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ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLES’ FORSYTH MARKET REPORT: Ecommerce firms thriving in Forsyth County

The Atlanta Business Chronicle recently highlighted growing eCommerce businesses in Forsyth County, including our own, The Builder Depot.

The Builder Depot and a few others have thrived, personifying the e-commerce growth in Forsyth County in northeast metro Atlanta. That success has also helped pave the way for other companies to relocate to the area.

The Builder Depot Founder David Shearn had a background in flooring and started his business out of his home in 2009. Shearn noted that "banks weren’t lending any money at the time," so he got started with "sweat equity and what was left of my 401(k)."

Continued growth led Shearn to find a 3,000-square-foot warehouse in Alpharetta. The company had "eight figures" in gross revenues in 2016 and is shipping 16 million pounds of freight a year, he said. That growth prompted Shearn to consider finding a new location. Buford and Atlanta were attractive options "because the warehouses there were of the lowest cost," Shearn said.

Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Magazine

Carrera Venato 4x12" Feature

Atlanta Home & Lifestyles April Edition proudly displays our Carrara Venato 4x12" Honed. Looking great in the Atlanta Homes and Lifestyle April edition and for just $8.00 a Square Foot a happy Atlanta customer.

Carrara Venato is a unique Trademarked Collection only sold through The Builder Depot. It is part of a collection of over eighty plus products (probably the whitest based marble in the world). Please note that this is an incredibly hard design with significant waste. To create this look, you really need to over-order and make sure the installer is very well qualified. Herringbone tiles are hard to install. If you are off just a fraction it creates a multiplier effect as you move through the room. Dry lay first, get it "magazine perfect." Then, when you have it, install.

The 4x12" tile format has grown dramatically in popularity not just as a floor tile Herringbone but as a backsplash and in showers. You can take a look at our Blog room scenes and picture after picture uses the 4x12" with its slightly more elongated look. David Shearn adds "4x12 has yet to take over from the classic 3x6" but there is a definite shift in consumer demands for a more elongated look, we can see this in the ever increasing popularity of the 1x3" Herringbone".

As a business we never planned to be a center for local pick-ups or appeal to the local market, there was no strategy in place to say "Here we are Atlanta". But it appears that it did not matter people found us anyway. Drawn in by the quality, price, next day service of a local pickup, being the only industries Google Trusted store and of course the price.

Atlanta Home Magazine Front Cover

3x6" Carrera Bianco Subway Tile

The Misfit House used our 3x6" Carrara Bianco subway tile to create the backsplash to this incredible makeover. Available online (for 2016) at $7.50 a square foot. For this kitchen they chose a honed finish.

It is Instagram that provides a medium for knowing whether you are in a magazine or not. Just a few years ago it would take actually looking at every magazine, today the installer or designer can simply tag you on Instagram and then you know your product is a feature on the front cover of a print magazine. It is quite incredible.

It is again another local Atlanta Magazine. Not a company that we worked with or had any knowledge they were even using our product for a magazine. There was no special treatment or any price promotion for placement. Every customer is treated the same way. The very best we can be every time.

NEW BUILDING TO DELIVER IN EARLY FALL 2016

Early in the Fall of 2015 The Builder Depot, LLC invested in 4.5 acres of land in beautiful Alpharetta, GA. The new site will become our new Distribution center with 15 loading docks allowing us to hold more UPS drop trailers and improve our operational efficiency (okay..... that was all corporate waffle), the reality is we have run out of room and need more space :)

The really exciting part will be the front elevation of the building and the reception area that we will all just have to wait for. As I am sure what we have in our minds may not be what happens in reality. But it is good to have a goal. We do want an operation that our employees feel proud to walk into. That attracts the best talent in the Southeast. We are located in a perfect area, we are designed for families. Located near the best schools. This is a business that is built on a foundation of zero debt.

We are designed to work as businesses did decades ago. Providing stability through hard work a Career for life and one that pays well. However the caveat, the only thing that remains consistent throughout time. Hard work. Do more with less. Be efficient with your time. Then in return the business can support everyone, give back to customers, give back to employees and the community. Instead of Billions being lost in a very old wasteful supply chain.

Over 35 Million Monthly Unique Users Nominated Best Home Building, Remodeling and Design Professionals in North America and Around the World

Alpharetta in Forsyth County, January 12, 2016 - The Builder Depot of Alpharetta, GA has one "Best Of Customer Service" on Houzz®, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. The Builder Depot is the largest Internet retailer of Italian Marble in the USA was chosen by the more than 35 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than one million active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.

JANUARY 2016: THE BUILDER DEPOT BECOMES A GOOGLE TRUSTED STORE

After jumping through the hoops The Builder Depot is now a Google trusted store. Why is this important? We have tried and looked at all ways to showcase reviews and found floors in all of them. Even the ones Google trusts. For example an online seller may choose a online review system. But the review system is cherry picked. It does not send out a "review request" with every order.

Companies can contact consumers and ask them about their experience then ask for a review, perhaps for a discount..... you see our point. All the review software programs out there can be manipulated. There is in fact ONLY ONE that cannot and that is "The Google Trusted" store program. It is managed and maintained by Google. Their interest is in making the world wide web cleaner.

"In our opinion the only true 100% fully objective review program out today is Google Trusted Store if a supplier of car batteries or tables or any product is not part of this program ask yourself, why not?" If they are as good as their current reviews say they are then why would they not join? Because they are NOT that good they are manipulating the current software or posting their own reviews on their own websites.

Google Trusted is the #1 review system. The only one that cannot be manipulated. That is why we are part of it.

"We are proud to be a member and proud to show our badge on out store".

YAHOO INTERVIEW: Small Business Reinventing the Supply Chain

Go to a retail store and you'll probably end up paying $50 for a square foot of high-end Italian tile - and up to $90 per square foot of mosaic. David Shearn, the CEO of The Builder Depot will sell you that same tile for $5; the mosaic will run a mere $13.95.

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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS: Local Company Grows - Moving to a Larger Location

David Shearn took a different course for starting a business. Now he is taking a different approach to running one.

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Corporate Responsibility

Following through with one of our major commitments to the community The Builder Depot joins The Forsyth Chamber of Commerce at the highest level. "The community we live in means everything to the people that work and live around us. As experts in Business Startups if we can help the community to help start more businesses we will."

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