Business View Magazine | April 2021

61 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE APRIL 2021 APPALACHI AN FLOOR ING that the DNA that forms our brand’s core. Prior to 2016, we carried a smaller product line in more traditional colors and finishes, and even then, our criteria were derived from the same price-quality ratio.” The idea for the company was inspired by owner Jean Leduc’s own experience in the forest industry. Having worked for lumber giant Tembec and spent several years as a general sawmill manager in northern Ontario, he eventually returned to his Quebec roots to serve as a forestry consultant. After years as a consultant, Leduc spotted an opportunity to launch his own venture in the flooring business and, using contacts he’d made over the years, developed a distribution network throughout North America. “That was the original focus – to sell to distributors in the Eastern region – and it went fairly well,” Brochu recalls. “In 2006, the company elected to expand into Western Canada. That turned out to be a very good decision. Because when the Great Recession of 2008-2009 hit, the Western provinces were less of a casualty given the oil situation out there. Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver were booming. Appalachian got to ride out the recession without any major cutbacks. When the oil prices went down, we decided to expand a little bit more into the eastern region of North America. Since then, we’ve been a lot more involved in those markets. For the last few years, that’s where our resources have gone and where our growth has come from.” Today, Appalachian offers five collections in a