Kaindl Laminate: Like Hot Cakes

This past year has seen a real revolution in our laminate flooring sales. Sales peaked for us in around 2007, with the years leading up to that seeing massive growth from 1999 onwards. We sold huge amounts of it and at its peak we were selling more laminate than anything else.

What has changed this year, as laminate sales were slowly tapering off, is that we have been selling Kaindl laminates and they have blown away the competition. They are priced very aggressively by the largest wholesaler in the country, Mercado, and they look and perform seriously well.

We stand them alongside the brand leaders, Balterio and Quickstep and they compare wonderfully well, but at a significantly lower price. While Quickstep and Balterio have seen price rises recently, Kaindl prices have been static. I believe this to be something to do with its manufacture being in Austria and therefore not at the mercy of worsening Euro exchange rates.

Such is the importance to Mercado of this particular product, that they have taken the unprecedented step of placing a link to the products that Kaindl supply through them on their own home page. It’s a massive product for them and a massive product for us.

There is an 8mm V-Groove, a ‘Natur’ variant with extra visual effects and a super chunky 10mm narrow plank. They are all exceptionally great value in my opinion. The designs are oaky, but wonderful and ‘Brushed Oak’ (37580), ‘Salzburg Oak’ (37684) sell by the lorry load.

Sometimes you do have to take your hat off for a job well done and on this occassion I would have to do that to Kaindl. It’s not just the fact that their product is well put together and impressive to look at (not to mention the fab free display stands), it’s that it is being sold at a great price and is clearly the best pound for pound buy in laminate flooring in the UK today.

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Pure Stone by Balterio

Balterio recently added a tiled laminate range to their impressive array of products with Pure Stone, a collection of four new designs.

It’s an 8mm thick heavy grade laminate with a 25 year domestic and 12 year commercial warranty and is suitable for areas of heavy traffic including kitchens.

With this range, Balterio have managed to create a genuinely authentic looking stone tile. The surface texture and finish is subtle and slightly ‘pitted’ like the real thing. Obviously it doesn’t feel like stone, but perhaps that is part of the charm. Stone floors can often deter potential buyers simply because of their feel and coldness, so Pure Stone does offer a solution there.

Although there is a disappointingly small number of options, the four designs in the range are well thought out and the end result is especially good in my opinion. It’s streets ahead of Quickstep‘s very very tired looking Quadra range and Berry Floor’s tiles are not in the same league.

The tiles are bevelled all the way around and in a very large format: rectangles of 1192mm x 392.5mm. They lend themselves to large rooms, though we have fitted them in smallish kitchens so far and they have looked very good.

The format of the tiles brings me to my one gripe with Balterio’s point of sale. Their wonderful display stand has large tiles for each design, but nowhere does it show the bevel! I have found myself explaining to the customer, “yes they are bevelled all the way around, just like this one” and then showing them an image – it’s far from ideal and a definite oversight on their part. This does not detract from what is a great product though and I recommend it highly.

Can you put it in bathrooms? We often get asked this by customers and to be brutally honest, I don’t like putting any laminate floor in a bathroom. Forget what the makers may claim, it so often ends in tears. Thankfully Balterio and Quickstep unequivocally say ‘no’ by and large to avoid confusion. If you really want to do it then go ahead but clean up all spills and make sure the room is very well ventilated. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Price wise, this will sell at £18-£25 per square metre and is pretty decent value at that price.

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Balterio’s Laminate Flooring Manufacturing Process

Balterio are now one of the world leaders in laminate flooring. The sheer scope of their innovative designs and huge choice of options puts them at the cutting edge of the industry.

Their rise has been meteoric in what is a fiercely comeptitive industry. Contending with the likes of the huge Quick-Step, Berry Floor and Grundorf was never going to be easy for a newcomer, but they are now first choice supplier for many retailers here in the UK. Far and away my favourite laminate manufacturer because of their great products, continual improvement and innovation and their wonderful point of sale that shows off their products perfectly.

Here is how they make it:

And no, I do not work for them – just giving credit where it’s due.

I’ll be taking a look at their recently launched Pure Stone range soon and their sampling error….

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Why I Prefer Balterio Laminate to Quickstep

I’m often asked the simple, blunt question by customers, “what’s the best laminate flooring?”. When you are dealing with good quality laminates, the question can only really be answered based on personal preference rather than a dazzling amount of technical data.

I used to swear by Quickstep. The Uniclic joint was always far superior to so many of its competitors and the designs always seemed to be one step ahead. I remember when they introduced their ‘Antique Oak’ and ‘Harvest Oak’ in the 9.5mm V-Groove Perspective ranges and those decors just sold and sold (can’t give them away now though). This was maybe 5 years or so ago now and for me, Quickstep have not moved with the times at all. I find their new ranges to be dull, awkward, overpriced and far from eye-catching. To a certain extent they have done something about this with their latest update and included ‘Largo’ which does look interesting, as well as dropping a few tired decors, but ultimately it isn’t enough.

I can’t abide their ridiculous ‘Lagune’ bathroom range. Retailers do not want this product! At best you will supply around 6 square metres and for that dubious honour the customer expects a wholly waterproof laminate floor. The fitting instructions are a nightmare and hence we just don’t offer the product fitted. Even DIY I hesitate to sell it and I never recommend it. Why laminate companies seem so obsessed with bathroom laminates is utterly beyond me .

I tend to recommend one of Balterio‘s ranges now. In ‘Tradition Exotic’, ‘Magnitude’, ‘Tradition Sapphire’ and several others, Balterio supply the most impressive looking laminates today. The quality is excellent and most fitters seem to enjoy working with the product. Best of all, customers are continually bowled over by the design.

Used to Great Effect on Tradition Sapphire

Balterio even beat Quickstep at the lower end, with ‘Senator’ and ‘Vitality Standard’ easily outselling Quickstep’s Classic 700 (or whatever they call it now). The constant changing of the names of ranges and the huge array of products to fit on their horrendously overpriced display stand. I refuse to pay £300-ish to have it updated with a few samples when I have already shelled out a lot for the stand. Unbelievable!

Balterio’s stands and sampling are invariably free and they win hands down in this department. You also don’t get every Tom, Dick and Harry giving it away on Ebay for peanuts, like you do with Quickstep – way to go gentlemen.

One word of warning to Balterio though – where are your brochures? In over 10 years of selling your stuff we have never had any brochures and that’s bizarre. Also your website is not a patch on Quickstep’s, so you really need to sort that out.

People in the trade often talk about customers having brand awareness of Quickstep, but in my experience I think this is overstated. Mot customers I come across are only aware of ‘Floormaster’ the B&Q range and have no idea about quality until you get the chance to talk to them about it and show them some samples close up.

 

Of course there are several other notable laminates, but I am talking about my personal favourite here. Pergo is excellent quality, Egger make some decent stuff, Tarkett do too (some dodgy old colours), Parador are there or  thereabouts and we also have a new Austrian laminate called Kaindl which is undoubtedly impressive.

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