CLAY — Onondaga Flooring, Inc. opened its third location on May 29 in the Marketfair North Plaza in Clay. The plaza is located at the intersection of Interstate 481 and Route 31. “The 3,000-square-foot showroom is conveniently located for suburban families in the north,” says Scott Perry, co-owner with his brother Michael. The grand opening […]
CLAY — Onondaga Flooring, Inc. opened its third location on May 29 in the Marketfair North Plaza in Clay.
The plaza is located at the intersection of Interstate 481 and Route 31. “The 3,000-square-foot showroom is conveniently located for suburban families in the north,” says Scott Perry, co-owner with his brother Michael. The grand opening is scheduled toward the end of June.
The brothers considered the expansion for four years before finding the right site. Marketfair is owned by M & J Wilkow, Ltd., a Chicago–based real-estate company whose portfolio includes 7.4 million square feet of space and is valued at more than $1.1 billion. In addition to Onondaga Flooring, the Marketfair North Plaza tenant list includes A.C. Moore, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Staples, Lennon’s Jewelers, Firestone, Gino & Joe’s Pizza, and Tuesday Morning.
Onondaga Flooring was founded in 1968 by Lynn M. Perry, the brothers’ father. The company was incorporated as Onondaga Discount Carpets until 2006, when the name changed to Onondaga Flooring.”
“We thought the name change better reflected the company, which had expanded well beyond carpeting,” notes Scott Perry. “We are a complete flooring center, which not only provides carpeting but also a wide selection of area rugs, vinyl, hardwood, laminate, and ceramic tile. We are one of the largest inventory-stocking dealers in Central New York.”
The original operation started in 9,000 square feet at 1510 N. Salina St. in Syracuse. In 46 years, the site has expanded three times, now encompassing 20,000 square feet. The Perrys opened the 8,000-square-foot Fulton Store in 1997. The Syracuse store carries the largest inventory and Fulton a smaller inventory. Both locations include showrooms. Today, Onondaga Flooring employs 26 people and generates annual revenues north of $5 million (as estimated by The Business Journal).
The residential business represents about 70 percent of sales, with commercial representing about 30 percent. The Perry brothers are the stockholders in the operating company (S-corp.) and also the owners of two real-estate companies: 1510 LLC and Perbro LLC, which control the properties in Syracuse and Fulton. Onondaga Flooring signed a three-year lease with options at the new Clay location.
Challeging industry
“This has always been a competitive industry,” asserts Scott Perry. “The consumer has a lot of choice. The consumer is also a lot more educated; they are doing their homework. In addition, the industry is changing rapidly, especially in the past five to seven years, with more options to choose from. To compete, we need to listen carefully to our customers and react quickly [to change]. We have grown the business in order to compete very effectively with competitors such as the big-box stores. Our bottom-line price is always at or below those of the big-box stores when comparing the total price on comparable items. Our key is being a full-service store where we offer a wide variety, buy in volume, provide the best customer service, and also provide our own installation crews that work within our strict quality standards.”
Onondaga Flooring has also been selected by Mohawk Industries to be a Mohawk Floorscapes dealer. Floorscapes stores are independent, locally owned operations committed to servicing the customer with an easy-to-use environment, well-trained salespeople, and special warranties. “This also has helped to set us apart from the competition,” observes Michael Perry.
Growth strategy
Onondaga Flooring has grown both organically and through acquisitions. In 1982, Lynn Perry bought Thompsons Carpet City in Fairmount. In 2005, Onondaga Flooring acquired Valley Carpets in Manlius, and in 2007 bought the retail division of Jack of Hearts located on Old Liverpool Road in Salina. All transactions were asset purchases. “We’re always looking for opportunities to grow the company,” avers Scott Perry.
Growing Onondaga Flooring is complicated by a lack of candidates for employment. “It’s tough to find installers,” laments Michael Perry. “The younger generation just doesn’t seem interested in working with their hands. This is an industry problem. We now have to do a lot of in-house training, in many cases pairing new hires with journeymen. We try to cross-train our installers, but some are just proficient in one area. [Fortunately], we are still able to attract some experienced installers. But it is definitely a concern as we try to grow.”
Onondaga Flooring also relies on area professionals for making the business successful. “We have had long-term relationships with key vendors,” Scott Perry emphasizes. “For our banking needs, we work with KeyBank; for legal matters we turn to Greene, Hershdorfer & Sharpe (Syracuse); and for accounting we use Dermody, Burke & Brown (Syracuse).
The future
The brothers share a vision for the future of the business. “We want to continue growing the business,” they intone together.
“Even though we may work on projects 100 miles away, our growth plans keep our store locations within 25 miles of Syracuse so that we can control the operation,” says Scott Perry. “We need to stay responsive to our customers and up-to-date on what’s happening [in the industry]. I’m 49 and Michael is 47. We are already thinking about the third generation operating the business in the future.” Scott’s daughter just joined the business.
Scott and Michael Perry are Syracuse natives: The former lives in Cicero, the latter in West Monroe in Oswego County. Both are celebrating at least a quarter-century in the business.
Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@cnybj.com