Floorstock, one of the best-known names in the industry for accessories and finishes for wood flooring is looking ahead to an exciting future, as it comes under the ownership of Ireland’s Whiteriver Group.
Founded in 2008 in Barwell, Leicestershire, Floorstock has already established a reputation to be proud of within the trade. Known as a thoroughly honest trading partner with the industry’s best technical ability, the company can offer a massive portfolio of hardwood flooring, accessories and finishes for wooden flooring, as well as a comprehensive B2B website. The company has come a long way since it started out in a small 180m2 unit selling primary wood finishes 17 years ago.
Anybody who deals with Floorstock will understand that their secret to success has been in the way they do business – it’s all about the relationships they establish and build up with customers over many years. This approach has enabled the company to expand rapidly, and it is now aiming to be one of the UK’s leading suppliers of wood floors and floor sanding equipment to the trade. In 2015 it took over the well-renowned former ‘Windy Corner’ motorcycle premises and then in 2018 moved to a larger new unit in Hinckley, featuring a trade counter and flooring showroom.
However, with a determination to hold more stock and give even better customer service, the company believes that collaboration with an industry partner is the best way to achieve this.
As a result, Whiteriver Group, Ireland’s leading distributor of hardwood flooring and related products, recently acquired a majority shareholding in Floorstock. This enables Whiteriver Group to greatly expand and diversify its operations in the UK, while also giving Floorstock a route to take its business on to the next stage in its growth.
“We believe there is still a great opportunity in both the residential and commercial wood flooring markets, due to their continued organic growth and also because of the competitive edge that we have established since we have been in business,” explains Wayne Haslam, Floorstock’s Sales Director.
The new relationship with Whiteriver Group is already paying dividends, as Floorstock has acquired a purpose-built 60,000ft2 unit in Hinckley, which will enable it to consolidate all its operations on to one site, while also providing plenty of opportunity for growth.
Focusing exclusively on its core trade customers, the company will now be able to increase its stockholding significantly, with increased ranges of solid and engineered flooring. It will continue to operate its successful trade counter from its geographically well-positioned Midlands site, while offering next working day delivery on most items and also developing online sales to its trade customers.
As the company positions itself as the UK’s largest supplier of Junckers flooring and woodcare products in the UK, and also the UK home of Whiteriver flooring, Floorstock is looking to develop long-lasting relationships with designers, key hardwood flooring retailers, while also cementing its position as the ‘go to’ supplier for trade flooring professionals on wooden flooring accessories and floor sanding equipment.
From 2025, the company will offer two catalogues – one for accessories and finishes and a second one for flooring products. The company hopes to grow both its retail and its commercial sales – where work with sports venues, hospitality, nightclubs, bars and the education sector have been particularly significant.
The development of sales in these channels has also meant that attention to the sustainability of its product ranges has been an important focus in recent years, and this is an area in which it will redouble its efforts in the coming months. Many of its products are already FSC-certified and the wooden flooring products are subject to EUTR.
To be able to meet customers’ individual needs, the company also offers a bespoke service for creating wooden flooring products which are developed and refined on an individual basis. This is something which the company will be able to expand further in the much larger space that it has in its new building.
“I’m delighted that our business is now entering almost certainly the most exciting phase in its growth,” says Wayne Haslam. “We are a specialist team, dedicated to giving the best possible service to our trade customers. We have a combined wealth of experience in flooring installation, floor sanding and manufacturing, and we are perfectly suited to give the very best advice and support when needed. There is no limit to what we can achieve in partnership with Whiteriver Group – watch this space!”
