The global flooring market is expected to witness substantial growth over the forecast period on account of the innovations, construction solutions and new trends in floor design. Flooring market is extremely competitive coupled with the large number of companies offering various flooring solutions across commercial, industrial and commercial. New technological developments and styling trends are inundated by floor covering industry. Consumers have changed their mindset of using traditional flooring material to more cost effective and eco-friendly flooring materials such as cork, bamboo, glass, Polyester (P.E.T.) Berder, linoleum, rubber and reclaimed hardwood. Furthermore, rising demand in the construction industry and changing consumer lifestyles are expected to drive the flooring market. Availability of improved construction solutions that require low maintenance and are durable is expected to impact the market considerably. However, consumer awareness and willingness to use the product are major determinants for the success of flooring solutions. Perceived complexity regarding installation of floor solutions and viewed as expensive and luxurious might pose a challenge for the industry. Increasing environmental concerns among consumers and use of toxic chemicals in textile industry such as while manufacturing carpets, which lead to various health issues are expected to hinder the market growth.
Growing real estate market coupled with new property reselling trend has stimulated the home improvement and remodeling projects escalating the demand for new design and innovation in the flooring market. Growing number of residential real estate project and commercial real estate projects is expected to drive the market further. Furthermore, owing to the increase in these projects, particularly residential, has led the suppliers to focus and increase their reliance on the residential center and online retail channels. Developed countries such as the U.S. imports ceramic flooring tiles largely from Mexico, Italy and China. This is expected to grow over the forecast period owing to the recovering U.S. housing market and developing the concept of family.
The commercial flooring market is extremely competitive and price sensitive which may pose a threat to market growth. Lack of consumer awareness and environmental concerns are expected to be the major challenges in front of the global flooring market. Resilient flooring and carpets are manufactured from fossil fuels. The prices of fossil fuels are rising owing to the threat of depletion. Growing raw materials cost with rising transportation cost is anticipated to decrease the manufacturers’ margins. However, low cost of manufacturing owing to the improved technology is expected to increase the efficiency of the use of fossil fuels and counter the effect of rising fossil fuel prices.
The flooring market is categorized into five types including resilient flooring, soft covering, wood & laminate flooring, seamless flooring and non-resilient flooring. Resilient flooring includes Vinyl Composite Tiles (VCT), Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT), linoleum, vinyl sheets, fiberglass sheets cork & rubber flooring solutions. Aluminum oxide presence gives the vinyl flooring strong characteristics. A matte-finished, scratch resistant element with properties that protect it from discoloration, mold and mildew has a wide array of commercial applications Owing to the low price, the vinyl flooring can be employed at economic prices. Wood flooring consists of engineered wood, deck wood and solid wood. Engineered wood is genuine wood and is considerably less vulnerable to humidity and temperatures. Deck wood comes under the elite segment of wood owing to its sophisticated features such as abrasion resistance, reliability and dimensional accuracy.
Soft covering flooring comprises of area rugs, carpets and broadlooms. Area rugs as the name suggest cover only a part or certain area of the room, however, carpet flooring cover the whole room and mainly used in lobbies and stairs. Broadlooms are carpets woven on a wide loom and are used effectively in commercial and domestic flooring.
Asia Pacific market is expected to grow exponentially owing to the developing infrastructure and growing real estate industry. The market is expected to grow further owing to the population growth and urbanization which in turn is expected to boost the residential real estate market of the region. The European market is expected to grow owing to the increasing demand which can be attributed to the easy installation techniques and availability of innovative constructing solutions. There are various regulations for flooring market in the region of North America, such as in the U.S. LEED program is developed by Green Building Council which mandates the manufacturers to comply with the LEED certification when it comes to volatile organic compounds (VOC) emission.
The competitive scenario of flooring market is highly sensitive to pricing and the major contributors to the market are China National Building Material Co. Ltd., Hanwha, James Halstead, LG Hausys, Flowcrete (RPM International), Milliken Floor Covering, Tajima, Nora, Novalis, NOX Corporation, Tkflor, and Toli flooring.
