Three into one

Unilin Flooring showed its trio of brands

Unilin Flooring came to The Flooring Show to showcase its brands in engineered wood, laminate, LVT and cushion vinyl floors: Quick-Step, Moduleo and LeoLine.

‘Since joining forces, we’ve been keen to show independent retailers how our brands are complementary and give opportunities to all kinds of shoppers,’ says David Bigland, Unilin Flooring UK & Ireland sales and marketing director. ‘As it brings together the industry, we decided The Flooring Show was the perfect place to achieve this as well as show our latest innovations, like the refreshed Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl and the new Moduleo Roots Herringbone Classic.’ From world-first technologies to enhance the life of its wood, laminate and LVT floors to design innovation that has pushed into new realms of authenticity, Quick-Step has long appealed to homeowners that prioritise performance and natural beauty, and the new Alpha Vinyl is no exception. Shown on Quick-Step’s new displays, the collection now features integrated underlay across the range, and the Unizip herringbone locking system that makes two-plank systems a thing of the past. Selected designs also come with more depth and texture than any other vinyl floor on the market.

‘Alpha Vinyl includes the most realistic wood designs on the market. Even to the experienced eye, it’s genuinely hard to tell this floor apart from the look or feel of real wood,’ says Bigland. ‘It’s typically Quick-Step and it gives Alpha Vinyl the edge if customers are looking for a premium vinyl floor that’s as close to nature as possible.’

Bigland says Alpha Vinyl isn’t competition for Moduleo. ‘You have to look at the history of the brands. Quick-Step has always focused on premium quality and lavished attention on the details across a range of flooring categories. Moduleo still has that “Made in Belgium” quality, but it has always adopted a forward-thinking approach to design and dealt only in LVT.

‘There’s more versatility and inspiration in Moduleo Roots and this appeals to a different type of customer. Someone who prizes design highly will always veer towards Moduleo for the scope of the looks on offer, a more trend-sensitive collection and the possibilities it brings in mixing and matching. For example, in the Moduleo Roots collection you’ll find nine different terrazzo looks, while Alpha Vinyl has none. This is neither good nor bad but goes to show the difference between the brands.’

The show saw Moduleo launch its Herringbone Classic plank, which is better proportioned than previous sizes and has been added to ensure versatility across a range of room sizes. Available iin a range of trending wood looks, Herringbone Classic is now available alongside Herringbone Short, Moduleo’s answer to grand patterns.

Unilin Flooring’s visit to The Flooring Show also introduced the market to LeoLine’s 2024 premium display, a ground-up rethink of cushion vinyl’s positioning, both in-store and in the minds of consumers. The stand is designed to elevate LeoLine into the world of design flooring, previously the reserve of LVT.

‘Cushion vinyl has a great set of features for consumers. It’s easy to fit themselves, comfortable and quiet, simple to look after and comes in a great range of textured designs. These benefits have always been appreciated by its fans, but there’s new opportunity there too. Inflation and the rising cost of living is putting extraordinary pressure on people’s budgets and it’s important retailers can respond to this without their customers thinking they’re getting an inferior product or something not as modern. That’s been pretty hard until now, but LeoLine is changing that with a new brand identity and a focus on desirability and design. It still delivers cushion vinyl’s affordability, but in a manner that makes it a desirable option and not a downgrade.

‘The popularity of the stand with retailers visiting us at the show clearly says that we’ve got it just about right, and we’re confident that cushion vinyl is a floor that’s going to enjoy something of a renaissance over the next couple of years,’ says Bigland. This is clearly evident in the new LeoLine stand. The construction feels premium and includes internal lighting and ‘floating’ collection displays. It comes wrapped in a smart black finish and LeoLine’s new branding that puts attention on the floor’s ability to offer designs ‘as unique as you are’.

Visit: www.unilin.com/en/flooring