Please see below, an article from The Great Falls Tribune newspaper in Great Falls Montana about how Pierce Flooring is changing its name and tweaking its business plan.

Here’s the article:

After a quarter of a century, a Great Falls business is changing its name and tweaking its business plan.

Pierce Flooring and Design at 1204 7th St. S. is now Pierce Carpet Mill Outlet.

“We still carry all of the same product, carpet, ceramic tile, laminate and flooring, but we’ve increased our inventory by 50 percent,” said Ron LeVaux, the manager. “We are stocking more retail and increasing our buying power to pass savings on to the customer. For the do-it-yourselfer who wants immediate, ready-to-go inventory, we have that. We also have the same staff and offer the same service and warranties that we always have.”

The store is one of eight in Montana owned by Ron Pierce of Billings. Pierce Flooring and Design was established in Billings in 1924. The Great Falls store opened 26 years ago.

Until now, the business operated Pierce Flooring stores in Great Falls, Billings, Helena, Billings and Bozeman. There were Pierce Carpet Mills in Butte and Bozeman, with more inventory and products such as end rolls at discounted prices. There also is a Pierce Carpet Barn in Billings.

“About a year ago I approached our corporation about looking at changing the format of the Great Falls store,” LeVaux said. “We did a hybrid model with our Stain Master clearance center and we saw a huge increase in the amount of inventory level we were moving. When it came time to set the budget for this year, we decided to do it.”

The same 12 employees are with the Great Falls store, including two who work for Pierce Flooring Commercial Division, which works with larger contractors doing commercial work. That operation isn’t changing.

“I think the Pierce Carpet Mill Outlet model fits the buying consumer in Great Falls,” LeVaux said. “They want to take something home and have it installed as quickly as possible, whether they are going to do it themselves or have our service department arrange installation for them.”