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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Lifestyle Carpet Collection Part 4: Headlam Group

Cottage Berber: This one has been selling like hot cakes. It’s a 100% wool berber made at a super low price and is doing the job for us and a lot of other retailers, if stocks are anything to judge by. It also bears a striking resemblance to range we’ve always done well with – Corsa.

It’s a boucle design, which I’ve shown below and is basically a smallish looped wool berber in the style of those that have been so very popular everywhere for the last few years.

At the price, you can’t go far wrong if you like this kind of carpet and you understand what you are buying. The appearance of this carpet will be very ‘rustic’ as they say in the trade, so if you like a neat, precise, sharp looking carpet then you are barking up the wrong tree with this one. I never like this kind of thing on stairs – the cheaper wool berbers just don’t stand up long term and are also often prone to ‘pilling’ as it is known, where fibres will need to be cut as they protrude from the surface of the carpet and this is not a fault as such (although it makes your new carpet look absolutely awful).

Personally I find them difficult to work with, difficult to maintain, but very easy to sell and therein lies the dilemma for the retailer I suppose. I do always warn customers about the drawbacks of a carpet like this one, but they do often go ahead with the purchase anyway. It is officially rated Heavy Domestic, as opposed to ‘Rustic Retreat’ from the same collection, which is only rated General Domestic. I’d not really be optimistic about either on the stairs, but that is just my opinion of course.

California Dreams: This is a very very well known carpet to all and sundry in the trade. It has been in production (though I don’t believe the weight is exactly what it once was) for many years now and it has gone from being a very big seller for us, to being just ‘steady’ nowadays.

It’s an all nylon shadow pile (the label says 100% polyamide to avoid using ‘nylon’ – the ‘n’ word in UK carpet it seems) and does have a very appealing soft touch, but it doesn’t come across as being lightweight at all. The carpet is fairly heavy and dense and you could use it just about anywhere around the home, and we frequently do.

It is what is known as a ‘tonal’ shadow, which means that not only is there a pattern cut into the carpet as with most shadow piles, but the colour has what I might describe as an ‘iced’ look. There is a lot of variation of shade within the colour of the carpet and this creates a very appealing look. It contrast markedly with the manufacturers’ (Associated Weavers) sister product to this, ‘New Territories’ which has a solid colour).

It is manufactured in 4 metre and 5 metre wide rolls and should be more or less instantly available through the Lifestyle Collection (as they all should be). I’d estimate cost at £19-£26 per square metre and I recommend it as just about the best shadow of this kind at this price.  The nominal pile weight is 36oz, but handle a sample for yourself and you will be impressed I’m sure.

Stately Homes: This is a heavy woven wilton and comes in a good variety of traditional and modern designs. We have a tradition floral ‘ispahan’ design, a very traditional ‘Arabian panel’, which I’ve shown below and also a small square motif and an eye-catching cameo.

The colours are very traditional for man-made wilton and this carpet bears an uncanny resemblance to Balta’s best-selling Wiltax. I like the look and feel of this dense, comfortable wilton and it really impresses as much as this sort of thing ever will. It’s a very good all-rounder for those who want a traditional look without either buying cheap rubbish or running to the expense of a wool Axminster or similar, as it will retail at around £24-£32 per square metre.

Like most, it is available only 4 metres wide off the roll. However there is one glaring error in the sampling in my opinion. A 5 year warranty? What? When far inferior carpets in the range are getting 7 and 10 year warranties? Very strange and I don’t understand that one bit. This is indeed a heavy man-made Wilton and is suitable for heavy domestic areas – genuinely. I’m mystified as to the 5 year warranty which really seems like an anomaly to me. It really ought to last significantly longer than that.

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Carpet Tog Ratings: Tales of Woe

In recent months there has been an upsurge in queries from customers who are looking to install carpet over underfloor heating systems. Fine, great, wonderful and surely good for the trade you might think. Well, yes and no. You see, actually obtaining the tog rating of most carpets is a thankless and arduous business.

Balta are great – their website gives very clear, comprehensive information on all of their ranges – though curiously the ITC ones are not as thorough. Most of the British manufacturers need just a phone call to find out the relevant information, but some manufacturers simply ‘do not have’ the information. Erm….excuse me? you don’t know? You have to know – you make the carpet! Excuse the exasperation, but this comes after an hour’s fruitless searching for the tog rating of Bajong‘s Montana, which ended in my phoning Belgium, only to be told by the manufacturers that they ‘don’t have that information’. I was practically speechless and my customer stood aghast as I tried to explain that this manufacturer of the carpet he wants to buy  is simply unwilling/unable to supply a basic technical detail.

A plea to manufacturers. Please can you begin printing the tog rating on the samples? Please, please,  please. Otherwise every single time some new customer comes in and asks, we have to reach for the phone and customers are sometimes reluctant to take our word for it – they want proof positive printed on the sample. Is this really too much to ask?

Oh and a handy little tip. If you can only find the thermal resistance expressed this way 0.14m2 K/W then you simply multiply by 10 to get the tog rating, so in this example the tog rating would be 1.4.

I’m now compiling a list of information that is available and hope to publish this as soon as I can.

UPDATE: They emailed me in the end and I can confirm that Bajong state that the tog rating of Montana is a little under 1.2. Hopefully I will get the sale now.

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Lifestyle Carpet Collection Part 3: Headlam Group

Farmhouse Twist: This one is a longer pile, slightly shaggy twist made from 100% polypropylene with an action back. It’s available 4m and 5m wide and is fairly good value at the likely selling price of £12-£16  per square metre.

It feels very soft, but it is still a twist and I expect it might flatten fairly easily so I would personally be looking at bedrooms more than lounge and stairs for this one.

Colours are similar to Village Twist with subtle, muted tones – probably at their best with a decent blue in ‘Bluebell’ and a decent ‘greigey’ ‘Graphite’. The now obligatory ‘Aubergine’ is seen yet again, but it lacks any real sharpness and looks a little lifeless to me.

Chic Saxony: Something very different is to be found with Chic Saxony. It’s a long, stringily-shaggy effort that reminds me of all of those shaggy rugs that are so very popular right now.

It does have a lovely soft feel to it and will appeal to those looking for something a little different for the master bedroom. It’s not really going to be ideal in heavy wear areas and the Lifestyle Collection confirms this by giving it a 5 Year Warranty in spite of it being about the most expensive carpet in the range – retails at £20-£27 per square metre.

I think this one is more just decoration for the stand in all honesty and I’m not expecting many sales. It’s just the kind of carpet that customers will invariably run their hands through, say “ooo look at that” and then buy something else instead.

Again it’s 4 metre wide, 100% polyprolpylene and made on an action back.

Waterside: A pretty thick Saxony, made to impress with its feel and touch and it arrives into a very cluttered part of the market. With mega-sellers like Mont Blanc, Colorado Springs and Montana competing with it, things will not be easy.

It is impressive and does have a very solid colour range to it. The black with grey speckles of ‘Liquorice’ will sell and sell as it has over the last year and it’s worth having on display just for that one really.

A great asset is that it’s available in both 4m and 5m wide, whereas many similar carpets at this sort of price do not offer that (Montana does) and I think this will propel the sales significantly.

It’s 100% polypropylene, action backed and ought to sell between £18 and £23 per square metre. It’s certainly a contender.

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Lifestyle Carpet Collection Part 2: Headlam Group

Following on from my last post looking at the newly launched Lifestyle Collection released by the Headlam Group, here are another handful of new ranges:

Rustic Retreat: This is a 100% wool berber made at a price. It’s definitely aimed at those on a budget who want the benefits of wool without having ‘wool money’. It’s available in 4m & 5m widths and comes in two different designs – the ‘Hobnail’ and the ‘Stripe’. Below we have the Stripe in Wheat:

As you can see it’s a very narrow ribbed stripe and not at all unusual for a carpet of this type.

One problem retailers may have with this one is its classification of ‘General Domestic’ on the label. I do understand why they’ve done this – it’s hardly likely to offer very heavy wear in reality, but until there is some realism in grading carpets then we will continue to see cheap and nasty budget twists being rated ‘Heavy Domestic’ while this superior effort is only ‘General Domestic’. To my mind, they are correct in saying ‘General Domestic’, but it just shows up the anomaly all the more.

Consequently there is ‘only’ a 5 year warranty on this. Honestly you should take carpet warranties with a pinch of salt if ask me.

Price for this one £9-£15 per square metre. If someone claims it has a RRP of £20+ then ask them just who is recommending they price their carpets like that.

Village Twist: This one is another fairly decent 100% polypropylene twist in the range. You could probably see it as big brother to City Twist.

It does have a superior feel to City Twist and is finished pretty well. I quite like it and its colours touch most popular bases. I especially like the inclusion of a nice and subtle ‘Silver’ as well as the ‘Rose’ pink, which we often struggle to find these days. Most colours in this range are subtle and muted and at the price it will be sold at (£10-£15 per square metre), I think it’s good value.

You can have this either 4m or 5m widths and it is worth considering if your budget is around £10-£15 per metre.

Royal Court: The standout carpet in the entire range is Royal Court. This is an 80% wool, 15% nylon, 5% meltbond twist that will impress. It’s available in 40 or 50oz weights and 4m and 5m widths. It also has a jute back, in line with many quality wool twists.

I’ve shown the ‘Apple Blossom’ colour here, as there does seem to be a dearth of green around right now:

Hopefully you can pick out the density and definition from the image. It’s a very very good range and I am glad they chose to include a good twist in the collection and not just look to roll out the cheapest thing they could muster.

It should sell at £18-£27 per metre – obviously the lower end for the 40oz and the higher end for the 50oz. Intriguingly they have decided to label the 50oz as extra heavy domestic just to set it apart from the heavy domestic of the 40oz. Not a bad idea I always think.

I really do think they’ve come up with the goods on this one though. It looks clean, well defined and the colours throughout the range are very very solid. It’s certainly far better than the other wool twist in the collection.

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Lifestyle Carpet Collection Part 1: Headlam Group

Headlam Group’s (the group is a wholesaler/manufacturer) major launch this year has been the Lifestyle Floors collection. They are aggressively promoting their new launch in the form of lovely stands and lecterns that they are offering to place in shops across the country for a nominal fee. It’s great value for shops, so you will see plenty of these stands.

Ours was installed last week and we have 14 carpets on it. This rundown of the carpets will come in three parts. Today I’m looking at:

City Twist: This is a ‘better than most’ budget twist that is comparable to something like Revolution in terms of price and quality. It does feel a little more dense to me and it is a very colourful range, with ‘Sky’ and ‘Fuchsia’ definitely catching the eye at first glance. It’s 100% polypropylene and action backed and is available in either 4m or 5m wide rolls.

It’s a decent stab to do a reasonable twist for under a tenner and I have to commend it. You should pay £8-£12 per metre for it and it would be ideal for those on a budget or landlords who don’t want the ‘cheap and nasty’ look.

Revival Twist: This one is a heavier, heathered twist with a more subtle colour bank. I quite like the Crimson and Raspberry Jam, but if I’m honest then I am not blown away by this one in the least. It’s one of many similar at this sort of price.

It’s 100% polypropylene, action backed and available 4m and 5m wide. It should be priced between about £14 and £18 per square metre and I think that maybe a pound or two too much. I don’t think it stands up that well to competition at a similar price, like Cormar’s Primo Tweed, Balta’s Stainsafe Heathers or Lano’s Startwist Supreme. It’s not a bad carpet as such, but it’s not as good as its competitors to my mind.

Cosmopolitan Stripe: The much-vaunted ‘funky’ stripe of the collection (there is another, but it is a little more subtle) is a slightly shaggy twist with stripes of varying widths in some crazy colours.

Coffee and Tan are by far the best colours in the range and it features a truly rancid ‘Hot Pink’ shown below:

It’s 4 metre wide only, is made from 100% polypropylene and is felt backed. I’d be guessing it’s for kids’ bedrooms or playrooms, but you could use it elsewhere I imagine.

Time will tell if it will sell well, but customers have not been impressed by it in here so far, so I don’t think it’s going to work for us, but I might be wrong. Expect to pay around £9-£12 per square metre and it’s not a bad price for what it is and if you like the colours and designs, you could do a lot lot worse.

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Endangered Species: Rhinofloor & Armstrong To Close

Save the rhino! No, this is not a sudden departure into protecting those mighty beasts……sadly it is to post about the impending demise of Armstrong’s domestic vinyl production on Teesside. Note that this closure affects the domestic side of their business only.

It really will be a hammer blow to a part of the country that can ill-afford the loss of 163 jobs. It’s pretty clear that Armstrong have struggled to cope with the new generation of vinyl competition from Europe, of which Leoline has been the spearhead.

It does not surprise me to hear this news, though it does sadden me. To think that what is by far the most recognised vinyl brand, Rhinofloor, will no longer be available is quite shocking. Realistically it is pretty much the only brand people ever seem to ask for in this shop – in recent times however, they often come in talking about Rhinofloor and leave the shop having bought Leoline – sad but true.

A lack of true innovatition and creativity, as well as some very strange pricing structures have contributed to their demise as much as anything else in my book. I actually dismantled one of their stands today (coincidentally) to make way for something else that will sell a lot more than that and the significance of what I had been planning for a couple of weeks sunk in. If I’m not getting results from their stand, then I’m sure I’m not alone.

The end of an era and another British manufacturer goes to the wall. No bail outs from the goevernment to the flooring trade though, we  save those for reckless bankers……

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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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Carpet For Mods: Carnaby by Brockway

While I was researching the ‘striped carpets’ stuff for this blog, I did come across a very lovely new range that I hadn’t seen before.

Brockway have launched the decidedly 60’s retro mod chic of Carnaby to the market and what an absolutely wonderful design it is – right on the money:

It’s a 100% quality wool berber that I am yet to have a physical sample of, so I am simply bowled over by the design alone at this point. Brockway will send you samples from their (very good) website. They do a whole host of excellent stripes on there – Carnaby is just the tip of the iceberg.

I expect an order from Paul Weller is pending…and if I can convince the wife, maybe from me too.

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York Twist by Associated Weavers

One of the additions to Associated Weavers’ range that we saw in the Spring was York Twist and it’s definitely a worthwhile contender.

It’s a decent 100% polypropylene twist aimed at those who perhaps want a ‘wool look’ but maybe don’t have ‘wool money’. It’s a decent stab at replicating the look of a wool twist and although the feel of it does not absolutely convinvce, it’s not bad for the money you are likely to be asked. I’d reckon on £11-£15 per square metre and it’s pretty good value at that.

It is available in 10 neutral shades, comes 2,3,4 or 5 metre wide and features the usual 10 year stain and wear warranties that AW like so much.

I think it will sell very well for Associated Weavers, although our experience is steady rather than a massive rush. That particular price point in that particular type of carpet is mightily competitive right now.

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