Lumber Liquidators 2015 Annual Report Download - page 15

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receiving telephone calls, our call center associates chat online with visitors to our website, respond to emails
from our customers and engage in telemarketing activities. Customers can contact our call center to place an
order, to make an inquiry or to order a catalog.
Knowledgeable Salespeople
A large segment of residential homeowners are in need of a trusted expert, whether as a guide through a
range of flooring alternatives and services or as a resource to both DIY and DIFM customers. We train and
position our store management and associates to establish these individual customer relationships, which often
last beyond the current purchase to subsequent purchases for additional rooms in the existing house or even to
the remodeling of a new home.
We place an emphasis on identifying, hiring and empowering employees who share a passion for our
business philosophy. Many of our store managers have previous experience with the home improvement, retail
flooring or flooring installation industries. We provide continuous training for our store associates, ranging
from topic-specific modules offered through our online learning management system to participation in our
Lumber Liquidators University (‘‘LLU’’) program. LLU is a training event for all of our regional and store
managers that focuses on selling techniques and in-depth product training.
Digital
Our website contains a broad range of information on our products and services, including a
comprehensive knowledge base of tools on wood flooring, product reviews, before and after photos from
previous customers, product information and how-to installation videos. A consumer also has the ability to
chat live with a flooring expert regarding questions about a flooring purchase or installation, either online or
over the phone.
We continue to develop several new and responsive mobile, tablet and website functions to assist
consumers with their flooring choice. We also have an active presence on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and
Twitter.
Advertising and Financing
Advertising: We utilize a mix of traditional and online media, ecommerce, direct mail, social media,
and financing offers to emphasize product credibility, value, brand awareness, customer education and direct
selling. We increase brand awareness in a variety of ways, including through sports, celebrity endorsements
and product placement opportunities. Overall, we actively manage the mix of our media to efficiently drive
sales while building brand awareness of our value proposition.
Financing: We offer our residential customers a financing alternative through a proprietary credit card,
the Lumber Liquidators credit card, underwritten by a third party financial institution, generally with no
recourse to us. This program serves the dual function of providing financial flexibility to our customers and
offering us promotional opportunities featuring deferred interest, which we often combine with product
promotions. Our customers may also use their Lumber Liquidators credit card for installation services.
Additionally, we offer our commercial customers a financing alternative. This program is also underwritten by
a third party financial institution, generally at no recourse to us. The commercial credit program provides our
professional customers a range of additional services that we believe add efficiency to their businesses.
Employees
As of December 31, 2015, we had 1,842 employees, 96% of whom were full-time and none of whom
were represented by a union. Of these employees, 71% work in our stores, 17% work in corporate store
support infrastructure or similar functions (including our call center employees) and 12% work either on our
finishing line or in one of our distribution centers. We believe that we have good relations with our
employees.
Seasonality and Quarterly Results
Our quarterly results of operations can fluctuate depending on the timing of our advertising expenses and
the timing of, and income contributed by, our new stores. Our net sales fluctuate slightly as a result of
seasonal factors, and we adjust merchandise inventories in anticipation of those factors, causing variations in
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