The team at Bella Flooring Group has launched a new brand exclusively for the distributor channel, Oggi Stile. The collections of curated products, including hardwood, resilient laminate, carpet and wall coverings, were created specifically for regional distributors.
“We used our data gathered from our work at Bella to be able to define a line for regional distributors with the products, features, benefits and price points that they know will sell in their market and build it to where they have room for margin,” said Matthew Syler, chief revenue officer, Bella Flooring Group. Bella Flooring, which develops and imports flooring for the residential and commercial markets, launched in 2018 to provide retailers a trusted source for customized direct imports. What makes Bella Flooring Group unique, Syler says, is it provides a way for multiple factories to come together into a single company and create what he calls a “manufacturing cooperative group.” This group collaborates through Bella to manage all the sourcing and testing for all products that are brought into the system. The goal is long-term partnership and bringing the industry products they can rely on and sell profitably, he said.
“We went national from day one, and we tried a lot of different platforms, designs, styles and colors,” Syler said. “We had the opportunity to inventory heavy and fulfill every order that was sent our way. By doing that, we were able to capture the data about what colors work and what platforms work everywhere in the country.”
Oggi Stile, which translates from Italian to “Today’s Style,” sources products from across Asia, including China, Vietnam, Cambodia and South Korea.
“Our goal is always to source products from the highest quality manufacturers that are available in that category,” Syler noted.
The new distributor channel aims to solve a lot of problems for regional distributors. Traditionally, distributors must piece together an entire program based on products chosen from a variety of sources. The goal is to get everything a retailer needs for a project onto one truck—from floor coverings, padding, installation products and trim pieces.
“If we can reduce the number of sourcing avenues that they need, it really reduces their headaches on the sourcing side and getting the right materials to their own warehouse,” Syler said.
Since Bella Flooring Group emphasizes innovation, color, and style, it allows the cooperative to test out a variety of products in markets nationwide.
“That gives us the data points to be able to see where a market is going, what products should be in the market, what is be received by the customers, and it allows us a lot of trial and error,” Syler said. “That is one thing that Bella is always going to be about—seeing where the innovation edge is and should be in terms of style, quality and performance, and what the features and benefits are going to be important to the end consumer.”
Through the Oggi Stile distribution channel, distributors will gain access to a carefully curated selection of these products.
“This is a more stable channel where we pare down the line where we know what works,” Syler said. “Here, we can give them a longer product cycle, a reduced line with a lot of great support in those particular SKUs. It also takes some of the headaches off of their shoulders in terms of sourcing, marketing, quality control and testing.”
For more information, visit oggiestile.com.
