We believe there is an opportunity to significantly expand our warehouse-format store base to at least 500 in the United States over the next 8 to 10 years from 160 as of December 30, 2021 based on our internal research with respect to housing density, demographic data, competitor concentration and other variables in both new and existing markets. We plan to target new store openings in both new and existing, adjacent and underserved markets. We have a disciplined approach to new store development, based on an analytical, research-driven site selection method and a rigorous real estate approval process. We believe our new store model delivers strong financial results and returns on investment, targeting net sales on average of $14 million to $16 million and a minimum of $2.5 million in four-wall adjusted EBITDA before pre-opening expenses in the first year, pre-tax payback in approximately two and a half to three and a half years and cash-on-cash returns of approximately 50% in the third year. Over the past several years, we have made significant investments in personnel, information technology, supply chain, warehouse infrastructure, Pro, commercial, design and connected customer strategies to support our current growth and the expansion of our stores. We intend to grow our store base by approximately 20% annually for the next several years. The performance of our new stores opened over the last three years, the performance of our older stores over that same time frame, our disciplined real estate strategy, and the track record of our management team in successfully opening retail stores support our belief in the significant store expansion opportunity.

We expect to grow our comparable store sales by continuing to offer our customers a dynamic and expanding selection of compelling, value-priced hard surface flooring and accessories while maintaining strong service standards for our customers. We regularly introduce new products into our assortment through our category product line review process, including collaboration with our vendors to bring to market innovative products such as waterproof rigid core vinyl and water-resistant laminates. Because almost 60% of our stores have been opened for less than five years, we believe they will continue to drive comparable store sales growth as newer stores ramp up to maturity. We believe that we can continue to enhance our customer experience by focusing on service, optimizing sales and marketing strategies, investing in store staff and infrastructure, remodeling existing stores and improving visual merchandising and the overall aesthetic appeal of our stores. We also believe that growing our proprietary credit offering, Pro and designer strategies, further integrating connected customer strategies, and enhancing other key information technology, will contribute to increased comparable store sales. As we increase awareness of Floor & Decor’s brand, we believe there is a significant opportunity to gain additional market share, especially from independent flooring retailers and large format home improvement retailers. We have also added adjacent categories that align with flooring projects like vanities, bathroom accessories, frameless glass in the bathroom, and customized countertops for the kitchen. We believe the combination of these initiatives plus the expected growth of the hard surface flooring category described in more detail under “Our Industry” below will continue to drive comparable store sales growth.

Floor & Decor’s online experience allows our Pro, BIY and DIY customers to explore our product selection and design ideas before and after visiting our stores and offers the convenience of making online purchases for delivery or pick up in-store. We believe our online platform reflects our brand attributes and provides a powerful tool to educate, inspire and engage our consumers, and we view our website and multi-channel strategies as leading our brand. Our research indicates that approximately 80% of customers who shopped at Floor & Decor in the last two years have visited our website. We continuously invest in our connected customer strategies to improve how our customers experience our brand. For example, we regularly enhance our website, which provides our customers with inspirational vignettes, videos, products, a room visualizer, education, and a faster online shopping experience. Additional initiatives include: (i) implementing our new Customer Relationship Management software ("CRM") to obtain a single view of our customers, (ii) developing personalized content based on location, purchase and browsing history, (iii) developing more relevant content and improved search and purchasing tools to help customers add decorative and installation accessories and (iv) creating frequently asked questions to help customers choose the best product for their jobs. We believe this reinforces our unique customer value proposition and ultimately drives sales. Our e-commerce sales represented approximately 16% of our total net sales for fiscal 2021. While the hard surface flooring category has a relatively low penetration of e-commerce sales due to the nature of the product, we believe our connected customer presence represents an attractive growth opportunity to drive consumers to Floor & Decor..

We believe our differentiated focus on Pro customers has created a competitive advantage for us and will continue to drive our net sales growth. We will invest in gaining and retaining Pro customers due to their frequent and high-ticket purchases, loyalty, and propensity to refer other potential customers. We have made important investments in the Pro services regional team, including the additional Regional Pro Directors, to better recruit and train the Pro services team in each store. We have also invested in technology, such as an integrated CRM, to help us further penetrate and grow our Pro business, dedicated phone lines for our Pro customers to call and text, commercial credit and open account terms, jobsite delivery, a dedicated website for Pro customers, a growing and successful Pro loyalty program, training on technical flooring installation solutions, and tools to facilitate large commercial jobs sourced throughout the store. We plan to further invest in initiatives to increase speed of service, financing solutions, leverage technology, elevate our Pro branding, dedicate additional store staffing to support Pro customers, and enhance the in-store experience for our Pro customers. We continue to invest in refreshing and expanding our Pro Premier Service area in the store to better facilitate our growing Pro business. Additionally, we communicate our value proposition and various Pro-focused offerings by hosting Pro networking events. In 2021, we made a concerted effort to better align our Pro and Design Services offering with technology and personnel. We believe Pro customers will continue to be an integral part of our sales growth.

Our Design Services offer a unique to large format retail experience, which leads our customers through a seamless, inspirational design process to complete their projects. Our research tells us when a designer is involved, customer satisfaction is higher, the average ticket is approximately three times higher compared with customers who do not use a designer, and design appointments close at a higher rate than typical transactions. We position our designers as experts through our inspirational content and promote design services through all channels. We intend to continue to invest in recruiting top design talent, training, tools and technology. Design-focused training is a priority to ensure our teams are knowledgeable and prepared to deliver a start-to-finish consultative selling experience. We believe the planned rollout of our CRM technology to our design teams this year will enhance communication and workflow, from initial customer interaction through securing the close of the sale and beyond. Recent realignment within the regional store leadership organization to support design is expected to amplify the effectiveness of influence and high-level strategic execution. Additionally, we intend to continue to test advanced service options in various markets to further set us apart.