NEWS


RETAIL BRANDS FAILING TO DELIVER ON FULL CIRCLE SUSTAINABILITY


Sustainability-conscious brands place high importance on the raw materials used to create retail displays and packaging but neglect the end-of-life outcome, according to new research.


A survey of 200 retail professionals, by international retail installation specialist 100% Group, found that brands are failing to address sustainability throughout the whole of the product lifecycle, despite 85% claiming that it is important, and 86% ranking it as an important factor to customers when making a purchase decision.


When it comes to in-store retail displays, the research, conducted by market research company Sapio, found that 61% said that their displays are sustainable. Yet, while brands find that sustainability programmes come at a cost, incurring an average increase of 18%, the decision appears to pay off, producing an average 23% increase in sales from making displays more sustainable.


ARMSTRONG FLOORING APPOINTS LARRY MCWILLIAMS AS INTERIM CEO


Armstrong Flooring has appointed Armstrong Flooring Chair Larry McWilliams as its interim Chief Executive Officer, after its President and Chief Executive Officer, Donald R Maier, stepped down.


One of America’s largest producers of resilient flooring products, Armstrong Flooring will now seek a permanent CEO. Mr McWilliams will facilitate this management transition and focus on the company’s near-term strategic priorities.


Mr McWilliams, the former President and CEO of Keystone Foods and a former senior executive at Campbell Soup Company, joined the Armstrong World Industries Board in 2010 and became Chair of the Board of Armstrong Flooring in 2016. Mr McWilliams is a long-time executive in the retail and


06 | Tomorrow’s Retail Floors


The research suggests that the future of retail is green; with 22% of retailers stating that they already have sustainability initiatives in place and a further 43% planning to introduce them within a year.


Retail display (72%), and packaging (61%) are the two areas where sustainability is taken into account most, but only 41% address it at product end-of-life, suggesting that brands and retailers are missing a circular sustainability policy. This means that retail displays at best end up being recycled, while many are simply thrown away when they reach the end of their life rather than being re-used or redeployed to extend their lifecycle.


Dan Williams, Founder and Managing Director of 100% Group, commented: “There appears to be a significant disconnect between the brands that claim to be sustainable and those that apply this in a full circle capacity. While it’s positive to see brands making sustainable choices on the products, packaging and displays themselves, it’s important to consider end-of- life arrangements upfront to ensure


consumer sectors and will remain the Chair of Board of Armstrong Flooring. He is also the Chair of Board of Armstrong World Industries.


Mr McWilliams stated: “Armstrong Flooring has built incredible brand equity and customer loyalty over its long history, and I am ready and eager to step in at this juncture and work closely with our talented employee base, distributors, and customers to deliver the best products, solutions and value for all of our stakeholders.


Dan Williams, 100% Group


materials can be properly redeployed instead of sent straight to landfill.”


100% Group has recently launched a specialist redeploy service, working with its clients to turn redundant retail displays into materials that can be put to use elsewhere. A recent project saw 100% Group repurpose old product stands into desks for school children in India.


www.100percentgroup.com


“We thank Don for his years of dedication to the company. He joined Armstrong World Industries in 2010 and played many important roles along the way, including the CEO role of Armstrong Flooring before and after its transition into an independent company. We wish him the very best.”


Mr Maier has resigned from the Board of Directors and will not stand for re-election at the upcoming 2019 annual meeting.


www.armstrongflooring.com


Larry McWilliams


www.tomorrowsretailfloors.com


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