Floorstars is a relatively new business, however its Managing Director, Ken Robb, has been in the industry a long time – just over 50 years as of this August! As you might expect, Ken has a wealth of knowledge about the industry, its strengths and where it could be made more efficient. Logistics is one such area, he explains: “If you think of the way parcels move around the UK, you can go into a local supermarket and there are delivery cabinets for Evri or Amazon, but it’s not so easy if you’re delivering a wooden floor or a carpet.”
To address this challenge, Ken developed both Floorgear Trade Centres (formerly the Independent Flooring Group). Floorgears Trade Centres is made up of 16 distributors which act as local hubs for the group across the country, enabling online retailers to sell products from anywhere in the UK and still get those products to customers quickly and cost-effectively.
Floorstars is a sister company which goes one step further to facilitate the installation of products after they’re sold. It comprises a network of over 200 installers which also covers the entirety of the UK, operating in tandem with Floorgears Trade Centres’ to fulfil online trade orders anywhere “from Portsmouth to Peterhead,” Ken explains. “Flooring installation is far more skilled than people realise, but it’s not recognised. There’s no organisational structure to it, so what we’ve created is a way of matching supply and demand.”
Between the two companies, trade customers have access to a sophisticated logistics network covering the sale of products, delivery and installation, from anywhere in the UK. As Ken says: “It’s a big step forward in infrastructure for the flooring industry.”
www.floorstars.co.uk
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