Great show in Germany last week (Jan 16-18th), Domotex is the largest flooring show in Europe. The traffic level felt busier than last year, so hopefully that is a positive reflection of what we can expect in the market this year. The exhibitors were a bit different than years past. A few major players did not attend, particularly in laminate flooring. It felt like the area that housed the Chinese exhibitors was smaller this year, although they were still present.
From an innovation perspective I was probably most impressed with Faus, a European supplier of laminate flooring, that has launched some innovation in design that were very impressive. I always wonder, ‘what could be next’ in that segment and each year the factories seem to invent something new.
The multi-directional matching partners were very cool looking (think an antique pattern done in stone tile, they’ve designed the laminate to match in multiple directions). I don’t have a photo of their product to show, but if you are curious what ‘antique pattern’ looks like done in real stone see this picture of travertine antique pattern tile.
Another interesting trend in Europe for North American customers, and for that matter for BuildDirect , is the move to engineered flooring. Nothing new here other than the flexibility and continuous innovation in the engineered market place vs the solid market, which I characterize as stagnate versus last year. Our demand for engineered flooring has increased and I’d say it undoubtedly is gaining market share versus the traditional ¾” solid hardwood market place.
I have a friend who runs a several hundred million dollar distribution company in Europe and they made the decision to go exclusively with engineered flooring, dropping all solid. Not suggesting this will happen in America, but the trend can’t be ignored. I spend a lot of time in China with factory owners and the mindset towards the veneered top layer engineered floor rather than producing a solid product is not only happening, but is seems inescapable.
You’ve seen in my previous blog posts the vital focus required on Lacey Act and CARB compliance in our industry. Part of this governance / compliance may have forced Chinese factories to focus on using less hardwood products. I believe it didn’t start the trend (I’ve seen it starting 2 years before Lacey amendment was announced) but I think the added awareness around compliance kept the momentum going.
Or, maybe the downward pricing pressure in the market we’ve seen since the housing and credit crisis has made engineered a more affordable option. Or finally, maybe it is just awareness of the general population of what engineered flooring is and why it is different versus traditional solid products.
Anyways, back to the Domotex show. You can view he end of show report.
I will leave you with a video from the show… as shown at last years show there is no lack of beer available, they certainly love their beer in Germany … and so do I !!
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