Hats Off To…. Kersaint Cobb

A lot of carpet retailers up and down the country are part of ‘buying groups.’ The theory is that these shops band together as part of a greater whole and negotiate better deals and sometimes exclusive ranges for their group. It’s not a bad idea in some ways, but we have always preferred to plough our field alone. Monthly subscriptions often make it a case of weighing up the pros and cons rather than just adopting a ‘count me in, I’d love 5% off’ attitude.

Not being part of a group seems to make some manufacturers jittery if you are an independent store. For example Cormar Carpets (we sell a lot of their carpets but buy them via a wholesaler rather than direct) didn’t even bother to dignify our inquiry with a reply and that’s shocking really Mr. Cormar Carpets – you should be ashamed. Add to that Associated Weavers promised us all sorts of incentives, then promptly lost their rep and totallty reneged on the deal. The contempt shown to us by Associated Weavers and Cormar Carpets is nothing short of disgraceful and unprofessional given that we do sell a lot of their carpet and were just looking for a way to sell more and buy some nice display stands! Fair enough if you don’t want to open any more accounts in our area or whatever but have the decency and guts to say that to us.

Which is why Kersaint Cobb, the manufacturer of wonderful natural carpets came as a pleasant surprise. We don’t specialise in Coir, Sisal and so forth but we do jobs here and there with it and our fitters are fully experienced with it.

Their rep showed up promptly, listened to what we had to say and was happy to open an account and sell us a lectern with their top sellers nicely displayed – he even threw in a pretty rug stand. He recommended we see how that went before parting with hundreds for their super duper stand.

Kersaint Cobb always seem like a class act and their product, merchandising and professionalism are a breath of fresh air in this trade. They even have superb colour catalogues that make you want to buy their products, which I blogged about only recently on here.

Displays from Kersaint Cobb

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Balta: Techno Collection

Balta have just launched a new carpet collection aimed at Contract locations and heavy domestic locations where wear is the primary consideration ahead of comfort – a kitchen for example (yes, some people still like carpet in kitchens!).

Techno Design by Balta Carpets

It is available in nine different colours and two designs, giving 18 options in all. Techno Design is shown above and Techno Star below:

Techno Star by Balta Carpets

Balta give this a 5 Year Stainsafe and 5 Year Wear Warranty and it is rated Heavy Contract. I think it will do pretty well in the short to medium term in locations like, for example, nursing home bedrooms or in the home of someone who spills a lot and needs to clean up easily. We find this is a common problem that some of our less mobile and older customers experience and this carpet will allow them to live with a carpet fitted on underlay and be able to keep it looking in decent shape.

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It’s all very well telling people just to put down a smooth floor to make mopping up easier, but people with joint problems or who are unsteady on their feet should definitely look to carpet first and foremost.

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The Techno Collection has an action back so it is meant to be fitted onto underlay. A lot of contract carpet is gel backed and meant to be fitted without underlay and the loss of comfort on these jobs can sometimes be an issue.

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This carpet comes in at an excellent price point. I think you would look at somewhere around £8-£12 per square metre (4m wide only) for this and it’s very good value at that. It does not compare with the mega tough nylon heavy contract carpets from the likes of Vorwerk, but it punches it weight very well nevertheless. It’s made from 90% Berclon/10% PA, which keeps the price competitive without the added expense of nylon that so often bumps up the price on contract carpet.

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All in all a good effort and coming to an office or shop interior near you soon.

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Colorado Springs by Balta Carpets

My period of inactivity is over – everyone needs a holiday. I can report that carpet fitting in the Balearics is shoddy from what I saw of it!

Back to business. Balta Carpets, the huge Belgian manufacturer, have launched a lovely chunky, shaggy carpet called ‘Colorado Springs.’ It is very sustantial, around 20mm thick and comes with a 10 Year Stainsafe Warranty and a 7 Year Wear Warranty.

Colorado Springs

It feels wonderful underfoot. Yes, it will flatten over time, but in the meantime you get a sumptuous, glorious luxury carpet for your money. The colours in this range are well thought out and on the button. Balta definitely seem to have their fingers on the pulse of current colour trends. My pick of this bunch has to be the lovely silvery ‘Dove 920’, and the simply stunning ‘Autumn 360.’ The latter colour is a gorgeous fleck of green on grey and I’ve tried to scan it in here and show it:

Colorado Springs: Autumn 360

As salesmen often say, “I’m thinking about putting this one down in my own lounge,” and I am – really.

I don’t yet have the official pile weight to hand but it is heavier than say Stainsafe Comfort and Covent Garden, two comparable products and certainly falls into the luxury bracket. If shops fit a display piece of this onto Cloud 9 Cumulus or Deepstep and ask the customer to take off their shoes and sink their toes in, the sale will follow swiftly.

I’d recommend it and I’d say you will most likely pay £18-£25 per square metre for it and it should be widely available. It comes in 4m wide rolls only.

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