New owner takes the helm at Orillia's Floor Fashion Centre

Dean and Roseanne Beers have retired and sold business to former store manager; CDC provided 'invaluable' help to smooth the transition

Dean and Roseanne Beers are retired and loving it.

The long-time owners of Orillia’s Floor Fashion Centre handed over the keys to the kingdom to former store manager, Nicole Smith, on Jan. 1, 2022. With the help of the Orillia Area CDC, the transition has been seamless and practically painless.

“My wife and I were starting to think, we had been in business almost 30 years, that we wanted to make a change. Our staff knew that all along, we never kept that a secret, and it was always a positive thing. So, during that time, near the beginning of the pandemic, we had one of our newer staff, Nicole Smith, show some interest. That started the conversation with us,” explains Beers.

At that same time, Dean and Roseanne had some conversations with Carol Benedetti of the BizLink program at the Orillia Area CDC. The BizLink program helps to connect business buyers and sellers within our region and is supported by a grant from The Ontario Trillium Foundation.

“We had some great conversations with Carol, she was just awesome and talked to us about how the process worked," said Beers. "Because we knew the flooring industry but we certainly didn’t know much about selling a business or how that process worked. So that started the journey for us.”

“We will still continue to help her, we want to see the business succeed. We also were able to keep the building, so Nicole is leasing it from us, and we will see to the upkeep and maintenance of it, and the lease payments will help us in our retirement," said Beers.

“I am very thankful to have been able to run a business in Orillia. I think sometimes we don’t appreciate enough how great Orillia is. Orillia has supported us for 30 years, and I get a little emotional thinking about that. My career in the flooring industry may be done, but I certainly want to continue to give back to our community and I so appreciate what they have done for us for so many years," said Beers.

Smith adds, “It has definitely been a very busy time for myself over the last two years but I’m feeling really great about the transition. As with any business with new ownership, there were some unexpected challenges but overall the transition went smoothly, thanks to all the help we received from the Orillia Area CDC staff.

"I think Orillia’s Floor Fashion Carpet One is going to continue to grow and adapt to the challenges that all businesses are faced with today, while continuing to offer the best customer service, design advice, and flooring knowledge to our valued customers," said Smith.

To learn more about Orillia’s Floor Fashion Centre, visit www.orilliasfloorfashioncarpetone.com or call 705-300-0453.

For more information on the Orillia Area Community Development Corp. (CDC) visit www.orilliacdc.com or contact 705-325-4903, extension 101.

(Special thanks to the project funder, The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). OTF is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. OTF awarded $108 million to 629 projects last year to build healthy and vibrant communities in Ontario.)

Photo Cutline: Orillia’s Floor Fashion Centre former owner, Dean Beers. and new owner, Nicole Smith are shown at the Commerce Road enterprise (Supplied Photo)