Business Spotlight: Grounded in Flooring

In 2006, when Rick Mouery was considering a purchase of The Carpet Center at 1925 E. Seminole St., the 23-year-old contractor and licensed Realtor was renovating and flipping homes.

While deliberating on a purchase of the tiny 2,000-square-foot retail store, a lot of signs were flashing yellow. With its location behind The Carpet Shoppe, one of Springfield’s oldest retail flooring establishments, competition was stiff, physical visibility was poor and recessionary rumblings already were beginning.

He ignored all the warnings.

“Everything we did over there was sweat and blood,” he says of the 12-hour workdays early on. “This is a lifestyle – it’s who I am and what I do.”

In addition to the challenging locale and economy, the business had operated on a set of scruples that did not mesh with Mouery’s own Christian principles. After being burned on several large deals by pre-existing customers that “would back out at the last minute or try to change the terms after the fact,” he was forced early on to make a conscious decision to start from scratch, severing ties with past clientele in order to build a future for his business.

Today, the business has a new address, a new name and is solidifying its relatively new position in the Springfield flooring market. Mouery’s Carpet Center is settling into new showroom and warehouse space on South Scenic Avenue, adjacent to Mussino Tile, a busy supplier with a high volume of retail and contractor traffic. While there is no formal partnership between the companies, Mouery expects to see dividends from the move.

“They’re good people, they’re a specialty niche and they have a great reputation in town,” he says. “We wouldn’t have moved here if we didn’t trust that.”

Quadrupling the overall space to 8,000 square feet has allowed radical expansion of flooring displays that showcase Mouery’s products, as well as providing warehouse space to increase bulk purchasing options. Six weeks after moving in, the response has been promising. Mouery says business is up nearly 50 percent in the first quarter, extending a run of profitability that has averaged 10 to 15 percent growth in each of the seven years under his watch.

“Our bad visibility at the other location actually set us up for success here,” he says, declining to disclose annual revenue. “We built a clientele based not on where we were, but who we are. Our philosophy became ‘Let’s go after the contractors, the people who are doing remodels.’”

During the years, the company nurtured partnerships with numerous remodeling contractors, including Rock Solid Renovations in Ozark. Susie Edie, Rock Solid’s interior designer, says Mouery’s diversified product base – with such brands as Mohawk, Shaw, Urban Floor, Beaulieu of America, Cavalier, Hallmark, Kraus and Centiva – is critical as tastes change and homeowners’ mentality shifts.

“We’ve seen a lot of demand for kitchens and master bathrooms,” she says. “Those upgrades are typically the most expensive to do, but also carry the biggest return on investment when it’s time to sell. But what we’re seeing is that people are staying in their homes longer, and they want to be comfortable and enjoy them.”

That change in the conventional wisdom of the post-boom real estate world is echoed by Charlyce Ruth, executive officer of the Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield. As the recessionary housing market slid to previously unseen depths, she says many homeowners rode out the storm by choosing renovation over relocation. However, that trend is starting to shift.

“It appears that the emphasis has changed to new construction this year,” Ruth says. “Builders are seeing a pent-up demand for new housing because many families chose to stay in their existing home during the downturn.”

Mouery’s strategy plays into the recovery. Still holding an active real estate license, his store also caters to Realtors, which he says represent 15 to 20 percent of his clientele. The store offers various top-shelf brands of carpet, wood, laminate and luxury vinyl options at prices rivaling the lower-end products sold at big-box DIY stores. Prices range from 59 cents per-square-foot for vinyl to 12-inch oil-rubbed French oak that sells for $15.50 per square foot.

“Our motto has become let’s find the high-end stuff that’s been discontinued or has minor flaws,” he says, pointing to a shipment of discontinued DuPont Stainmaster carpet going for half the retail cost. “We tell people what’s wrong up front, and then give them great deals on it.”

The strategy has its downsides, too. Mouery cites a recent instance of selling a house full of discount vinyl flooring to the owner of rental properties, only to find out months later there was a major manufacturer’s defect. Once again, he leaned on his faith for the answer, and – despite the associated expense – voluntarily reached out to the property owner to arrange for no-cost replacement.

The father of four girls ages 6 and under, he says basic moral standards will always trump the profitability of his business.

“Who we are as people is more important than what our business is,” he says. “Even if our business crashes, we’ll depend on God and do what’s right.”