Long-serving retail boss Lord Harris is to step down from his role as CEO of carpet & flooring specialist Carpetright, it has been announced today. Harris, who founded the business in 1988, will be replaced in the CEO role by former Sainsbury’s director Darren Shapland as of next week but will remain as the retailer’s Chairman. Click here for full story

Allied Carpets has been sold in a pre-pack administration deal to flooring retailer Floors-2-Go.The deal has resulted in just nine stores and 41 jobs being saved after Allied fell into administration for the third time. Ten stores were shut after the appointment of administrators last week, although it is not know how many jobs were lost.
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The struggling flooring specialist Carpetright has fired off its seventh profit warning in just over a year as rising living costs and a stagnant housing market stifles the high street. Click here for full story

Carpetright, run by founder Lord Harris, have issued their seventh profit warning in a year as the plight seems to be slipping out of their hands.They are the UK’s largest floor covering service but have struggled again over the last three months due to weak sales of their new bed range, and a rapidly decreasing level of demand in their continental stores.



Following the last few months’ regression, they had hoped that a move into bed products, a laminate flooring range and a reduction in prices would change their fortunes, but if anything, the situation has become more dire. The unstable housing market is also thought to be a contributory factor to the generally flailing homeware industry.

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CONCRETE flooring specialist Permaban has joined Beacon, the South West's peer-to-peer business network.
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Nu-Heat talks us through what the best floor construction is to ensure that underfloor heating performs efficiently and acoustic compliance is met.
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A NEW technology designed to enable manufacturers to offer long lasting, slowrelease fragrance in PVC floors,
carpet backing and rubber mat backing isbeing launched in theUK. It is claimed to overcome barriers to using
fragrances in polymer-based products, while offering benefits in use.
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CSCS has named Graham Wren as its new chief executive with effect from May 1st.  Graham previously worked at Balfour Beatty for 29 years, latterly as managing director of Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering.
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A combined bistro and wood showroom is gaining a lot of interest in America for the unusual amalgamation of products.
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A further victim of the tough economic climate has been named as a family flooring business has been forced to close its doors for the final time. Bennetts Flooring had stores in Luton, St Albans and Ampthill but last week the owners warned that they had been forced in to potential administration.
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Following weeks of micro-blogging, artworking and optimising, Flowcrete has been unveiled as the winner of the “Best Use of Digital Marketing” (#Digibuild) Award at THE 2012 Ecobuild exhibition and conference, which took place at the ExCel, London between March 20 and 22.
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AMTICO is able to compete with cheaper Asian products by cutting costs rather than moving to more specialised production, says the company’s chief executive Jonathan Duck.
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 Offering a solution for all manner of projects, including commercial offices, education and healthcare, CPD Distribution branches now offer a comprehensive range of contract floor coverings to allow fit-out contractors to provide that 'finishing touch' to any installation. Click here for full story

 WARWICKSHIRE floorcoverings group Headlam has announced plans to expand its Midlands operations after increases in full year revenue and profits together with a strong start to trading in 2012. Click here for full story

INTERFACEFLOR is planning to close its factory at Shelf, near Halifax, in a bid to save £4m. The closure could cost the jobs of up to 115 production workers.
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 This story was filed on APRIL 1 2012:

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The UK's largest tile and wood flooring specialist retailer has suffered further sales woe but stuck by its store expansion plans. Topps Tiles, which has 319 stores, said like-for-like sales are expected to fall 4.8% in the first three months of 2012, slightly worse than the 4.2% reduction in the previous three months. Chief executive Matthew Williams blamed the poor performance on the weak housing market and low levels of consumer confidence, which was hitting demand. But he said Topps continued to boost its market share to 26% and he stood by plans to increase store numbers to 400. Click here for full story

WMI’s, 'Flooring in the UK to 2015: Market Databook' contains detailed historic and forecast market data including value by end-user market and value by distribution. The report provides historic and forecast market value data, segmented at category level.



This report is the result of WMI’s extensive market research covering the flooring products market in the UK. It provides detailed historic and forecast market values, segmented at category level. 'Flooring in the UK to 2015: Market Databook' provides a top-level overview and detailed category insight into the operating environment of the interior products industry in the UK. It is an essential tool for companies active across the UK interior products value chain and for new players considering entering the market.

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As part of its continual evolution, Metsä Wood’s (formerly Finnforest) Finnframe flooring system now boasts a number of new developments that further improve the acoustic and energy performance of the system.
 
Furthermore, Metsä Wood has also recently introduced a range of cost effective Kerto Q Rim Board detailing for use in timber frame structures. These developments help housebuilders, developers and timber frame manufacturers  meet ever-changing regulations, while providing them with even more choice, flexibility and commercially pragmatic solutions.



Finnframe is a fully engineered flooring system, which combines a quality engineered timber system with bespoke design technology, underpinned by Metsä Wood’s technical service and support.  The Finnframe product range is made up of Finnjoist, Kerto S, Kerto Q and the Finnframe software package.

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In a move that broadens its U.S. manufacturing base and global reach, US flooring manufacturer Mannington Mills announced that it has acquired United Kingdom-based Amtico International, a manufacturer of high-quality luxury vinyl flooring products. “This is a huge opportunity for Mannington,” said Keith Campbell, chairman of the board of Mannington Mills. “It’s exciting because it opens up the opportunity for Mannington products to be sold worldwide.” The purchase price was not disclosed. Click here for full story

The former managing director of James Brindley in Harrogate and Wetherby has invested £1 million in a brand new retail and commercial interior design venture which opens tomorrow. Interior designer Richard Grafton launches his new business on Tuesday, March 27, recruiting five experienced design and sales staff, with plans to expand further over the coming months. Richard Grafton Interiors is located in 3,000ft sq retail and showroom premises on The Ginnel in Harrogate’s Montpellier Quarter. The business provides a complete high quality interior design service and also offers design-led interiors products, from fabrics, flooring and wall coverings to bespoke kitchens and bathrooms, furniture and objects d’art. Click here for full story

Pre-tax profits at floorcoverings distributor Headlam Group rose by 10.3% to £27.6m in the year to the end of December. Revenues were up 6.4% at £569.8m and operating profits increased by 7.6% to £28.0m. The group said UK like-for-like revenues rose by 7.7% indicating a further increase in market share but continental European revenues fell by 5.0% on a like-for-like basis. 

Group chief executive Tony Brewer said: "The first 10 weeks of 2012 have continued a positive trend with all five business sectors and each product category in the UK continuing to produce increases in revenue against the corresponding period last year. "Markets remain challenging and somewhat unpredictable due to the general economic outlook combined with uncertainty over both raw material prices and currency exchange.  "However through the group's strategy and structure combined with extensive product and marketing initiatives, we are confident that our individual businesses can collectively outperform the market."  Click here for full story

The Cut the VAT Campaign aims to cut VAT from 20% to 5% on all home repairs, maintenance and improvement work.  It is believed that the VAT cut could help to boost the economy whilst creating new jobs, filling empty properties and protecting consumers and legitimate companies. The Cut the VAT Campaign has ultimately grown in support, with senior politicians, celebrities, organisations and individuals backing the campaign. Source Wood Floors, a leading supplier of wood flooring in the UK, is one of a number of companies backing the Cut the VAT campaign. They believe it is important that the Government makes the necessary changes to encourage growth in the industry, which can ultimately help to stabilise the UK economy. A spokesperson for Source Wood Floors commented: “The Government is forever talking about supporting businesses in general and the construction industry in particular during these difficult times. Cutting VAT to 5% on home repair and improvement work would be a massive help and tangible proof that they intend to do more than simply talk.” For more information on Source Wood Floors, visit their website at www.sourcewoodfloors.co.uk or telephone 01379 652613. Click here for full story

The Irish flooring industry was one of the hardest hit sectors in the run up to the Christmas period with constantly low sales figures causing a difficult time for businesses.



Despite a boost for the economy as the festive season approached the Irish retail sales were still down during the last three months of 2011.



Flooring was singled out along with jewellery as the industries which suffered the most from a decline in sales figures.

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This will build on campaigns aimed at plumbers and electricians, and will include several hundred thousand tradespeople in construction and building work such as roofing, window fitting, bricklaying, carpentry and joinery. Click here for full story

While administrators from Mark Orton and Andy McGill from KPMG are looking to wind down the business of Stuarts Industrial Flooring Limited, its assets could prove attractive to similar businesses. Stuarts had been the country’s largest in-situ concrete flooring specialist and had been trading since 1840. Click here for full story

The assets of Austrian wood flooring producer Vito Wood Industry are being sold by auction after unsuccessful attempts to sell the company. St Veit-based Vito filed for insolvency in 2011 owing €5.2m. It cited material shortages, delivery delays and loss of customers. It is believed that loans on new machinery purchased had also added pressure. It was the second time in two years that Vito had become insolvent. The first time in 2009 Salzburg-based wood flooring producer PIOS acquired the activities of Vito Parquet and set up Vito Timber Industry as a 100% subsidiary. Klagenfurt-based auction company Karner & Dechow has been commissioned to sell the production facilities as a homogeneous unit. “Should this fail, the machines and stock, around 35,000m² of parquet, will be individually auctioned in March 2012,” said a Karner spokesperson. For more information on the asset sale contact karner@karner-dechow.at. The liquidator, Dr Egbert FRimmel, can be contacted on office@rechtdirekt.at. Click here for full story

The Flooring Show - taking place in Harrogate from 2-4 September 2012 - is the UK's only dedicated flooring event, and this year promises to be bigger and better than ever.   Click here for full story

The giant DOMOTEX Hannover show - 14 to 17 January - is preparing to open its doors. Wendy Adams of The Flooring Show will be visiting the event. Click here for full story

A flooring option made entirely from leather belts has caught the interest of the flooring market with an attractive appearance and exclusive style.



The floor has not been created by flooring manufacturers or suppliers but rather a design company which produces luxury products from fashion to interior design.



The company is TING, established by Inghua Ting, and it is based in London and Los Angeles.

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Bacon sandwiches have helped a vinyl floor recycling company recruit many more flooring distributors to use their successful scheme.



Recofloor collects and recycles unwanted vinyl flooring and allows manufacturers and suppliers in the flooring industry to take more responsibility for what happens to the flooring.



By using the scheme those vinyl flooring retailers are making the vinyl floors they sell to customers in to more eco-friendly flooring options as they can be recycled rather than thrown in a landfill.

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