Bring your imagination to life
A shoppers experience in any retail environment is about more than just the products you can buy. Creating the perfect environment in which customers feel relaxed and comfortable is key.
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.
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 in Europe.
Watch our retail magazine
Customers buy more in new shops
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 function of shops has changed due to customers doing their homework online
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. Important factors are:
• Quantity of light
• Quality of light
• Daylight
• Glare
Floors can significantly influence 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, etcetera, 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. Important factors are:
• Direct experience of natural spaces
• Views
• Interior design
• Place-based design
In the context of retail, numerous experiments carried out demonstrate 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. Important factors are:
• 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
Fact: 'Speed of installing a floor is crucial for retailers'
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
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
Products to use in Retail
We all know the old saying, 'Time is money', and with this in mind we've created Fast Flooring, a collection of genuinely loose lay floor coverings including entrance and interior flooring ranges in sheet, tile and plank format for maximum flexibility. By using the truly adhesive free products in this collection rather than their traditional 'stick down' counterparts, the total installation time can be reduced by over 50%.
Quick
Minimal disruption and downtime as a Fast Flooring installation can save over 50% of downtime if a new sub-floor is not needed.
Easy
None of the usual adhesive constraints such as drying times and lingering odours.
Economical
A Fast Flooring installation can reduce downtime by over 50% if a new sub-floor is not needed, thereby saving you significant money.
Discover our Fast Flooring collection
Can't find what you are looking for despite our wide product range? No worries, we have more. Within our Custom 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.
Discover the possibilities
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
Discover our Allura LVT collection
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)
Discover our Marmoleum collection
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
• Digital printing and custom design
• Available in sheet, tile and plank format
• Possible combination with Allura Flex
• Quick and easy: loose lay
Discover our Flotex collection
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
Discover our Tessera collection
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
Discover our Coral collection
Discover our Nuway collection
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
Discover our Sphera homogeneous vinyl collection
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
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
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.
• Forbo Flooring Systems is part of the Swiss Forbo Group
• Key figures Forbo Group 2019:
> Net sales 1282.2 CHF Mio
> Employees 5.600
• A worldwide presence:
> 25 production facilities and distribution companies
> 6 assembly centers
> 48 pure sales organizations in a total of 38 countries across the globe
• 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
• 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.
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.