Bring your imagination to life
use our expertise in Retail
As a global player in flooring we know the challenges of every sector. In retail you do not want any loss of store opening hours. Installation must be fast and sometimes overnight. With the ever changing concepts, you want a rapid possible adaptation or even bespoke solutions. We can help you.
As a global partner we stand next to you on a local level. Our design team can offer guidance and assistance as required. Our technicians speak the language of the flooring installers and in this way everybody is aligned.
We enable our customers to simplify their order process and improve their efficiencies.
We have a proven track record in managing complex global supply contracts to a truly worldwide client base with dedicated global and local resources.
We offer the largest most comprehensive range of floor coverings, which are all produced within our 12 manufacturing sites.
As designers at Forbo we do believe that our products are intrinsically connected with the design and aesthetics of a building.
Our ambition starts with creating better indoor environments.
Therefore we approach design as a collaborative process that is embracing the human experience.
Every shop or shopping centre has its own dynamics and every area in a building can be linked to a theme. We work with 5 themes to identify the needs of an area: Receiving, Moving, Connecting, Concentrating and Recharging.
Many shops worldwide used Forbo floors before you. Visit our reference section and get inspired by existing Forbo flooring solutions in retail environments. Our reference overview will help you to see products in use and how they are applied.
Our worldwide references
To create your floor and make up your mind what would fit best in the store you are designing for we have several tools and services. Our FloorVisualizer helps you to place any of our floors in a retail environment or even combine them so you can see how this works.
Start playing now in our FloorVisualizer
Our design service can even go further. We can help you design your floor. Our team of designers is ready for you, get in contact and let them know the requirements, sent them the pictures of the current situation or the desired solution and they will come up with floorplans and product proposals.
Contact our design team
On our Pinterest board we collect references and store designs we love. Follow our Retail Interiors board and get new inspiration on a regular basis. We share multiple examples of Forbo floorings in different shopping environments.
Pinterest stores we love
Do you want to see examples of Forbo floorings in other segments as well? Visit our general Forbo Flooring Systems Pinterest board.
Forbo Flooring Systems on Pinterest
The responsibility for forging global partnerships with key clients is entrusted to our most experienced Key Account Managers.
Dedicated to customer care, their only remit is to ensure that Forbo delivers a flooring solution that is ideally suited to your needs.
- We can supply international quotations and have experience with international order processes and local regulations
- We manage international logistics
- We have 20 years partnerships with worldwide customers
- Forbo Flooring Systems is part of the Swiss Forbo Group
- Key figures Forbo Group 2018:
> Net sales 1327.0 CHF Mio
> Group profit 137.6 CHF Mio
> Employees 5.739
- A worldwide presence:
> 15 manufacturing plants
> 38 Flooring sales offices worldwide
> 90 additional markets served via strategic partnerships
> 70 key account managers across 30 countries
- European manufacturer with factories in The United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Russia.
- European logistics and responsiveness
We care about you and the environment
- Forbo is a founding member of the World Green Building Council.
- We have received various labels and certification for your products and or production facilities.
- All of our manufacturing sites are ISO certified. Raw materials are used efficiently, waste is recycled whenever possible.
- We are committed to social responsibility, the Forbo sites are certified according to SA8000.
creating better environments
We offer you:
- a sole source of supply for all your flooring requirements
- local advice, support and cross border project management
- efficiencies of scale, certainty of supply and rapid delivery
Above all one single contract and one single point of contact to save you time and money.
The right solutions for the right reasons
We pride ourselves on offering a truly comprehensive product portfolio with leading edge products specifically designed to cater for all areas, from the entrance area, through circulation and communal zones, to each individual room in the building.
Are you looking for the aesthetics of natural wood or stone floors with the advantages of strong & comfortable vinyl? Explore our Allura LVT collection.
- Authentic look
- In house design
- Variety of sizes
- Various traffic levels
- Acoustic performances; comfort and warmth
- Variety of installation methods: glued down, loose lay, click for easy installation
- Production in Europe
A natural winner! Our linoleum floor coverings with the Marmoleum brand are natural floors associated with sustainability, durability, high quality and innovative design. Linoleum flooring is made from natural raw materials and is the most sustainable flooring choice.
- Natural product
- Produced CO2 neutral
- Various eco labels
- Pure look
- Mimic the nature
- Combination with Furniture linoleum
- Various formats (rolls, planks, tiles, sheet)
Flotex is a unique textile floor covering that combines the hard wearing and durable characteristics of a resilient floor with the quality, warmth and comfort of a carpet. Flotex is a strong and hygienic floor, and its impervious backing makes it suitable for wet cleaning.
- Sound absorption; comfort and warmth
- Hygienic - Allergy free
- Excellent slip resistance
- In-house design team
- Digital printing and custom design
- Available in sheet, tile and plank format
- Possible combination with Allura Flex
- Quick and easy: loose lay
Carpet tiles are renowned for their aesthetic styling and outstanding performance in the most demanding heavy traffic environments.
- Sound absorption performance
- Slip resistant surface
- Modularity
- Quick and easy: loose lay installation
- Variety from simple to luxury and rich textures
- Possible combination with Allura Flex
Entrance flooring is fundamental for shops. A well designed entrance flooring system will prevent dirt and moisture from being tracked in and thereby prolongs the life of interior flooring finishes, reduces cleaning & maintenance costs and the potential for slip injuries. With both textile (Coral) and rigid (Nuway) Entrance Systems in our portfolio, we can offer an entrance solution for every situation.
- Stop up to 95% of the walked in dirt and moisture
- Maintain floors appearance
- Reduce maintenance costs
- Slip resistant surface
- Textile Coral: sheet, tiles, click, logo
- Rigid Nuway mats for upper range high intensity foot traffic
Vinyl floors are very popular because of their durability, low maintenance and versatility. Homogeneous vinyl is made of 1 single layer that offers vibrancy and depth of colour. It is incredibly durable and stain resistant which makes it a great flooring choice for heavy traffic areas.
- Durable
- Fresh colour palette
- Available in sheet format
- Production in Europe
The robust, hard-wearing properties of our Needlefelt floor coverings make it ideal for installations that meet high traffic such as in retail establishments. Needlefelt carpet often provides a cost-efficient alternative to conventional broadloom carpeting in heavily-used areas that require a practical & durable textile floor covering.
- Textile performance
- Price competitive
- Slip resistant surface
- Available in sheet format
- Production in Europe
Can't find what you are looking for despite our wide product range? No worries, we have more. Within our Bespoke Design flooring you can design your own unique floor with our digital print techniques in Flotex, Eternal project vinyl and Coral entrance flooring and the refined Aquajet cutting technique for Marmoleum flooring.
Identifying and understanding your strategy
- Recommending the optimum product solution
- Providing design schemes where required
- Detailed performance, environmental and warranty information
- Timetable of implementation for your programme
- An open and transparent pricing structure
Local teams working with local representatives
Throughout the duration of a project, your Forbo Key Account Manager serves as your single point of contact for any questions, from anywhere in the world.
We believe that this approach saves you time, eliminate hassle and uncertainty and ensures consistency and reliability, no matter how complex your project.
Our sales team works closely together and can work cross border. The same details apply for all markets so your colleagues on the other side of the world will get the same treatment as you will.
- Key Account Team
- Sales Team
- Customer Service
Our technical team works closely with our sales team and our customers to deliver technical support for projects, training and maintenance.
The same is relevant for all markets so your colleagues on the other side of the world will get the same treatment as you will.
- Technical support
- Project support
- Installation
- Cleaning
- Maintenance
Our in-house design team consists of more than 20 people with expertise of influential designers. We can help you design your floor.
Our team of designers is ready for you, get in contact and let us know your requirements.
Creating the ultimate shopping experience is what it is all about. Beside the changing behaviour towards online shopping, the current retailer needs to use all possible options to entice people to come into the store. Flooring is just one of them but a very important one! It may stand out or be as modest as possible to let your products do the talking.
The influence of daylight on retail performance was demonstrated by experts by an experiment that observed a 40% increase in sales after increasing the amount of daylighting through roof lights.
- Quantity of light
- Quality of light
- Daylight
- Glare
Floors can influence significantly the performance of the lighting in a store, so choosing the right floor is really important.
The interior layout of retail establishments can cause disorientation, overcrowding and stress, which will have a negative impact on retailer’s performance.
- Design of walkways, differentiation of different zones and signage affects the shopper’s ability to navigate or orient themselves within the store.
The use of different flooring types for walkways, payment areas, display areas, different product zones etc… within the store, can make navigation throughout the store much easier for the shopper.
The “look and feel” of retail environments influences both the ability to attract the customer and the ability to retain the customer within the retail environment.
Design strategies must balance the objective to attract customers with retaining customers.
Look and feel can be evaluated through two key design considerations:
- Aesthetics includes; colour, texture, shapes and artwork within the retail environment. Colour can produce autonomic biological reactions, emotional responses and capture attention.
- Ergonomy
The floor covering has a significant influence on colour perception within the shop.
Noise pollution is known to cause a wide array of physical and behavioural symptoms that can negatively impact the profits or retailers by driving users away and lowering the wellbeing of staff.
Metrics and design considerations commonly used to assess acoustic conditions include:
- Background noise
- Privacy and speech interference
Designers can create improved acoustic conditions for retail environments by using background noises to mask unwanted distraction and reduce noise levels to avoid stress.
Choosing the type of floor carefully will help creating the right level of acoustic you want to reach.
Biophilia is an innate and genetically determined affinity of human beings with the natural world.
It has been demonstrated that exposure to the natural world (through any of the five senses) has a positive effect on an individual’s wellbeing by reducing stress levels.
In studies of retail environments biophilic design was shown to have a positive impact on dwell time and price acceptance.
- Direct experience of natural spaces
- Views
- Interior design
- Place-based design
In the context of retail, numerous experiments carried out demonstrates that retail environments with lower air quality tend to have a higher client and staff dissatisfaction level, which will in turn lead to less time being spent in the retail environment and fewer repeat customers:
- Pollutant concentration
- CO2 concentration
- Odour
- Humidity
The type of floor you will install will influence the pollutant concentration.
When you are refurbishing your store you do not want to have to close during normal business hours. With Forbo products you can do the installation overnight and next day open your doors as normal. Talk to us to learn what preparation is needed to do this as smoothly as possible.
Shops renovation
- Possibility to install on top of existing floor
- Limited subfloor preparation
- Possibility to renovate overnight
- Loose lay system
- Click system
Technical people need to talk to technical people. They understand each other and know how to help best in certain situations. In each market we have dedicated technical teams on hand to assist with questions relating to:
- Evaluating subfloor conditions
- Choosing the efficient installation method
- Help to start a renovation shop
- Questions on installation and/or maintenance
Interested in our products, want to know more about installation, need to get hold of technical data sheets? Or maybe you want to contact one of our retail segment experts to discuss different possibilities?
Please visit one of our web pages or contact our customer service by clicking on one of the links below!