Dear Friends and Associates,
On April 27, tornados roared through our area of north Georgia, where so many of us in the floor covering industry live and work. It was devastating. In many ways those tornados are not unlike the recession that descended upon our industry back in 2007. The recession’s impact over these last few years has been just as challenging to all of us. And just like the weather, we have little, if any control over the economic climate and things like consumer confidence, new construction sales, raw material prices, or any number of other indicators we monitor daily.
But it’s in times like these that we see the resiliency of people, and a spirit of teamwork that overcomes life’s trials and difficulties. We’ve learned to overcome negativism with a positive outlook each day. And we’ve learned to pull together even more to weather the circumstances. For example, just after the storms hit Ringgold, Georgia and the surrounding area so hard, Beaulieu and its associates raised over $26,000 to assist 21 of our fellow associates get back on their feet. Our team collected three trailer truckloads of food, water, clothes and baby items to be distributed in the affected area. And we’ve provided over 16,000 square yards of grass carpet, backing, padding, broadloom and carpet tiles to replace flooring that was destroyed.
From a business perspective, we have taken on the recession with just as much determination. This year we’ve implemented new programs designed to be laser-focused in areas where we can excel and grow our business. For instance our growing modular carpet tile product lines are opening doors for us in the property management arena. And our HealthyTouch collection, the ultimate in softness and freshness, is generating a tremendous amount of dealer interest. But even while developing new products, we will never forget the importance of continuing to provide the superior level of service our customers have come to expect. And in addition to promoting our proprietary features and benefits like Magic Fresh and Silver Release, we’ve also put significant emphasis on how we can help our dealers succeed by providing innovative merchandising, new marketing materials and increased advertising support. All of it, including our new website, is there for one purpose: to help drive more customers to their stores and generate more sales for them.
As we all know, the one thing you can count on in life or in business is that the storms will surely come. The test of any individual or organization is how they choose to handle it. I’m personally proud of the fact that at Beaulieu, we choose to help each other and to stay the course toward becoming the Supplier and Employer of Choice in our industry. We do this by working together as a team, by supporting our dealers and by continuing to lead with innovation and service.
Sincerely,
Ralph Boe
President and CEO
Beaulieu of America
