Member Article

Rapid growth for flooring company

A fast growing North East online flooring retailer is investing over £1 million in the opening of nine new ‘bricks and mortar’ stores across the UK in the first half of 2018.

Connection Retail has already opened two stores in successive weeks – in Newport and Swindon – with a third to follow in Edinburgh this Saturday (10th Feb).

Further stores in Keighley, Birmingham, Croydon, Crewe, York and Leeds are also scheduled to open before the end of May.

This will mean that in the space of a just over a year, the Shildon-based company will have increased its number of physical stores by more than 130%. The first opened in Gateshead in February 2017, with five more following throughout the rest of last year.

This represents an investment of well over £1 million and the creation of dozens of new jobs.

And the rapid growth is set to see the company’s annual turnover rise from £24 million to £35 million in 2019.

The new stores opening in 2018 will all sell products from the company’s three brands, Flooring Superstore, Direct Wood Flooring and Grass Direct.

Managing Director Dan Foskett said: “This year represents a significant expansion of our retail flooring business as we open new stores across England, Wales and Scotland.

“This bricks and mortar expansion strategy complements the significant online presence we have built up since starting trading in 2012.

“We are growing at a fantastic rate, whilst at the same time being able to maintain online pricing in our high street stores.

“And, just as importantly, it means we are investing in towns and cities across the UK, creating dozens of new job opportunities for local people.”

The new stores will predominantly focus on Flooring Superstore and Direct Wood Flooring with Grass Direct being a concession. Joining all three brands mean they are unique in selling not only quality carpets but also providing a huge range of other flooring, such as laminate and luxury vinyl tiles as well as a handpicked selection of artificial grass from the UK’s largest range. The latter is designed to meet the growing demand from householders for artificial, rather than real grass.

Dan added: “By uniting three high quality brands we are providing people with a one-stop-shop for all their flooring needs, reflecting the fact that householders are now likely to have multiple flooring choices inside and outside their home.”

“It’s an exciting time for the business as we shift from being purely e-commerce to building our physical presence throughout 2018 and beyond and becoming a leading player in the retail flooring industry.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Neil Shaefer .