Partner-First Service, Coastal Style, Trusted Quality and Simply Authentic — these are the core tenets at CALI’s foundation. The company uses them as a guiding framework for distribution, product development, merchandising and consumer engagement. The goal is to give retailers a brand they can sell with confidence, and a reason to lead with value instead of price.

Partner-First Service

CALI’s partnership approach starts with deciding who gets to carry the line through select distribution. The company does not sell to everyone, giving its retail partners greater protection from direct competition on the same products.

“Partner-First Service means select distribution. We don’t sell to everyone. Our partners aren’t competing against every retailer in town on the same product, so they can actually make money. Many report 40+ percent margins on CALI,” said Doug Jackson, CALI CEO.

Beyond distribution, CALI supports retailers even further with its merchandising. “From there,” Jackson continued, “we support them with the tools to sell. Our merchandising does half the work. When a customer walks up to a CALI display, they’re already connecting with the colors, and the feel, and they’re imagining that look in their home instead of asking for the cheapest option. That’s how you sell value.”

Its displays are intended to help consumers connect with the product and visualize it in their own homes, centering conversations around value and aesthetic rather than the cheapest option.

Coastal Style

CALI’s West Coast design aesthetic homes in on natural looks, fresh colors, coastal textures and an easygoing personality. This visual identity shines across products and displays to create an emotional connection. “Coastal Style means our designs capture a natural look people want, and our displays help customers picture that lifestyle before we ever talk specs,” Jackson highlighted.

That lifestyle-driven merchandising is designed to make the shopping experience more intuitive. Rather than asking customers to evaluate flooring only on technical attributes, CALI’s displays help them envision the finished space and connect the product to the look they want. For retailers, the benefit is a conversation that can start with the room the customer wants to create rather than the lowest price per square foot.

“Our West Coast aesthetic, with fresh, natural colors and coastal textures, answers what customers are asking for. It’s the look they’ve saved on Pinterest boards. That emotional pull makes the sale easier for our partners,” Jackson noted.

Trusted Quality

The design may get a shopper’s attention, but performance is what locks in confidence. For CALI, design must be supported by performance. Every product goes through a rigorous inspection before it ships, covering everything a homeowner could think of.

“A great look only matters if the floor performs. That’s why every product goes through our 35-point inspection before it ships. We check color consistency, click systems, dimensions, wear layers, all of it,” Jackson shared.

That process has helped produce a sub-1 percent claim rate, reducing callbacks for retailers. Fewer claims can mean fewer callbacks and fewer headaches after installation. For the homeowners, that means peace of mind and greater confidence in the product.

“Trusted Quality means every product clears our inspection process before it ships, so partners can stand behind what they sell,” Jackson said.

Simply Authentic

CALI’s fourth pillar extends the brand beyond the showroom. This pillar defines how CALI shows up in front of consumers. Today’s shopper can spend considerable time researching before ever visiting a showroom, so CALI is working to build familiarity with the brand earlier in the process.

“Simply Authentic means we show up as a real brand – consistent, genuine, recognizable. Put those four [pillars] together and you’ve got a brand that helps dealers win on quality and service instead of racing to the bottom on price,” Jackson noted.

One way CALI does that is through collaborating with online content creators who use actual CALI products in their own homes. Doing so demonstrates real products in real spaces while creating a connection with shoppers earlier in the buying journey.

“Customers today do their homework online long before they walk into a store, so we meet them where they are,” Jackson added. “When a homeowner sees a real person transform a real space with our floors – and sees how it turns out – they get inspired. They walk into a showroom knowing the look they want.”

The result is a brand strategy designed to connect consumer demand with CALI’s retail partners, giving dealers a customer who is already familiar with the brand and its aesthetic.

Hang Loose Gains Traction

Earlier this year, CALI’s Hang Loose went live. It’s the company’s first ever looselay LVT collection and is already outperforming expectations. Hang Loose is gaining traction particularly among builders, contractors and commercial specifiers looking for installation efficiency without giving up visual appeal.

“Hang Loose has exceeded our expectations. We built it to bring premium construction and better visuals to the loose lay category, and it’s resonated with exactly the partners we designed it for,” said Alex Brodkin, CALI VP of Product & Operations. “It’s landed the way we hoped.”

Brodkin said partners have responded to the collection’s 5mm format, 22mil wear layer, EIR texturing and multi-pattern visuals — features that CALI says are typically associated with higher-priced products. The collection’s fresh, natural color palette has also helped differentiate it from the crowd.

“Feedback has been very positive,” Brodkin noted. “Partners appreciate that we didn’t just make another generic loose lay product. They notice the upgraded specs – the 5mm format, the 22mil wear layer, the EIR texturing and multi-pattern visuals. These are features usually reserved for higher-priced products. The color palette has also been a differentiator. CALI’s fresh, natural tones open up options partners didn’t have before.”

CALI plans to continue expanding the collection as demand grows among builders, multifamily developers and commercial projects.

“We’re very bullish on the category and will continue to grow it. The response has confirmed there’s real demand for loose lay done the CALI way. As we service more builders, multifamily developers, and commercial projects, we want to offer a complete solution that keeps pace with what our partners need,” Brodkin said.