SELLING TO: CONSUMERS


wood flooring with a lacquered finish is what we would recommend,” says Josh Burbidge, Business Development Director with Atkinson Kirby. “The lacquered finish seals the moisture out, and performs better in a kitchen situation. Some customers may prefer to have luxury vinyl tiles around their sink area: it’s a further option that merchants can offer.” With the architectural fashion for kitchens opening straight onto the garden through bi-fold glass doors, Rob Eckersley, Director of The Solid Wood Flooring Company says homeowners need to choose the finish for their engineered flooring with due thought to their domestic situation: “Lacquer sits on the top layer of the flooring, resisting spills and offering easier maintenance. UV Oiled boards


timber flooring as only rising in demand: “We sell less solid wood flooring these days, whereas engineered wood flooring sales are definitely growing. We have a wide range of species to offer including engineered Beech, Ash, Walnut, Maple and Oak, but it’s Oak which is by far the most popular. There’s no doubt that engineered flooring is a very competitive market, but we also offer matching products. For example alongside our engineered Oak flooring we offer Oak doors, facings and architraves, to complete the look for the householder.”


Picture: Solid Wood Flooring Company


fill the gap in the market between lacquered products and a natural oiled timber surface. They are good for high-traffic areas, keeping you in contact with the natural texture of the wood surface.”


Selling a lifestyle


What are consumers looking for when considering flooring as part of a kitchen package? Tom Andrews, Sales Director for the Sheffield Area at Arnold Laver, explains: “With kitchen flooring you’re selling the lifestyle and the ‘look’, not the product. People are less likely to be interested in price if they are after a certain aesthetic. Engineered flooring is more stable and moves less than other flooring types, so gaps don’t open up. You still have the benefit of being able to sand the floor and re-finish it as there’s usually a 4mm depth of veneer on the top.”


How are engineered flooring products selling today in builders’ merchant outlets? From a builders’ merchant’s viewpoint, Grant Wilson at MGM Timber in Scotland sees engineered


Checking supply chains With the supply chain for engineered flooring being a complex one, often involving products and components moving from one side of the world to the other, the Timber Trade Federation has launched a research stream within its Flooring Working Group to check that flooring product claims of sustainable and European origins are accurate. “China is the largest supplier of flooring into the UK, so it makes sense to start our research and testing here,” reveals TTF Managing Director David Hopkins. “There are some excellent products manufactured in the far east, and also in Europe. Yet previous research findings in other product categories make us aware that we should rigorously check on the material sourcing claims made by manufacturers overseas.”


“As timber merchants we take our environmental and purchasing due diligence very seriously,” says Brooks Brothers’ Tom Dee. “We have been working with one flooring factory in the Far East for 25 years: their compliance manager originally worked for an NGO. In addition to our TTF Responsible Purchasing Policy compliance and our other certifications, each and every box of our engineered timber flooring carries the Nature’s Barcode system. It can track the origins of the timber back to its origins using scientific methods.”


Brooks Brothers took this step to provide clear assurance of the Western European origins and legality of Oak used in its flooring products manufactured in China. The assessment also includes Isotope testing and full documentary due diligence.


Strict due diligence


Rob Eckersley at The Solid Wood Flooring Company, agrees with taking a strict approach to due diligence: “We applaud the TTF’s efforts to improve the reputation of the wood flooring sector, though we feel that research shouldn’t


Picture: Atkinson & Kirby


just be focused on China. We feel that more attention should be given to the risk factors with wood products sourced from many other countries including those within Europe. Our advice to anyone sourcing product from Europe is to check back along the supply chain beyond the producer as a standard part of their due diligence.”


Arnold Laver’s Tom Andrews holds similar


views: “Check that what you think you are buying is correctly described. We only buy from European Union manufacturers and we also do our own due diligence, in addition to ensuring they have FSC® and/or PEFC™ certification. We will never buy flooring products from an unknown entity overseas,” he affirms.


For heritage properties and conservation projects, solid wood flooring may be specified by the architect, but help to gain the business is available from TTF member suppliers. Brooks Brothers’ Tom Dee, comments “There are occasions when we’ve been asked to replace heritage hardwood flooring for customers on special order – including for the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace! We are one of the few companies able to machine 75mm Oak flooring for older and historic buildings.”


Timber flooring solutions certainly come in many guises to suit all sizes of customer budgets. But whichever you choose, ensure you do your due diligence, or get help from your supplier, to ensure you are selling ‘Timber you can Trust’.


May 2019 / 13


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