Local carpet company expanding nationally

     By Judy DeLoretta
     View staff writer
      Carpet Barn continues its expansion across the nation.
      Steve Chesin, chief operating officer of Nations Flooring, Carpet Barn's parent company, recently announced expansion plans. The company, which relocated its offices to 3325 W. Ali Baba Lane, has recently opened a store in St. George, Utah, and will soon open a new store in Boise, Idaho.
      Chesin began his career with Carpet Barn at age 16, when he installed carpet for the company. He worked his way up to his current position when the company was purchased by Branin Investments Inc. four years ago.
      The firm also purchased Chesin's company, Steve's Floor Covering, that he launched at the age of 18.
      "They brought me in to run it here in Las Vegas, and since then, we have continued to build the business by focusing on the customer service end of the business," Chesin said. "My goal then and now is to maintain customers for life, from home to home."
      Chesin's second goal was to open a design center for residential contract customers. Currently, Carpet Barn serves such developers as Kaufman and Broad, America West, Pardee Homes, Developers of Nevada, Richmond American and US Home.
      Once he opened the design center, Chesin began the expansion of Carpet Barn's retail business and opened four additional locations in Las Vegas.
      Currently, there are five retail locations in Las Vegas, plus a design center at 5480 S. Valley View Blvd., and a distribution center where carpet is received from major manufacturers in Georgia.
      "We've turned the Charleston barn into a factory outlet, where our cash-and-carry buyers and do-it-yourselfers can buy carpet," Chesin said. "We have over $1 million in stock."
      Carpet Barn's retail growth is up more than 50 percent from the time Chesin took over as chief operating officer.
      More recently, Chesin purchased a 35-year-old flooring business and named it Merrill's Carpet Barn.
      "We have three areas of focus," Chesin said. "We serve the residential contract business for builders, our retail customers and our commercial business."
      Chesin also wanted to add ancillary products, including window coverings and area rugs.
      "I've wanted this to become a one-stop shop and we've achieved that," Chesin said.
      Carpet Barn has staff who specialize in window coverings and draperies, as well.
      Chesin also instituted a shop-at-home program. Drivers bring trucks loaded with carpet, flooring and window samples to residents' homes at no extra charge.
      "We've found this is great for the elderly in Las Vegas," Carpet Barn Inc. marketing director Tina Rogers said.
      Carpet Barn also purchased several DuPont flooring stores in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland. Later this year, it will open a store in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
      "What we're doing is creating synergies," Chesin said. "It's my concept of aligning people together to move forward quickly, and we have consolidated some functions by eliminating a few jobs.
      "We're in an industry that has been long considered unsophisticated, and we want to bring that sophistication to the carpet business. I've always wanted to be on the cutting edge, and we're doing that -- and sharing it with our customers."