50 Years of building dreams

For the past 50 years Carpet Court has been inspiring Aussies to dream it, style It and most importantly live it when it comes to their dream homes. Celebrating this important milestone in Australian retailing, the team at Carpet Court revisited the past whilst clearly looking to the future.

Celebrating 50 years in business is a significant milestone in anyone’s terms. And Carpet Court, now Australia’s leading retail flooring and window furnishing specialist, has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1973. Starting with a foundation Member group of eight, Associated Furnishers P/L was officially registered in New South Wales with the founders becoming directors of the new business.

Expansion ensued with the formation of Alliance Buyers Company in 1977, Ron Graham and Geoffrey Matlock, the two original directors, led the business, which was essentially a group of furniture businesses whereby some owners sold carpets. That was all about to change.

Fast forward to 1994 and a trip to New Zealand to explore the market across the ditch, was the beginning of the new vision. Court Stores Australia was then formed as a state based buying group, creating the largest carpet buying group with Queensland and Victorian stores adopting the name.

However, over time the state-based entities merged to form a northern and a southern group of stores. In 2007 the merger continued with the Carpet Court Northern and Southern businesses to form Carpet Court Australia. This saw the formation of Carpet Court’s National office based in Victoria to centralise the operation, creating business strategies, marketing, and sales support for the newly integrated group. The Carpet Court network today has 206 stores under its banner nationally.

The current CEO is James Hayward who has been at the helm since 2016, who continues to bring a wealth of retailing, leadership and team building experience with him.

The importance of partnership

Chief Marketing Officer Kara Norris, who also joined the team in 2016, has worked with James and the team to enhance a unique membership model. This model has been nurtured and improved to deliver successful outcomes for the entrepreneurs attracted to the Carpet Court group.

“I think the way we have approached our membership model has been quite unique in retailing. We effectively began as a co-op and now we run a sophisticated membership model. We empower our members through relationships, backend programs and marketing support, whilst empowering the Membership to employ their own flair and personality to their individual businesses,” James said.

“We are delighted to be in such a positive position in 2023, to celebrate our 50th anniversary and look to the future, knowing our members are engaged and empowered.”

According to Hayward, one of the keys to success is to live your company values. “Our corporate values include openness, honesty, integrity, and leadership; leadership in our business means to show the path to our wonderful members. The National Support Centre exists to serve our members through developing initiatives and programs to drive success however we choose to educate rather than tell our members what to do and for our members to engage with the programs that will best suit their store and local community.”

Relationship with suppliers is key to the success of the business and these relationships have evolved over many years. Carpet Court involve their suppliers at all levels of their business, from shop front to their annual Conference, to ensure a shared understanding and commitment to mutual success.

“We work hard to build strong relationships with our suppliers as they are intrinsic to the success of our business for our members. We walk the path together, sharing knowledge and great respect, which has been key to our business model working,” Hayward said.

The marketing approach has also been intrinsic to the success of the business, with Kara Norris bringing marketing and retail knowledge to the table, elevating the brand through a strategic rebrand and putting together a comprehensive ‘above the line’ advertising program for the 50th Anniversary.

Giving equal weight to the importance of brand building via earned media engagement with PR, to maintaining a strong social media presence, to a progressive program of influencer engagement, Norris and her team have taken the brand to the next level.

“We work hard and thoughtfully at everything we do, keeping the needs of our members at the heart of all our thinking. We offer support, marketing knowledge, and achievable guidelines to our members who adapt to what’s appropriate in their own businesses. The 50th anniversary year will reveal some exciting new looks and plans as we embrace change and the next chapter,” Norris said.

Giving back

The Carpet Court community is quite a unique and engaged group of members, with a strong commitment to giving back both locally and on a larger scale.

Members undertake their own local engagement at a grassroots level that can include sponsorships, raffle prizes, partnerships, and collaborations, all the while providing local employment.

At an industry level, Carpet Court has been instrumental in the establishment of the Floor Covering Institute of Australia (FCIA), which has empowered apprenticeship training, with 160 apprentices currently being trained under its auspices. James was one of the major drivers behind the FCIA initially, identifying a need for there to be one industry body dedicated to training.

“After travelling the country once I started with Carpet Court, I identified a need for a specific industry body who could empower the next generation of flooring professionals whilst bringing the broader industry together into one group. I think we are on that path and as the current deputy chair, there is still work to be done,” Hayward said.

Reflecting on success with a focus on the future

With 30 years of high-level retail experience, Carpet Court’s Chairman, Rod Walker, brings a wealth of expertise to the role. As an independent Chairman, he helps to guide the elected members on the board as they navigate an ever-changing retail landscape whilst representing their member colleagues.

Rod's ability to focus on what's best for the group is invaluable. He encourages an altruistic approach from members, refocusing on strategic issues and unifying the group with a shared vision. Rod believes that part of Carpet Court’s success has been the businesses’ ability to develop long term, loyal partnerships with suppliers.

“In our business, our relationships with our suppliers are keys to our success. We’ve worked hard on these over the lifetime of the business, which has served us well,” Walker said.

Reflecting on other reasons for Carpet Court’s success, Walker believes that Carpet Court’s franchise model is what has set it apart.

“Rather than having strict franchise rules that limit freedom, we encourage talented entrepreneurs who are focussed on success – both individually and as a group. Of course, we give them a backend framework and marketing support however, it is primarily up to them how creatively they run their business. It’s a refreshing change,” he said.

Looking to the future, Rod believes the Carpet Court Membership network will continue to differentiate itself from competitors with enhanced product and brand positioning.

“We want to keep the free spirit of our members whilst continuing to build strategic trust and strong decision-making for the group. We are using strong data insights to understand our customers and we will continue to nurture our supplier relationships and partnerships to develop our range and offering in line with consumer needs. And we will live our values of openness, honesty, integrity, and leadership. These things have served us well for the last 50 years as we look to the future with enthusiasm,” Walker said.