Carpet Concepts Celebrates its 10th Anniversary

The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors and other members celebrated Carpet Concepts 10th Anniversary on Monday at 10 a.m. with a ribbon cutting.

Carpet Concepts began in 1998 when Brian and Lisa Peterson purchased Weller Interiors. Within in a few months of purchasing Weller Interiors, they found that they wanted to take the business in a different direction than the previous owners. They didn't want to just sell flooring. They wanted to create an environment in which they could assist people in making their homes not only more beautiful but also more functional. This is when the name Carpet Concepts was created.

In the beginning, they operated the store entirely on their own; they were truly a "mom and pop" store. They would work with a few clients at a time, as a result they became close friends with many of them. On December 23, 1999 they put a sign on the door that said they were closed for a special delivery. When their clients saw the note they new the special delivery was their second child. This is when they hired their first employee. At the time their annual sales were approximately $360,000, which for the flooring business isn't very much. But Brian and Lisa were determined to be successful.

Magically with ever year that went by, they saw notable increases in sales. As they did very little advertising, their growth stemmed from clients referring them to friends. They learned to never underestimate the power of word of mouth advertising. Brian and Lisa's philosophy of always trying to do what is best for the client has sometimes meant a loss of profit, they looked at the loss as the best advertising dollars they could spend. Their philosophy is proving itself, by the end of 2000 their annual sales had reached $600,000 and they new it was time expand and find a location that had sufficient warehouse space. It was at this time that they moved into their current location at 1930 N Woodruff. Their original store was only 3,000 square feet and the new building was 9,000 square feet. With the help of family they completed the daunting task of moving a carpet store. As soon as the new location opened the business really took off and they quickly hired 2 more employees. That year they also reached another mile stone, their annual sales surpassed $1 million.

In February of 2002 they suffered the loss of their building to a fire. This didn't stop them, with in a week they were serving customers out of a makeshift show room. With the support of contractors, clients, family and friends they were able to get back on their feet and surpassed sales from the previous year. In 2003, Lisa's parents Robert and Linda Gunnell joined the staff and still work with Carpet Concepts today. Everyone pulled together and continued work hard implementing changes when necessary and hiring when necessary.

Now in their 10th year, Carpet Concepts has annual sales of nearly $3 million. They are able to employee ten employees in house with good jobs and provide work to 12 subcontractors. Their main goal is to maintain the same level of service to their customers that they did when they first opened their doors. They are proud members of the community and look forward to serving and giving back to it for another ten years.

For more information about Carpet Concepts please call (208) 524-9177 or visit their web site at www.carpetconcepts.biz