Laying the Groundwork

Alan Comins has helped to build two companies to $14 million in sales and more, but today the former CPA is sitting in the warehouse of his not-quite-two-year-old company projecting about $1 million in revenues by the time the year is out. Comins decided to start over after his and his former partners’ goals began to diverge, making his new company, Premier Carpet, a newcomer even if Comins is not. This time, he has chosen his partners more carefully. “He’s really good on the phone. I’m real strong at blueprint estimating,” said Joe Nye, the other partner of Canoga Park-based Premier Carpet. “Then I hand it off to Alan and he puts it together and puts the pricing to it.” Premier Carpet provides mostly commercial flooring through general contractors, architects and direct to corporate accounts. A small portion of the business also provides flooring directly to homeowners, usually of the luxury variety. Since opening in 2005, the business is due to grow more than two-fold this year, thanks largely to the partners’ former contacts and their focus on pleasing their customers. “We use them because we don’t have to worry about things being redone or anything changing from the point of signing a contract,” said Peter Anastassiou, general manager at Broadway Real Estate, which owns and manages a number of properties including Aon Center, a 62-story high rise in downtown L.A. that Premier recently carpeted. “It’s an industry where service is not the highest quality. So when you find someone that’s willing to be responsive, get you bids in a timely manner, have the bids be accurate and priced right and then follow through and get the job done, you use them.” Comins a CPA by training, started out as CFO of a Glendale flooring company that grew from about $8 million to $20 million in sales before it was sold to a large mill. Troubled partnership After the sale in 2000, he joined up with two other partners to acquire another flooring company, Carpetland. But after about four years, the partners began to disagree. “My goal as a CPA is to find a deal and maybe sell the company. When we realized we weren’t seeing eye-to-eye we didn’t have a sale anymore. We decided it was best to disband what was left and move on,” Comins said. Carpetland had seen revenues grow considerably under Comins and his former partners, expanding to about $14 million in sales from about $5 million when they bought the company. “I was competing with them, and they would either have the contract or be competing against us all the time,” said Nye, who decided to throw in the towel and join up with his Carpetland rivals several years ago. When the owners decided to close Carpetland and go their separate ways, Nye joined up with Comins. “I’ve never found anyone who has the same goals I have, and I never found anyone I could trust,” said Nye, who had worked alone until joining Carpetland. “When I was working at Carpetland, Alan was the only one I liked.” Wary of partnerships, the two worked out a somewhat tentative arrangement, structuring the company to be certain they will avoid any serious financial consequences if they decide to part ways. The two set up a 10,000-square-foot warehouse in Canoga Park where they store sample books, remnants and other materials. And they have invested in a computer system that automates the process of estimating and bidding, making the company both fast and accurate when vying for jobs. Client history Meanwhile, both of the partners have been able to bring past business clients into the company. “I don’t use anyone but him,” said Thad Smith, vice president at KV Mart Co., owners of 22 supermarkets under the names Top Valu Markets, Valu Mart and Valu Plus, who has worked with Nye for years. “He’s a very conscientious person and he looks to make sure the customer is satisfied. If you’re working under a deadline, like a grand opening, he’ll get it done for us. He doesn’t come up with excuses.” The company has picked up jobs at Cedars Sinai, where it has installed flooring for some of the medical suites; Nike’s regional offices in Culver City; Santa Monica Audi and a number of Wells Fargo bank branches, among others. Still, Premier has to compete with a handful of much larger players, and Comins has had to develop a business development strategy using less traditional avenues. Instead of attending meetings of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), where many of Premier’s competitors get sales leads, Comins prospects business groups like CPA associations and venture capital organizations. “He’s a social butterfly,” said Nye of his partner. The young company still works with general contractors, but Comins hopes to establish more relationships directly with corporations. “There’s probably about five competitors that are in the $15 million to $30 million sales range,” Comins said. “But there’s plenty of work out there for everybody and it’s all about who you know and how good you are at responding to the clientele.” Premier Carpet Year Founded: 2005 Revenues in 2005: $300,000 Revenues in 2006 (projected): $1 million plus Employees in 2005: 4 Employees in 2006: 8 Driving Force: Companies of all kinds are continually expanding or remodeling.