NEWS INDUSTRY UPDATE News


Big Move for UK Flooring Direct


Online flooring retailer, UK Flooring Direct, has moved to a new facility as it looks to towards achieving a £100m turnover.


Situated in Hinckley, Leicestershire, the new facility provides a central location for the business with easy access to major arterial roads, ensuring fast delivery of its flooring to homes and businesses across the UK. With 58,000ft2


a showroom, marketing suite, sales centre, customer collection point and five-bay warehouse.


Quick-Step Introduces New Customer-Friendly Online Platform


Selected retailers across the UK are the first to be able to take advantage of MyUnilin, the new online partner platform from UNILIN, the company behind Quick-Step, Pergo, Elka and Balterio.


Introduced as part of its customer- centric philosophy, the new tool increases efficiency between manufacturer, distributor and retailer.


Developed to streamline ordering of UNILIN laminate, wood and LVT products and accessories, the new software has been trialled at several retailers, including both single and multi-site independents. MyUnilin allows retailers to access a range of functions instantly, such as browse and order UNILIN products, check stock in real-time, review the status of existing orders and access account balances immediately.


Sophie Hautekeete, International PR and Sponsoring Manager, UNILIN, commented: “At UNILIN our objective is to always put the customer first, whether that be distributor, retailer, installer or consumer. For example, our Academy for Excellence in Flooring was introduced to offer a competitive advantage to installers.


MyUnilin is designed to help distributors and retailers through faster and more efficient real-time ordering and account management that’s incredibly easy to use.”


Feedback from trials of the software has been extremely positive. One retailer involved in the trial, Doors & Floors Direct, is a multiple-site independent that has seven members of staff regularly using the software.


Sam Scott, Director of Doors & Floors Direct, said: “Our staff have been using MyUnilin from their laptops in store and have found it straightforward and easy to use.


“Previously we would have waited until the end of the day to place orders, but now we’re doing it ‘on the fly’ as the software is so simple to use.”


MyUnilin is supported by full training which, thanks to the ease of the system, is quick and easy to pass to other members of staff.


Such has been the success of the trial in the UK, MyUnilin is being rolled out to timber merchants and will soon be available throughout Europe. It is expected the platform will become the standardised method of ordering flooring and accessories from Quick- Step, Pergo and Elka. Balterio products will be integrated in a second phase.


www.quick-step.co.uk/en-gb


Jason Ashby, Managing Director, UK Flooring Direct, commented: “When we launched UK Flooring Direct, we set out with the ambition to become the UK’s largest online flooring retailer and now we have reached that goal, we are determined to keep growing and become one of the country’s largest online retailers full stop. Our previous location was stifling growth, with staff amenities proving inadequate and stock-holding capacity preventing us from maximising sales.


“The new Hinckley site means that we can continue to invest in our people and provide them with incredible working conditions and facilities, as well as sustainably expand product lines and stock levels to meet demand.”


www.ukflooringdirect.co.uk 06 | Tomorrow’s Retail Floors www.tomorrowsretailfloors.com


The new warehouse is capable of holding enough stock to ensure UK Flooring Direct has the capacity to achieve its £100m turnover target by improving efficiency and speed of order processing. The initial £750,000 capital outlay in the acquisition and fit-out of the building comes following consistent investment in the company’s operating system, website and insight technologies; totalling £1.25m over the last three years.


of space, the building houses


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