Floors that enhance the retail experience

A more engaging retail floor

So, does flooring have a new role to play in store design? There is no doubt that the floor can have an impact on how customers interact with and navigate through the store, but this is already established, and designers have long been using different flooring materials – or at least visual difference – to support the layout of the store without detracting from merchandise.

However, with the store’s role changing from a primary point of purchase, where its sole duty is to generate maximum revenue, to an environment that has a more flexible part to play in the omnichannel approach of the retailer; the design of the floor is less constrained. Designers can use the floor to clearly define the brand’s position and ambition. 

Immersive retail design

Throughout Sports Direct’s flagship Watford store, Luxury Vinyl Tiles and Heterogeneous Vinyl floors from IVC have been used. Employing a mix of high-performance Moduleo 55, Moduleo 55 Expressive and Concept 70 compact sheet vinyl; The One Off, the creative agency behind the immersive retail design, has used our flooring to help elevate the brand over more than 3,000m2 of space.

The main floors on both levels see our Jura Stone effect LVT in an XL size used alongside a bespoke colour in Cement Stone, again in an XL tile format. Used as ground cover, the two designs separate Sports Direct and USC into clear areas that help to guide shoppers through the space. The One Off has also used waterjet cut inlays in a custom ‘unicorn red’ colour of Concept 70 to highlight areas within departments.

Read what The One Off have to say

Feature flooring

The ability of our vinyl floors to reflect a broad range of materials is key in their suitability for retail environments. Giving designers the freedom to create a unique look in a surface that delivers consistent performance and the same maintenance requirements – wood next to stone or concrete, or combinations of bright colours – the floor can be a creative element in the design and layout of the store. 

Our Studio Moods flooring is ideal for highlighting key merchandising points, concessions or cash desks, the floor can be used alongside our Luxury Vinyl Tiles, bringing a floor design that’s interesting and which works hard for the store. A 2021 Red Dot Winner, Studio Moods is available in a range of effects across more than 100 pattern designs. Alternatively, choose from nine shapes and build them in to a unique pattern, combining them with any of our 160 designs from our Moduleo 55 and Moduleo 55 Impressive collections.

See Studio Moods here

Flooring for large retail areas

In large stores, designers can use the freedom of wood, stone, concrete, herringbone, terrazzo and primary colours within our Heterogeneous Vinyl collection to apply the same design principles across large areas. These heavy-duty floors underline that coping with the durability and value demands of large retail stores need not compromise the design. They can also be installed with our Invisiweld bond that removes unsightly welded seams for a better quality of finish and removing a potential failure hotspot. The floors have been used in flagship stores for retailers including Sports Direct.

Explore Heterogeneous Vinyl