FLOORINGNEWS

Freedom refreshed

With BerryAlloc’s refreshed laminate flooring collection, homeowners can enjoy the same wood look in the herringbone of Chateau, Ocean+ 100% water-resistant laminate or the versatility of Connect. That means a beautifully unified look with the freedom to mix features and different laying patterns from room to room.

In Chateau, BerryAlloc has captured the elegance of historic parquet flooring in 15 natural wood designs. The uniquely small and narrow planks are perfect for recreating the herringbone style, as well as shipdeck, ladder and mosaic laying patterns.

Ocean+ is a 100% water-resistant laminate floor that’s available in all 15 matching wood designs of Chateau, as well as 35 other original wood looks. A superb choice for bathrooms, kitchens and busy living spaces, it features Hydro+ technology. First developed in 2008, hydro+ made BerryAlloc the pioneer of water-resistant laminate floors. Sealing joints with hydrophobic technology, hydro+ guarantees a lifetime of water-resistance and makes Ocean+ suitable for bathroom use. Alongside Ocean+ 8 V4, the collection comes in a selection of planks with integrated underlay, XL planks and the superior performance of 12mm floors.

Connect is a versatile, everyday flooring option that brings the natural beauty of wood in a surface that’s dependable and easy to live with. All 50 designs, including the 15 wood looks of Chateau, come in a standard plank size, with a handful of styles also in BerryAlloc’s impressive XL plank. Homes can also choose from the minimalist look of a floor with no bevels or the classic plank effect of fully bevelled edges.

Scott Arundell, sales director, BerryAlloc, says: “Laminate flooring is loved for its durability, scratch resistance and easy maintenance. As a living proposition, it’s a floor that lets homes concentrate on the more important things in life, particularly with innovations like hydro+, but that certainly shouldn’t mean having to compromise elsewhere.

“We’ve thought about our new-look laminate flooring collection a little differently, giving customers the freedom to choose a floor that fulfils their practical needs across beautiful and authentic wood looks. The collection’s ability to let customers choose herringbone for living areas, Ocean+ for moisture prone areas and Connect for all-round use in a perfectly coordinated natural wood look, shows how we’re thinking about our floors as part of a bigger interior design journey.”

T +32 56 52 84 80 www.berryalloc.com

Sad loss of Woolsafe pioneer Paul

Paul Bakker, WoolSafe founder and chairman, passed away peacefully on 5 April 2023, aged 82 years. Paul had been very active in the carpet and cleaning industries as well as with standardisation work for many years.

He was dedicated to WoolSafe which he built into a global business, and ITFA, the International Textile Flooring Academy, that he had helped set up for the preservation of knowledge about carpets and rugs. He will be greatly missed in our industry.

Paul was born near The Hague, The Netherlands where he trained in textile sciences. He got his Diploma in Textile Research in Enschede, then came to the UK with his then fiancée (future wife), Titia to further their studies at Manchester. Paul wrote his ‘Master of Sciences’ thesis on silk dyeing in 1968, but soon after he changed his focus to the other great animal fibre: wool. The family moved to Ilkley, West Yorkshire, where Paul worked as a research scientist for the International Wool Secretariate and later for Wools of New Zealand.

It was during his time at Wools of New Zealand, that Paul, with other experts from the carpet and cleaning industries, developed the WoolSafe testing and approval programme for carpet cleaning products. This ground-breaking, and at its time unique testing programme paved the way to the safe and effective way to clean wool carpets. When Wools of New Zealand’s focus changed, Paul established an independent company, The WoolSafe Organisation, to administer the programme.

Paul proved himself to be a very good businessman as well as an excellent scientist and grew WoolSafe to the successful international company it is now. He recognised that even the best product can cause harm in the hands of untrained operators, so he worked out and promoted the WoolSafe Fibre Care Specialist training programme (1998) and established a global network of the trained professional carpet cleaners, now called WoolSafe Approved Service Providers. In 2006 the first training course to recognise and deal with wool carpet issues was held and the WoolSafe Registered Inspector network launched. Though Paul handed over the day to day running of the company in 2010 (after his 70th birthday), he never fully retired. Always up for new challenges, in 2017 Paul initiated the establishment of the International Textile Flooring Academy (ITFA), for the preservation of accumulated knowledge about carpets and rugs. Together with fellow founder Malcolm Sims, and working with many industry professionals with a wealth of practical skill and experience on textile flooring, they dedicated time and energy to pass this information on.

T 01943 850817 www.woolsafe.org

Powerful partnership “disrupts market”

Two major flooring manufacturers behind some of the most well-known brands in residential and commercial sales, have joined forces in "one of the most disruptive alignments that the UK flooring industry has seen."

Leading flooring companies

Unilin Distribution Limited and IVC Group UK Limited have announced a merger to become Unilin Flooring UK & Ireland

Limited with a turnover of €230m in these territories alone.

See page 40 for the full story.

Flooring inflation remains stubbornly high

Floorcovering price inflation remains stubbornly high and still in excess of 10% – above the rate for the furnishing sector generally – according to the latest data from the Office for National for National Statistics.

Carpets and other floorcoverings prices increased 10.3% during March, marginally down from 10.4% the previous month, but ahead of the rate for this time last year which was 7.4%.

Prices for furniture and furnishing generally rose by 9.2% in March, down from 10% in February, while also declining from 16.8% compared to the same month last year. This is the the seventh consecutive month of easing price inflation for furniture and the lowest rate in well over a year.

The data forms part of the monthly Consumer Prices Index (CPI) report which showed the overall consumer rate was 10.1% in the 12 months to March 2023, down from 10.4% in February. Analysts were predicting that UK inflation would finally fall below 10% but food and energy costs are continuing to impact the statistics hard.

Meanwhile, Producer Price Inflation (PPI) saw the rate of furniture output prices, factory gate, rise 10.7% in March on the same month in 2022.

Carpet imports depressed in Q1

Carpet imports into the UK have continued their Q1 slump with a double-digit reduction and notable declines from Belgium and Turkey.

The latest figures compiled by The Furnishing Report from HMRC data for February show the dip in volumes of 11% to 11.6m sqm and while inflation has boosted prices, even the value of imported goods slipped nearly 1% to £75m.

The results follow January data which showed a decline in volumes of 6.5% and most striking is the 4.3% drop in values to a total of £73.2m. February was positive only for The Netherlands which saw carpet exports to the UK up over 5% on the same month last year but Belgium continued its very sluggish performance with the value of its exports falling 12%.

The earthquake in Turkey had a major impact in a country that had seen value growth of nearly 20% in UK exports in January (and over 10% in December) but even with inflation, values for February reversed with a 3% decline.

Turkish trade body ITHIB reported last week that textile exports to Europe were 21.2% down in volume following the earthquake but UK manufacturers have said there have been only minor interruptions to the supply chain for polypropylene yarn for which Turkey is a key supplier.

Flooring sales bounce back after sluggish start

Flooring sales have bounced back after a sluggish start to the year with March showing a major increase according to the latest retail data from the Office for National Statistics.

March floorcovering retail sales were up 28.5% month-on-month since February, up by to £268.1m from £208.5m. However, compared to the same time last year, performance is still subdued – sales decreased by 3.8% from £278.1m compared to March 2022.

The furniture and lighting sector overall did slightly better with retail sales increasing 31% to £1.675bn for March from £1.2bn in February. This marked the highest result so far this year and is also up on the previous year, with sales up 4.3% i 2023 from £1.605bn in 2022.

Overall, total retail sales volume in March fell by 3.1%, while the value increased by 4.5% to £47.2bn year-on-year due to the effects of inflation. On a monthly comparison, volumes were down 0.9%, with the value spent also down by 0.9%.

Likewise post 20% sales growth

Fast growing UK floor coverings distributor Likewise plc says Q1 sales are 19.7% up on this time last year and announced more expansion to its national logistics network.

In a trading update to its shareholders, the plc also announced that its Likewise branded business grew by 25.7% in the same period.

The Plc which had sales of £124m in the 2022, up from £61m in 2021, says it expects to grow to revenues to "well in excess of £200 million in the medium term."

"Q1 has been positive and the Group will continue to take market share in existing geographical regions notwithstanding the huge opportunity as the Group moves into new UK territories," says chief executive Tony Brewer.

The Group says it now has possession of the 47,000 square feet high bay Distribution Centre in Glasgow which will become operational during Spring 2023 which will allow the business in Scotland to significantly enlarge and also provide additional stocking capacity to support the Likewise Logistics Network in England and Wales.

Confidence builds but "continuing concerns"

Consumer confidence for major household purchases has continued to strengthen after last month's "suprise rebound" in sentiment, says leading retail analysts GfK.

GfK's Major Purchase Index which follows a survey of consumer purchase intentions for furniture, flooring and home appliances has gone up four points in March, following a three point rise in February. The Index is still at minus 33 however and that's nine points lower than this time last year.

The overall Consumer Confidence Index covering all purchases saw an increase by two points to minus 36 in March.

GfK's director Joe Staton is cautious. "“A small improvement in the Overall Index Score this month masks continuing concerns among consumers about their personal financial situation. This measure best reflects the financial pulse of the nation and it remains weak."