franchise focus

artin Coates grew up with a strong foundation of entrepreneurship. His stepfather operated a diverse range of businesses over the years in Wodonga, so when Martin left school he joined the family businesses which provided him with a really strong grounding in business practice. “When my stepfather decided to get back into the flooring trade in the mid-1990s I joined forces with him, and in the transition, we added tiles to our offering at Border Carpet and Tiles. Frank Walker visited our showroom in 1996 and encouraged us to take on the National Tiles franchise. He was very invested in the franchise from the very beginning, helping us to update the store which we are very grateful for. We launched the franchise in 1998.” Now 14 years later there has been a significant change in the local building landscape. “Back then there were a lot of small builders in Albury & Wodonga. Then the larger building groups started setting up in the area which proved to be perfect timing for our National Tiles franchise. It made all the difference the width, breadth and depth of the tile ranges we had to offer. It was certainly the right decision for us. ” The building trade continues to prosper in Wodonga, even though there has been a shift in the types of flooring that are popular for the local market. “Whilst functional and designer tiles are sought after for bathrooms, laundries and kitchen splashbacks, there has been a move away from tiled floors throughout the home. There has been a big increase in orders for the Vinyl and Laminate flooring

that National Tiles introduced a few years ago. Tiles used to be around 80% of the flooring area, and now that wodonga m percentage is Martin Coa tes O w ner around 50/50. Some builders of course love the natural timber range, but for price-sensitive homes you can’t beat the quality and affordability of the Vinyl and Laminate ranges. ” Whilst the team at Border Carpet works closely with residential homeowners for their renovations, the bulk of their supply is to the multi-house builders. “We present them with a range of tiles for their buyers to select from within a certain price structure, and then their clients can upgrade their tile and timber flooring selections if they choose to. Subway tiles and the Whoosh range are the everlasting choices, and then they get a bit more daring with tiles for splashbacks to make more of a feature. ” “The outdoor pavers, pool coping tiles and pool tiles are a great addition to our business too, and over the last five years the technological advancements with porcelain tiles have taken over the natural stone because they are so easy to maintain and look so effective. They help to create that indoor/outdoor look that is so popular for our Australian way of life. ” Martin has eight members in his team in the retail and warehouse space, servicing the local area and helping to make homeowners’ dreams come true. “My favourite part of what I do is watching the joy my team members get from clinching a sale. They get such a buzz from working closely with their customers and delivering them tiles and flooring that they love. ”

hane and Shiree Meade were fi rst introduced to the concept of a National Tiles franchise via their good friend Terry Beks, who founded the very fi rst franchise store in Warrnambool. Shane and Terry had previously worked together at Powercor, so when Frank Walker told Terry that he was looking to open a store in Bendigo, Terry put them in touch. Shane and Shiree decided to launch the Bendigo franchise with the store offi cially opening a year later, in 2003. “I have a Graduate Diploma in Business so I had the a strong understanding of business, so we learnt the tile trade from the ground up. It was a steep learning curve starting from scratch, but we were really supported by Frank and the National Tiles team. The fi rst day we opened was Grand Final Day, and we had zero sales for the day. That was a good lesson, and from that day on the sales have increased in line with our knowledge of the industry.” The National Tiles Bendigo store’s customer base is now made up of retail residential customers who are

bendigo

Sbuilding and renovating, and local project builders and developers. “Our team has grown to around 12, including three of our four children – Nathan, Sophie and Elle. The style of property that is increasingly popular in Bendigo is the high-end luxury home, and as a result we fi nd that the designer and imported tiles are the most sought after. It is quite extraordinary how much the National Tiles offering has grown over the last 20 years and the standard, quality and range is exceptional.” The timber collection is also ideal for the Bendigo market, with the Vinyl Plank range being the most sought after because of its cost-effective pricing and low maintenance properties. “We fi nd that in regional areas Vinyl Planks are most common for fl ooring, and tiles are used for wet areas, splashbacks and outdoor. We are fortunate that the Bendigo housing market is booming, we have experienced three record years in a row so business continues to grow.”