Local Resident Brings No. 1 Flooring Franchise to Area

(Columbus, Ohio)-Matthew Relyea enjoyed an 11-year career with the world’s largest car rental operator, Enterprise, managing businesses with annual revenue reaching $120 million during his tenure and now he’s taking that business acumen and putting it to work for himself. Recently the 36-year-old Dublin resident became a franchise owner with Floor Coverings International, the brand that’s consistently ranked No. 1 in the mobile flooring category, visiting customers’ homes in a Mobile Flooring Showroom stocked with thousands of flooring samples from top manufacturers. Floor Coverings International of Northwest Columbus serves customers throughout Columbus, Dublin, Hilliard, and Upper Arlington.

“I started right out of college,” Relyea said of his previous career with the billion-dollar global company. “My time there taught me a business philosophy to live by that I utilize daily owning my own business now: ‘Take care of your customers and employees, and growth and success will follow.”

Relyea found success in multiple markets in multiple states with his former employer by following that simple philosophy, “but I knew I wanted to own my own business,” Relyea said. “And I wanted to find a franchise system that had a similar culture to what I enjoyed along with a strong support system for franchisees, especially during the startup phase,” Relyea said.

In Floor Coverings International, Relyea found a company that has tripled in size since 2005 by putting a laser focus on consumer buying habits and expressed desires, its impressive operating model, growth ability, marketing, advertising, and merchandising. Floor Coverings International further separates itself from the competition through its customer experience, made up of several simple and integrated steps that exceed customers’ expectations. For this, Floor Coverings International was given the Innovation Award for Customer Response from Franchise Update Media in 2020, and the same award again in 2021 for Best Use of Technology. Franchise Update is the benchmark publication and conference entity that is the Gold Standard of Franchising.

“When meeting the team at Floor Coverings International, I knew they were great people who have fun as a team, but they also had a defined roadmap for a path to business-ownership success,” Relyea said.

It should come as no surprise that Relyea pursued the path of small-business ownership since his grandfather, father, and his father’s brothers all owned businesses. “I knew when leaving the corporate world that it was my time to transition from being an intrapreneur to an entrepreneur,” Relyea said. “To be able to carry that torch of successful business ownership into a third generation is something that means a lot to me.”

With the home improvement industry booming, the flooring market is also keeping pace. The global flooring market was estimated to reach $409 billion in 2021, according to Grand View Research. The market is expected to grow at an annual rate of more than six percent through 2028, reaching overall sales of $621 billion.

“Trends and styles are always changing and advancements in technology have really helped many different flooring products become much better suited for everyday life in a residential or commercial space,” Relyea said.

For more information, visit https://nwcmb.floorcoveringsinternational.com/.

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About Floor Coverings International

Norcross, GA-based Floor Coverings International has ranked consistently as the No. 1 Mobile Flooring Franchise in North America by Entrepreneur Magazine. The 181 franchisees and their Design Associates offer a unique in-home experience with a mobile showroom that comes directly to the client’s door. More than 3,000 flooring choices are available to view in the home with and alongside the existing lighting, paint, and furniture. The company will open several more locations throughout the U.S. and Canada through franchise expansion in 2022. For franchise information, please visit www.opportunities.flooring-franchise.com and to find your closest location go to www.floorcoveringsinternational.com.