ENCINITAS – More and more people are looking down on their products, and that’s a good thing for CALI.
The flooring company has been recognized as one of the Fastest Growing Companies by the Inc. 500 for 13 consecutive years, and CEO and President Doug Jackson has been named Ernst & Young LLP's International Best of the Year. Selected as a finalist in the Pacific Southwest region for the Outstanding Entrepreneur Award. recognition.
The Pacific Southwest region covers Southern California, Arizona and Nevada, and winners will be announced on June 7th before moving on to the national level of the competition.
Jackson said Ernst & Young officials were impressed with how CALI had embraced the California lifestyle and created a recognizable brand in an industry that was “very boring.” .
“People make fun of our politics and our transportation, but they don't make fun of our lifestyle,” he said.
That attitude is visible throughout the company's Encinitas Boulevard headquarters, which it moved from Mira Mesa about a year ago. The line of hardwood products is named after winery regions in California, and the line of waterproof flooring is named after famous surf spots, including where Jackson regularly surfs.
The company's laid-back image was inspired by its founders, bartender Tanner Haigwood and biotech engineer Jeff Goldberg, who discovered CALI Bamboo products during a surfing trip in Hawaii. Bamboo crates were sent to San Diego to make the product.
The company has continued to grow aggressively since its founding. The founders were early adopters of online performance marketing before selling the company to a private equity firm. About two years ago, CALI was listed on the London Stock Exchange (VCP.L) and re-entered management when it was acquired by listed company Victoria PLC, Europe's largest flooring manufacturer with annual sales of approximately $1.5 billion. changed.
Before joining CALI seven years ago, Mr. Jackson worked for flooring company Shaw Industry for 25 years, serving as a divisional vice president, but was experiencing corporate burnout and was looking for a career change.
Shift focus to flooring
Mr. Jackson traded his white shirt and business suit for sandals and khakis, changed his company's name from CALI Bamboo to just CALI, and shifted his focus from the niche bamboo market to flooring.
CALI remains the country's largest importer of bamboo flooring, with most products imported from China, with bamboo accounting for 15% of the company's product line.
Since the transition to flooring, CALI's annual revenue has increased from $30 million to approximately $180 million. In 2023, the company shipped 80,000 boxes of his flooring, for a total of 2.3 million boxes.
While Jackson calls most of its competitors' color lines “an ocean of sameness,” CALI's products are meant to represent the hues of the state's coastal environment.
Due to its large size, the product stands out. The standard size for most floorboards is 5″ x 48″, but CALI's floorboards are 9″ x 72″.
“There's a different aesthetic in the house,” Jackson said. “It’s going to be a grand floor that’s spacious and looks great.”
Products are manufactured around the world and CALI has warehouses in Seattle, Colton, Dallas and Charleston, South Carolina. CALI flooring can be purchased through the company's website or at your local Lowe's and Coles Fine Flooring.
Its product line also includes indoor/outdoor lawns, decking, vinyl planks, and laminates.
Unique sales approach
Jackson said the company has always had a relationship with end users, meaning people can buy products directly from them.
“This bothered a lot of people in the flooring industry who sell through distributors, dealers and home improvement stores,” he says.
Unlike most large flooring companies that only work with trade professionals and retailers, CALI also has a sales team that serves residential consumers, home improvement stores, and large production builders.
“This is something very unique in business today, where you have the opportunity to sell to customers, and customers agree to sell to customers,” he said, adding that trade professionals and retailers also Thanks to CALI's quality and competitive prices, it added that it participates in a multi-channel approach.
Jackson said he was told by people at Ernst & Young that his sales approach was one of the reasons he was recognized in the Entrepreneur of the Year competition.
Mr. Jackson is humbled by Ernst & Young's recognition and credits his team for the company's success.
“CALI is more than Doug Jackson,” he said. “CALI is a culture, a group of people who believe in what we do.”
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Established: 2004
CEO: Doug Jackson
Headquarters: Encinitas
Business content: Home improvement
Revenue: $180 million
Number of employees: 200+
Contact: 866-847-0425
Website: www.califloors.com
Social Impact: CALI sponsors local and national Surfrider Foundations to provide environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional materials.
Highlights: The company's revenue grew from $30 million to $180 million in seven years.