Special Supplementary business

THE FLOOR FITTER’S SHOPPING TROLLEY GETS BIGGER AND BIGGER

THE SIZE OF THE RANGE IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS

Photo – Alsapan

The improvement in the quality of a whole series of floor coverings has induced parquet floor fitters to widen their range. Those other floors have won the respect of consumers through that refined quality, and that means floor fitters no longer consider those floors beneath their ‘dignity’. Opening up to include other floor coverings immediately gives floor fitters access to the whole house: bedrooms, landings, the study, the play room, the kitchen, and, yes, the bathroom.

Consumers want a choice The idea of selling goods via an electronic channel has been common practice in the world of business for a long time. We call this e-business or e-commerce. Some people use those two terms as synonyms, whilst others see e-commerce as a component (on the sales side) of e-business, which is the more comprehensive term. Digital shopping, which emerged mainly within a business-to-business relationship, has now certainly reached the consumer market, and how! Like a whirlwind! Or like a bulldozer! Its rise has been so fast and extensive that some people have doubts about whether or not existing retail models can survive. What stands out now? That the real big guns which dominate global e-commerce are those companies with the biggest range. Of the so called ‘dot coms’ it’s the giants who survive. Amazon.com is a good example. It started by selling books and CDs, but now you can probably order toothbrushes as well. In other words, consumers want the widest possible choice at a single address. We also see that same attitude towards choosing floor coverings, although, thankfully, that

is still done ‘analogue’. The vendor which offers EVERYTHING gets the most customers inside the store.

Parquet traders are alert Even parquet floor fitters trained in the traditional way have now realised that standing still means going backwards. You have to be prepared to adapt or else you sink. To arrive at that realisation, parquet traders had to grasp two important insights. Faith in the value of the products so that the idea of a one-stop-shop becomes acceptable is one of them. Secondly, parquet traders have had to shed their fear of cannibalisation.

The value of the articles As we’ve already said, it was mainly the improved quality of a whole series of other floors that induced parquet floor fitters to extend their ranges. Those other floors have won the respect of consumers through that refined quality, and that means floor fitters no longer consider those floors beneath their ‘dignity’. Vinyl, PVC, linoleum, cork, laminate, and bamboo are all floor coverings which now ‘cut the mustard’.

No cannibalisation Parquet floor fitters have been plagued for years by the fear that if you ‘win’ a customer for laminate, LVT, or something similar, you ‘lose’ that customer for parquet. That argument does sound logical at first sight; anyone who fits laminate on the landing or in the children’s room certainly isn’t fitting parquet. However, the misconception lay in the fact that professionals underestimated the end users. Whenever consumers opted for laminate or cork in the bedroom, it was a conscious choice, usually after much deliberation. In other words, if a particular floor fitter isn’t prepared to fit laminate or cork, the customer will look for another professional who will fit those floors.

The shopping trolley Partly thanks to digital print technology, it is possible to get one and the same decor for a particular floor covering for other floor coverings as well. That means we can offer customers a continuous floor which consists of different forms of technology, adapted more or less to the application. What riches floor fitters have!

Solid wood parquet There was a time when a parquet floor fitter’s headquarters consisted of nothing more than a room with a few samples (usually in oak) and behind that room a workshop with a woodwork machine. The table in the consultation room housed a photograph album of references. The major part of fitting a traditional parquet floor took place on site. The older generation of parquet floor fitters simply weren’t open to innovations or products and systems which deviated from tradition.

Multilayer It was a big step to accept multilayer parquet. Obviously, that step is now history, but in those days it required parquet floor fitters to ‘deviate from the normal system’ to a new working method. The classic floor structure (subfloor and final floor) was put in place in advance with these multilayer floors. However, the benefits soon became clear. Two and three-layer parquet has conquered the world. Floating fitting made its entrance.

Laminate The most shocking event for parquet floor fitters was undoubtedly the entrance of laminate. In the early days, very few parquet floor fitters were prepared to ‘stoop down’ to fit such a counterfeit floor. Now, it must be said that in the early days the quality of laminate floors left a lot to be desired. Nowadays, however, we find premium laminate floors in the upper segment. Parquet floor fitters have been converted in their masses, possibly also because laminate has been a real success story.

Pre-finished If laminate is regarded as a fully fledged alternative to wooden floors, the same applies a fortiori to pre-finished floors. These floors, which are completely ready for fitting, are finished in the factory and save floor fitters a lot of time on site. Pre-finished floors are equipped with a click system and are fitted in identical fashion to laminate.

Cork Originally, cork appeared in two forms. There was cork to be glued and cork floors to be fitted floating. Obviously, we also have cork as a wall furnishing. Cork floors are glued by glueing both the tiles and the subfloor. They are pressed into place with a rubber hammer. Floating cork floors are comparable with parquet and laminate in many respects. They usually have a click system so that they can be fitted quickly and easily.

Bamboo Bamboo isn’t wood, but rather a type of grass. However, thanks to its often outlined production techniques, bamboo lends itself ideally to making wooden panels from which parquet can be produced. As regards type, the various bamboo floor coverings are the same as what the wooden flooring market offers. And so, this is also something for parquet floor fitters.

Vinyl tiles and planks A vinyl floor is an elastic synthetic (PVC) floor covering consisting of several layers, namely the bottom layer or back, a protective fibre-glass layer, the design, and the top layer. The durability of vinyl depends on the thickness of the top layer and the solidarity of the base structure. An extra protective layer increases the scratch and wear resistance. There are big differences in quality and price within the range.

PVC tiles PVC is an ideal material for floor production. It is waterproof and thereby suitable for damp rooms. 100% PVC floors are even suitable for showers. They are highly durable thanks to the reinforcement PU coating. PVC floors appear nowadays in a wide variety of decors. In recent years, here, too, we have seen the emergence of click systems so that these floors can be fitted floating quickly and easily. We refer to those floors as Click PVC.

Linoleum Linoleum has made great strides over the years. It is no longer the floor covering which some of us will remember from hospitals. Linoleum was given that ‘lead role’ due to its antibacterial properties and its great durability and wear resistance. These floors are extremely easy to maintain and, in their fully glued form, they have excellent acoustic properties. Nowadays, linoleum is available in lanes, strips, and tiles. The possible choices in terms of decors and colours are well nigh endless. Here, too, producers have discovered the click system.

‘Other’ floors For several years now, most floor producers have profiled themselves as innovation-driven. That’s why, in recent years, ‘new’ types of floors have been developed which are often combinations of previous floor coverings. Vinyl with cork, wood and cork, wood with vinyl, and laminate with vinyl or even leather spring to mind here. Others launch floors which are undoubtedly based on a different (unique) technology.