Flooring Industry News June 2021

‘Never known it busier’

“In my 30 years in the flooring industry, I have never known it to be busier at this time of the year,” says Philippe Hamers, chief Executive of one of the UK’s biggest flooring manufacturers, Victoria plc.

The comments came with the group’s trading update to shareholders which reported trading continues to be very strong across all of Victoria’s geographies and product groups, with double-digit percentage increases over 2019 figures (2020 data is “meaningless” for comparison.

Production is running at full capacity with some plants fully committed until the Autumn already. The statement said: “We are out-sourcing some production to ensure service standards are met and market share gains sustained.” ‘

Read the full article on The Stocklists website.

FITA Flooring Training Courses

The CFA’s training arm the Flooring Industry Training Association (FITA) announced it was open.

‘Here at FITA booking a course could not be easier, with the courses listed below being colour coded to match installer suitability. FITA’s standard courses cover all the main flooring categories – from sub-floor preparation to installation of vinyl sheet and tile, linoleum, laminate, solid wood, sanding and finishing and, of course, all areas of carpet fitting, helping to meet the needs of the flooring industry with growing demand for this specialisation. FITA can also develop bespoke courses on request, tailoring the content to best support an installer’s needs. To book, simply choose a course below, pick your date and location, then complete the booking form. A member of our team will contact you to complete the booking.’

More details about how to book can be found on the FITA website.

FITA Digital launched

As well as reopening for training, the CFA’s training arm FITA has relaunched its YouTube channel.

Checkout their videos on YouTube.

Orders up 79% at SCS on re-opening

Orders are up 79% at leading flooring and furniture chain ScS after stores re-opened in April and it says the outlook for sales is “substantially better than current market forecasts.”

The 79% boost relates to the period 4 April 2021 to 12 June 2021 and is measured against 2019 for a meaningful comparison.

In a trading update to shareholders, the plc which has 100 stores across the UK, said: “The Board is delighted to report that, following the reopening of our stores, performance has been very encouraging. The Board expects full year performance for FY21 to be ahead of market expectations.” ‘

Read the full story on The Stocklists website.

Retail prices up 8.3% for flooring

Retail price inflation for flooring has risen by 8.3% in the 12 months to May 2021 – the highest level since 2016.

And according to the latest ONS consumer price inflation data, flooring prices are still accelerating – the rise was 6.5% in the year to April.

The May figures for flooring are also outpacing furniture (at 6.4%) and the overall Consumer Prices Index which went up 2.1% in the same period.’

Full story via The Stocklists.

Gov UK – Find an apprenticeship

Find an apprenticeship is the official Government website for apprenticeship opportunities in England and is used by thousands of registered candidates, including those that have been affected by redundancy.

Take a look at the Gov.uk website.

FURTHER READING

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