there s something a little more velvety and a little tighter. the whole landscape has changed. people have lost their homes, their jobs, everything. half the houses are upside down. so, they are watching every penny. we don t want you to pay your c.o.d. until you re totally satisfied, 100%. first of all, they would be paying more for their product on the floor. they would not have the scale. second, they would be paying more for insurance. they would be paying more for marketing and have less sophisticated marketing. at the age of 82, fran still has big dreams for the store, which she and her husband, carl sr., started 44 years ago. she takes great pride in the dedication of her three children, carl, bob and kathy. i don t know how many people have children that work with them and love what they re doing and have a future. it actually makes me tear up, because for them to love the business and know that it s going to pass on to them is a
us. fran frincovela is certainly a realist when it comes to business. we were in desperate, desperate shape. hi. nice to meet you. we just hung on and worked hard, cut back some salaries, cut back some help. the big boks were coming in, lowe s and home depot were coming in, taking most categories and upon monopolizin them. he is a fighter, located in manchester, new hampshire, his organization helps the small fries. the local independent business person has the brains. and they have the talent. but they don t have the scale. individually, none of these small businesses has much buying power. but together, as members of the cca retail cooperative, they can compete with anybody. you have to level the playing field. and i think what we do is we level the playing field so we
breaks they need to survive. you own your own store, but you buy your merchandise as a co-op with all these other dealers. so, carpet one has all this clout. the more you buy, the better you buy it for. it s kind of like bulk food. the larger the purchasing power, we have better pricing. kathy buchanan is fran s daughter, one of three siblings who now runs the day-to-day prayings. too yellow. let me have a roll of the sand storm as well. this would probably sell for $4 a square foot. i have it at about $2.28 a square foot because i bought it at an amazing price point. i then can turn that savings over to the consumer. francavellas are also the shareholders. they receive rebate checks that collectively total into the million millions. if we were not members of the carpet one club, i wouldn t have