The showroom at Buffaloe Floors and Up on Richmond Avenue near Greenway Plaza has been quieter than usual. Sales dropped off in March and April as the pandemic took hold, but as cooped up homeowners began to look at all they could do to their living spaces, things began to pick up.
To take advantage of the uptick, which has continued even as foot traffic has stayed down, the company is rolling out new technology including a mobile showroom and an app for clients to schedule visits and visualize flooring in their homes.
Its showroom on wheels was initially intended to help the flooring and counters company expand to new Texas markets and broaden its customer base through events at open houses, home improvement shows and parking lot pop-ups. It has taken on greater importance as the company navigates challenges of COVID-19.
“It essentially allows us to shift focus quickly and chase work,” said Alfred Soyyar, president of Buffaloe Floors and Up. “We retrofitted displays just like we have in our brick and mortar showroom. It gives you that same experience.”
The company, founded by Glenn Buffaloe as a carpet cleaning business in 1956 and merged with Floors and Up in 2018, is run by Soyyar alongside Buffaloe’s grandson Kurt Kristynik.
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While homeowners are spending more time at home and less money on vacation because of the pandemic, flooring replacement is dusty and disruptive work, Soyyar said. Timing is a factor in scheduling work for residential customers who often work at home alongside family members attending virtual school.
Buffaloe Floors’ experience in March and April, when it closed showrooms but continued to operate as an essential business in the construction industry, is reflected in national sales trends.
Consumer spending on carpeting and floor coverings in the U.S. dropped 15 percent in April to $21.1 billion, the lowest in five years, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. It rebounded to $29 billion in September.
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Early in the pandemic, Buffaloe Floors contacted commercial customers such as apartment managers, builders, retail stores and restaurants to see if they wanted to improve their spaces while they were shut down.
“We had an early push campaign with our existing clients,” Soyyar said.
In October, Soyyar worked at home as he recovered from COVID-19, which he caught from a family member. He kept in touch with employees and clients through FaceTime and the phone.
Before the coronavirus, sales for Buffaloe Floors were evenly split between commercial and residential. The commercial side now makes up 70 percent of sales, which are down 30 percent from normal levels, Soyyar said.
Buffaloe Floors is expanding to Austin, thanks to a booming market for home building, and the company is eyeing other Texas cities. Mobile showrooms will be used to test new markets.
“We’ve been lucky we’ve held on strong and survived,” Soyyar said. “Our tradition and our history in Houston and the fact we’re a mature company with existing clients helped us get through it.”
katherine.feser@chron.com
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November 20, 2020 at 06:00PM
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Buffaloe Floors and Up stays nimble during pandemic - Houston Chronicle
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