Retail Floors July 08

News
• Under pressure
• The natural choice
With everyone doing their bit for the environment, Floor domestic ﬂoors.
The so-called credit crunch crisis, together with the
Couture has been launched promoting a range of natural It has introduced a sample service where designers and
continuing decline in the housing market, has forced
fabrics. home decorators can order as many samples of natural
consumer conﬁdence to an all time low, according to
The online, natural, ﬂoorcovering shop, has items ﬁbre ﬂoor coverings as they like and ordering is easy, with
new ﬁgures out from the British Retail Consortium
made from woven bamboo, coir, jute, paper, seagrass, sisal, samples arriving within three to four working days.
(BRC).
sisool, or wool which are practical, comforting and can Each natural material has its own distinctive
Rising costs across the country, was another
even be softer than carpet. characteristics in terms of softness, wear-resistance, and
factor which was attributed to the lack of conﬁdence
An added bonus is that natural ﬁbres are kind to the overall look.
consumers have developed.
skin which is particularly good for children or others with Buyers have plenty of choice and can ﬁnd the perfect
A survey, carried out by leading market research
sensitive skin. ﬂoorcovering for any room.
company Nielsen, along with the BRC, questioned
Floor Couture oﬀers buyers more than 60 styles and To check out the full range or for more information,
Jennifer Dods with Frazer Hipkiﬀ
over 1,000 consumers about their feelings and worries
weaves that bring natural textures and bold patterns to log onto www.ﬂoorcouture.co.uk
towards a variety of emotive things including, job
prospects, personal ﬁnances, spending intentions and
other major concerns.
Mike Watkins, senior manager, retailer services at
• Online discovery
Nielsen, commented on the ﬁndings: ‘The Nielsen/
BRC UK Consumer Conﬁdence index now stands Amtico has launched its ﬁrst fully interactive, digital mag-
at 79. To put this into context, this time last year the azines, showcasing the latest trends, products and ideas.
index stood at 91, which was the lowest score we had Kerry Wilde, European marketing manager for Amtico
seen since we began polling this survey in 2003. International, explained: ‘We’re passionate about design,
‘The fact that the score has plummeted a further innovation and quality and we wanted to share that with
12 points is telling of how much consumers are being our customers. Our magazine allows us to do that, but with
stretched.’ all the immediacy and dynamism of the web.’
‘Our survey reveals that 55% of people ranked The Amtico e-magazine was designed and built by real.
inﬂation as their main concern during periods of london and features click-throughs and streaming videos.
economic downturn while 39% said high interest rates. Real.london’s managing director, Richard Proctor, com-
Unfortunately they are being hit with both at present. mented: ‘We’re delighted to be working with Amtico. We
This has caused signiﬁcant unease among consumers.’ realised instantly that they shared our vision for marry-
The fall in consumer conﬁdence has come as the ing traditional magazine content with the excitement and
result of various contributing factors including serious measurability of the web. It is an inspiring time for both
concerns surrounding jobs and careers, money and businesses.’
ﬁnances as well as personal spending power. The magazine gives readers the opportunity to take out
According to the results, 60% of people questioned a free subscription to have quarterly issues sent to their
said they thought job prospects were either not so good inbox.
or bad right now, compared with 50% in 2007. It is completely measurable in terms of dwell time, loca-
57% of people also think that their own personal tion and direction of click-throughs, and will be searchable
ﬁnances will be not so good or bad over the coming 12 through the addition of SEO-friendly landing pages.
months, compared with 46% just six months ago, and The ﬁrst issue includes features on Amtico’s new Back to
three quarters of people believe that now is not a good Black range, a video report from the trade show Euroshop
time to spend money on the things they want or need. in Dusseldorf, and a feature on Amtico’s design studio.
BRC director general Stephen Robertson added: Amtico / http://emagazine.amtico.com
‘With one in ﬁve people saying they have no spare cash,
the highest ever recorded by this survey, customers are
telling us they are cutting back on spending on all sorts
of non-essentials. • Careers in retail
‘Clothes, footwear, furniture and new technology
are the biggest casualties as consumers attempt to
West Cheshire College, has teamed up with leading fashion retailing and food retailing.
manage their money. It’s clear we are seeing the eﬀects
shopping village, Cheshire Oaks by oﬀering the BTEC Ruth Jones, area manager for 14-18 Co-ordination,
of customers’ concerns about the future and about their
First Diploma in Retail, to encourage careers in the retail said: ‘Retail is a fast growing sector and there are
own levels of debt.’
sector. opportunities for progression to management and
When asked about any major concerns and worries,
The launch of the new diploma comes hot on the heels supervisory positions within the industry.
the economy was cited by more people than any other
of the success of the Cheshire Oaks Retail Academy ‘Students can progress to an apprenticeship in retail or
(31%), followed by debt (26%).
(CORA) programme, which was developed from a to the BTEC National Diploma in business.
Other major concerns included work/life balance
partnership led by West Cheshire College, McArthur Our established links with retail outlets at Cheshire
(20%), and immigration (16%).
Glen and Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council. Oaks also make this an excellent opportunity for anyone
Check out the full report and its ﬁndings by logging
The BTEC First Diploma in Retail includes key thinking of undertaking a career in retail.’
on to www.brc.org.uk.
modules to help learners progress within the industry such For details about the diploma visit www.west-cheshire.
as retail selling, customer service, visual merchandising, ac.uk or call the college hotline on 01244 67060.
retail ﬂoors July 2008 09
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