Floor Coverings International has opened on Main Street in Port Washington, but franchise owner Awie Newell said she hopes for more.
Her goal, she said, is to be a disruptor in the flooring industry.
Floor Coverings International offers a unique model in flooring, with vans operating as mobile showrooms that come directly to the customer’s door. The company is a subsidiary of its parent company, FirstService, which also owns California Closets. There are 300 different franchise owners that are a part of Floor Coverings International, but only one other is operating on Long Island in Long Beach.
“Our design associates come to the house, ask them what they are looking for, look at the space, do measurements,” Newell said. “It’s absolutely convenient.”
Each mobile showroom features 3,000 samples of various flooring types for customers to select from. Its products include hardwood, vinyl planks, carpeting, ceramic tiles, and laminates.
Newell was born and raised in the Philippines and moved to the United Kingdom at the age of 23, where she met her husband and started a family.
Newell has over 28 years of experience in the beauty and wellness sector, where she worked at L’Oréal and served as the CEO of a supplement company called 8Greens.
Two years ago, Newell and her family moved to the United States and settled in Port Washington, where she opened her new franchise.
Newell says that being a franchise is the best of both worlds.
“We’ve got the benefits of being part of a really big company, the buying power that comes with that, and then the service of an owner, a small business owner.”
Newell said she sees her main competitors as big-box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s, which dominate the market, but is undeterred. She said, “The convenience and accessibility that we offer gives us an edge.”
Around 90% of the products are manufactured in the United States, mostly in Georgia, which is a hub for flooring production.
This means that the company has largely been insulated from the tariffs enacted by the Trump administration this past year, but tariffs have still increased costs slightly due to the need to import certain raw materials used in the manufacture of these goods.
The Port Washington location of Floor Coverings International had a soft opening this past spring and officially opened in September. Newell called the business’s start “really healthy,” and has already expanded its coverage.
The franchise originally serviced only the Port Washington, Great Neck, and Manhasset areas, but has since expanded to Mineola, Jericho, Oyster Bay, Syosset, Glen Cove, Hicksville, and additional areas, as well as some of central Long Island.
These high-income areas on the North Shore have been particularly good for business.
“There’s always renovating,” Newell said, “It’s a core need of people.”
This may just be the first expansion. Although it is early, Newell said they are eager to expand all across Long Island.
