Charleston Design Center, Flooring, Windows & Doors, and Kitchen & Bath Showroom

$3.2M

Revenue

$1.5M

SDE

3.0x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a two-entity design center operation in Charleston County, South Carolina, built around a showroom-based kitchen and bath design center paired with flooring and windows and doors product lines. Founded in 2006, the business runs out of an 11,000 square foot leased, turnkey showroom and sells into the greater Charleston remodeling and new-construction market. Roughly $3.23M in gross revenue converts to about $1.53M in normalized SDE, a strong margin profile driven by reported contribution margins near 68% on flooring and 73% on windows and doors.

The model is relationship- and brand-driven, with strong partnerships with local builders who pull the showroom into the buying process early. The three product lines cross-sell to one another: a homeowner remodeling a kitchen is a natural buyer for flooring and replacement windows and doors, and being present early in the consumer decision process lets the business capture multiple categories per customer with low acquisition effort.

What makes this notable is the combination of modest tangible assets relative to cash flow and a coastal market enjoying population in-migration, elevated home values, and robust remodeling demand. The seller frames it as a platform for an investment company looking for scale, with a clear path to professionalize marketing, deepen cross-selling, and expand the footprint. The owner is selling because they are leaving the area, not retiring.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is attractive on paper: $1.53M SDE on $3.23M revenue is a ~47% owner-earnings margin, driven by stated contribution margins of 68% on flooring and 73% on windows and doors. At a 2.95x multiple on SDE, the headline pricing is reasonable for a home-improvement business, though the two-entity structure and 'normalized' SDE need scrubbing.
The cross-sell dynamic is real and defensible: capturing a customer early in the remodel decision lets the showroom attach multiple high-margin categories per project with low incremental marketing spend. That early-funnel position, reinforced by local builder relationships, is harder for a pure product retailer to replicate.
Charleston is a genuine tailwind market, with sustained in-migration, elevated home values, and strong remodeling demand. Unlike a national e-commerce brand, this business rides a specific coastal metro that has structurally outperformed on housing activity for a decade.
Operator advantage is clear: the seller admits there is a path to professionalize marketing and expand cross-selling, which means current earnings are being produced with underdeveloped demand generation. A disciplined operator with a real CRM and builder-channel program can likely grow attach rates and revenue without heavy capital.
Light on tangible assets relative to cash flow and run from a leased showroom, so a buyer is paying for the earnings stream and relationships rather than a warehouse full of depreciating inventory. That keeps capital requirements and balance-sheet risk modest.

How to improve it

Install a real CRM and lead-tracking system in the first 90 days to measure quote-to-close rates and cross-sell attach by category. The seller concedes marketing is unprofessionalized, so even basic pipeline discipline should lift conversion on traffic the showroom already gets.
Formalize the builder-channel program into written preferred-supplier agreements with volume tiers. The listing says builder partnerships make their process easier, but ad hoc relationships walk out the door with the seller; contracts and rebates lock in repeat project flow.
Build a design-to-install retention loop that automatically pitches flooring and windows to every kitchen and bath client and vice versa. Raising the number of categories sold per project is the single highest-ROI lever given the stated margins on each line.
Consolidate the two entities into a single reporting and operating structure to simplify financials, eliminate duplicate overhead, and make the business cleaner for a future resale. This also de-risks the diligence and tax picture for your own lenders.
Add measurement and installation as a controlled, higher-margin line rather than leaving it to subcontractors, capturing project dollars that currently leak out. This deepens the customer relationship and creates a service touchpoint that competitors without installation cannot match.
Launch targeted local digital marketing (paid search, Houzz, retargeting) tied to Charleston remodel intent keywords. The business currently relies on relationships and walk-in traffic, so a modest performance-marketing budget should expand the funnel in a high-demand metro.
Negotiate better supplier terms and introduce a disciplined pricing matrix across flooring and windows to protect the 68% and 73% contribution margins as you scale volume. Margin defense matters more than top-line once you start pushing growth.

Diligence notes

Scrutinize the 'normalized' SDE of ~$1.53M against two years of tax returns for both entities, since the listing leans on normalization adjustments and notes the design center is in 'recovery to positive ordinary income.' Confirm how much of the earnings come from flooring and windows versus a kitchen and bath unit that may have been losing money recently.
The owner is leaving the area, and this is a relationship- and brand-driven business, so the central risk is whether revenue transfers without the seller. Press hard on how builder relationships and customer flow are personally tied to the owner, and structure a meaningful earnout or seller note to protect against churn.
Verify the contribution margin claims (68% flooring, 73% windows and doors) by reconciling product cost of goods, install costs, and showroom overhead, because 'contribution margin' can exclude real fixed costs. Confirm the combined ~$1.38M contribution figure ties to actual departmental P&Ls, not projections.
Review the showroom lease terms, remaining length, renewal options, and rent escalators, since the 11,000 square foot turnkey space is leased and is central to the business. A short lease or above-market rent in Charleston could materially affect value and continuity.
Stress-test the business against a housing and remodeling slowdown, because flooring, windows, and kitchen and bath spend is discretionary and cyclical. Ask for monthly revenue through 2020-2024 to see how the business behaved when remodeling demand softened or financing costs rose.
Confirm customer and builder concentration, including what share of revenue comes from the top handful of builder accounts. Heavy concentration in a departing owner's personal relationships would justify a lower multiple and a longer transition commitment.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →