imagine that they are still at that value.
It’s unclear what Abbey Carpet’s motives are for attaining more franchisees. If they are actually still wanting to add to their team, they don’t seem to be doing very much about it. Very little information is made available to interested parties, which would turn most candidates away. Most candidates like to do an ample amount of research on their own before contacting the franchisor, but with so little information regarding the process, it’s hard to know anything about the process at all.
For those candidates who are seeking a franchisor partner to add to their existing carpet companies, it may be wise to think more heavily on that decision. If the current store they are operating is functioning well and turning profits, there may not be a need to add the franchisor. If it is struggling and looking for some help, Abbey Carpet may not be the best franchisor to offer that assistance.
Entrepreneurs who do not yet have a carpet business but would like to build one with a franchisor would do best to look elsewhere. There’s too little information regarding Abbey’s current plans and process to make it a viable option.