As I grew up I would attend school dressed as smart as possible to make a good impression and even whilst doing part time waitressing jobs I would try my best to be clean and tidy. I believe if you look good, dress smart and wear a smile, people will notice and you’ll get somewhere in life. It may not be true but for me, it’s worked so far!

In the Super-Click office we deal with customers in the Southern hemisphere and don’t often see people face to face unless at exhibitions. We don’t see suppliers every day either, so is it necessary to wear ‘work’ clothes as opposed to more casual clothes? If we aren’t customer-facing should we dress smartly?

I tend to believe that wearing ‘work’ clothes makes you focus on the task in hand within an office, it gives a professional edge and that it shows respect towards your superiors and colleagues. Obviously it depends on which industry you are in. When I think of the Google, Apple and Facebook offices, I picture everybody in jeans and t-shirts, chilling out on bean bags with their iPads trying to think of the latest online trends and gadgets. So maybe it just comes down to ‘what is appropriate?’ or is it based on the culture of the company itself?

No matter what the answer however, I believe ZZ Top was right when saying ‘Every girl’s crazy ’bout a sharped dressed man’ and that the same can be said about a smart dressed woman!

Until next time…

Rachel

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The exhibition gave Super-Click International the opportunity to not only reveal its unique technology to new visitors, but to also to reconfirm the popularity of the product itself with potential distributors with whom the company have been in discussion since its launch at the Domotex Hannover exhibition in 2011.

Super-Click International’s unique click technology in both tile and the traditional LVT plank format is set to satisfy a market which is constantly pushing for more user-friendly products and the newest of innovations.

Stewart Procter, CEO at Super-Click International, said ‘The Shanghai exhibition demonstrated once again that there is a huge appetite for click LVT flooring around the world. It also demonstrated that the market is still very young, and that no-one can yet be sure in what direction it will go. There will be new innovations and we at Super-Click intend to play our part.’

New for 2012, Super-Click International’s exhibition stand hosted fish tanks encasing suspended Super-Click planks to demonstrate that the product is both waterproof and highly durable.

Following the success of exhibitions in Dubai, Hannover, Las Vegas and Shanghai over 2011 and 2012, Super-Click International have now entered the final stages of distribution agreement talks with various parties in areas including the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. It expects to release information about these deals and where Super-Click will be available to consumers around the world, within the next few weeks.

First thing’s first, obviously I understand every company is different.  Large and medium sized companies often have branches around countries and the world. However there are small companies which rely on the skills of just a few employees – for example Super-Click International. We have our own offices where we spend most of our working time whenever we are in the UK, however at times we work from home and thanks to phones, email and software such as Microsoft’s Sharepoint, it is easy for us to virtually be in the same room.

There are benefits and disadvantages of working from home of course.

From time to time I enjoy a lie in, which working from home allows you to do (don’t tell the Boss!). Being able to work in your own time can make you much more motivated and allows you to work around your own life – you can even stay in your PJs! This is helpful for people who have children and struggle to find babysitters during school holidays – however, as we all know children can be very distracting!

However if the little ones are ill, it makes it easier to get on with your work and look after your child. If you work at home though you have to be self-motivated to sit and try not to be distracted. One way of doing this is having a ‘home office’ which you can lock yourself away in. And remember not travelling to work reduces your company’s carbon footprint.

Working for an international company often means talking with people in different time zones at all times of day and night which can prove difficult if we work strictly 9-5 GMT. This is what we find at Super-Click International so we often work at home in order to answer emails/phone calls as and when they are necessary.

One of the benefits which I truly believe is that being allowed to work from home confirms your boss trusts you – an incredible accolade. However, to me, there is something about working in an office with other people. Low personal interaction can lower self-esteem and can be bad for overall team rapport.

Obviously there are many more benefits and disadvantages, but I believe the traditional office can be beneficial for companies in general, big or small. And who knows? Partly working from home could be the best way to find the elusive work/life balance.

Until next time…

Rachel

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China’s explosive growth, urbanization and unbridled entrepreneurism have created not only the most energized floor covering market in the world but clearly one of tremendous opportunity.  Whether one is buying or selling, China has already impacted the global floor covering market and will have an even greater impact in the future.  Domotex Asia offers an incredible opportunity to feel the vitality of the market, see the products that are offered and the latest innovations.  Outside the show, one can experience the people, the culture and even see the unique way floor covering is sold at retail in Shanghai.

Don’t be fooled by the belief that China is a poor country.  While there are hundreds of millions of very poor people, in a country of 1.3 billion people only a small percentage with money create a huge need.  China is already the third largest export market, after Canada and Mexico, for American made products.  According to Stuart Hirschhorn of Catalina Reports, floor covering exports from the USA to China increased 36.8% in the first eight months of 2011 alone.

China is the world’s second largest consumer of luxury goods!!  An amazing statistic for a “poor country”.  A country where more high quality French wine is sold than in France and more BMW’s and Mercedes are sold than anywhere else in the world.  KFC, already the country’s largest restaurant chain, continues to open one new restaurant every day.  In a country with thousands of years of tradition steeped in tea, Starbucks operates 500 stores with plans to add 1,000 more within the next three years.

China is a very complex market and very different from Europe or America so I don’t want to make it sound too easy.  Best Buy, the world’s largest electronics retail chain, closed all of their Best Buy branded stores in China because their business strategy did not work there.  Closer to the flooring industry, Ian Cheshire, CEO of Kingfisher plc, Europe’s largest home improvement chain with 900 stores worldwide, closed its 22 stores in China explaining that big-box DIY “is not the model for China.” Giant Atlanta-based Home Depot, too, has closed several Chinese stores with only seven still operating in mainland China.

China has created a market of unequal opportunity but what works elsewhere may not work in this mysterious country.  Companies interested in doing business in China must do their research before investing or they could learn a very expensive lesson like Best Buy and Kingfisher.  That brings me back to stressing the importance of my opening suggestion to attend Domotex Asia and begin the learning process.  If nothing else, I guarantee that it will open your eyes.

Jim Gould

President

Floor Covering Institute LLC

Visit the Super Click stand (W4 C01) at Domotex Asia to see our latest innovative products.

To learn more about the Chinese floor covering market, visit Mr. Gould’s website to download the free research paper China Briefing: The Growing Opportunity  or write him at jgould@floorcoveringinstitute.com

Super-Click International, which has gained unprecedented attention in the flooring industry following the launch of the Super-Click click LVT flooring planks, will unveil its new colours for the Super-Click plank product range.

The pioneering company will also introduce its new 18” by 18” tile, which features the unique Super-Click technology, to the Asian market. The innovative tile was first shown at the Domotex, Hannover exhibition in January this year where it received massive interest from flooring professionals around the world. The new technology is set to satisfy a market which is constantly pushing for more user-friendly products and the newest of innovations.

Stewart Procter, CEO at Super-Click International, said: ‘We are very much looking forward to the Domotex Asia/CHINAFloor exhibition and hope that we are able to continue to experience similar levels of success to those that we enjoyed at Domotex Hannover and Surfaces Las Vegas.’

Following on from the licensing agreement with Beaulieu International Group earlier this year, Super-Click are now in discussions with distributors from within their territories of South and Central America, the Middle East, Africa, India, Asia and Australasia.  Members of the Super-Click International team will be welcoming all visitors from these areas to the company’s exhibition stand to see the latest innovations of the click-LVT system.

Super-Click International will be exhibiting in stand W4 C01 at the Domotex Asia/CHINAFloor exhibition in Shanghai, China on 27-29 March 2012.

Before I started working at Super-Click International, I naively (in my blonde way) believed most people saw the world in the same way. However, having travelled the world exhibiting at industry trade shows, I realise there is a different culture in each city, town, state, country and continent. And when exhibiting in such different environments it is so important to take in to account the location’s culture when planning the stand design, dress code and even evening entertainment.

Last month, Super-Click exhibited at both the Domotex exhibition in Hannover, Germany (14-18 Jan) and Surfaces exhibition in Las Vegas, USA (24-26 Jan). Quite a whirlwind. Two exhibitions, two countries, two cultures.

Obviously there are variances in weather and language between Central Europe and Western USA, which contribute to the culture of these destinations, but there are other a lot of other differentials which ultimately affect the style of exhibition.

The Domotex, Hannover is held at the Deutsche Messe annually. The exhibition is hosted in nine of the total 27 halls available, with each hall equating to the size of an aircraft hanger!! Due to the size of the exhibition, the major players in the industry roll out huge exhibition stands which can span a quarter of the hall. The exhibition style focuses on corporate hospitality with larger stands boasting restaurants and bars, and putting on evening entertainment including live music. However, the area of the exhibition centre itself is very industrial therefore I suppose a lot of entertainment will be on site! It is also very cold in Germany in January so people are drawn to being inside. Overall, we very much enjoyed the Domotex exhibition as its sheer size creates a buzz throughout the halls.

By complete contrast, the Surfaces exhibition, Las Vegas was held in two smaller halls at the Mandalay Bay Convention Centre. It has a more traditional feel with smaller stands, with more focus on the product and a lot less drinks and entertainment available within the exhibition hall itself. I think it was a lot more intimate and although there was still a buzz in the air, it was more laid-back but with Las Vegas on your doorstep there doesn’t seem to be a need to entertain within the exhibition as people can enjoy the Vegas Strip during their downtime. Also in comparison to Hannover, the outside temperature was pleasant t-shirt weather. I felt people wanted to get their work done during the day and party at their own will at night.

I heard that the Surfaces show had changed in recent years following the recession, and rumours were circling that a lot of the bigger companies now opt for local trade road shows due to the size of America. Whatever the effect of the recession on the exhibition, Super-Click International very much enjoyed the show and I’m really happy to say that we have now entered in to discussions with various potential distributors from many countries within South and Central America.

Despite all the differences in culture throughout the world, one similarity between cultures that we have learned from exhibitions is that there is a general willingness to do business and some basic principles apply all around the world. If you take a genuine interest in a person, there is more likelihood of you building a good working relationship, albeit your product has to be of sufficient interest!

Until next time….

Rachel

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James C Gould, president of the Floor Covering Institute LLC, shares his views on the golden goose that was laminate and the rise of the LVT.

Every product has a life cycle but few flooring product categories have risen and peaked as quickly as laminate. What caused the meteoric rise of laminate and why is it losing share now?  Most importantly, what lessons are there to be learned?

In 1993, Pergo was introduced to the United States.  Before the end of the decade, sales soared from zero to almost one billion US dollars, capturing nearly five percent of the US flooring market. The reasons for this rapid rise are several. First, the market was ripe for something new and consumers were tired of floors that were difficult to maintain or that didn’t live up to performance promises. But behind the scenes something else was driving laminate sales.

In the early days of laminate, Pergo was king of the category. Retailers paid $2.49 per square foot while consumers had no problem paying between $3.99 and $4.99.  Retail gross margins for laminate ran 50% to 100% higher than for vinyl, wood or carpet.  Distributors also made higher than average margins.  Thrilled with these higher margins, Pergo’s channel partners drove customers to the category and those profit margins drove Pergo’s success.  Displays were placed in the highest traffic areas for maximum exposure.  Every owner and every salesperson knew that selling laminate flooring meant greater profits while providing consumers with a wonderful floor.  No customer left the store without hearing about this amazing new product.

Home centers and mass merchants entered the laminate market and manufacturers rushed to build new factories and increase supply. Eventually supply exceeded demand and the category was commoditized.  Margins were squeezed to levels below those of other floor coverings and eventually sales declined.

Are the performance features of laminate less important to consumers today than they were 20 years ago?  No. In fact today’s laminate has even more to offer than ever before. Laminate’s stall was partially caused by the decline in its profitability.  Retailers and distributors deemphasized laminate in favor of more profitable products that could also satisfy the consumers’ needs.

Today the most exciting product in the floor covering is glueless luxury vinyl tile (LVT).  Last year at Domotex Asia CHINAFLOOR in Shanghai, it seemed as though every other stand was extolling the virtues of their new glueless LVT.  A year later, horror stories are being told about products that did not perform as promised and shipments delayed because manufacturers found LVT more difficult than expected to manufacture without defects and claims.

As new suppliers rush into the LVT product category, I hope we’ve learned some lessons from our experience with laminate.  LVT is a wonderful product with unique features and a great selling story.  Lowering profit margins to the channel partners is a doomed strategy that will hasten the end of LVT’s product life cycle.  Let’s not commoditise LVT as we did laminate.  Let’s not kill the golden goose this time around.

James C Gould’s credentials:

• Recognised as “One of the Industry’s 20 Most Influential Men”. Mr. Gould has owned, operated and founded multiple national and international floor covering enterprises beginning with Misco Shawnee, a full-line Midwest flooring distributor once ranked 8th in the nation.
• He founded Distribution Services, Inc. to provide logistics and administrative
  services to international companies and used DSI to be the first to bring new products and companies to the U.S.
• Gould founded the ceramic line, Casa Italia, and used it to launch a network of ceramic
  distributors in the late 1990s
• In 2004 he became the first Chief Product Officer for CCA Global, while there he created CCA’s first direct import division creating the opportunity for member retailers to import directly through the CCA’s portal.
• He formed the Floor Covering Institute in late 2007.

Super-Click International wowed crowds at its first visit to the recent Surfaces exhibition in Las Vegas. The company showcased the most versatile click vinyl flooring system in the world to potential distributors in the company’s target markets within South and Central America, New Zealand, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

The company’s exhibition stand drew in crowds to view the unique click technology in 6” x 36” plank with a 0.3 wear-layer, as well as unveiling the brand new 18” x 18” tile which boasts the unique click technology. The innovative company also introduced the traditional plank with a 0.5 commercial wear-layer.

Although Beauflor, a division of Beaulieu International Group, hold the exclusive rights to manufacture and sell within the USA, Canada and Europe, Super-Click still received an excellent reception from visitors from these areas.

Stewart Procter, CEO of Super-Click International said ‘Whilst the exhibition was held in the USA, which is Beauflor’s exclusive territory, we were able to meet with a number of potential distributors from Central and South America, Australasia and the Middle and Far East.

Discussions are now taking place with some of these companies and we hope to bring them to a mutually beneficial conclusion within the next few weeks.

We were also delighted that although the USA and Canada is not our territory, the reaction from the visitors from these areas was overwhelmingly positive.’

Additional features on the exhibition stand included demonstrations from professional floor fitters who showed the versatility of the universal locking system with basketweave and herringbone designs. Furthermore the new fitting demonstration videos allowed visitors to see Super-Click fitted in real commercial and domestic environments.

Following the success of the Surfaces exhibition, Super-Click International has now entered discussions with potential distributors from the Southern hemisphere countries and expects to announce a number of distribution agreements shortly.

Super-Click International experienced great success at the Domotex, Hannover, in January this year at its second visit to the show. The company’s exhibition stand drew in crowds to view the launch of the unique click technology in an 18” x 18” tile format, as well as the traditional plank with a 0.5 commercial wear-layer. Both of the new products from the innovative company were received with great interest.

The company saw the return of visitors who viewed the product at previous exhibitions, as well as new visitors from their target markets within South and Central America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, India and Australasia. Super-Click International arranged meetings with distributors who were impressed by the unique product at the Domotex Middle East exhibition in September 2011. The company expects to sign distribution agreements with distributors within the coming weeks.

Stewart Procter, CEO at Super-Click International, said ‘It was great to put faces to the names of people that we have been negotiating with in the past few months, and to meet new potential distributors who showed an interest in the product at the Hannover show. The meetings we had were very positive and we expect to sign a number of distribution agreements within the next few weeks.’

Additional features on the exhibition stand included demonstrations from professional floor fitters who showed the versatility of the universal locking system with basketweave and herringbone designs. Furthermore the new fitting demonstration videos allowed visitors to see Super-Click fitted in real commercial and domestic environments.

Following the success of the Domotex exhibition, Super-Click International has now entered discussions with potential distributors from the Southern hemisphere countries and expect to announce a number of distribution agreements shortly.