‘Receiving the Award for Best Oversees Exhibition (Flooring) from Interiors Monthly readers is the icing on the cake, after a successful third edition of Flanders Flooring Days’, says Peter Vanbrackel, exhibition organiser XPO Group manager. ’Our organisation would like to thank the readers of this leading magazine for nominating our unique and innovative concept, combining showroom visits with an international Hub in Kortrijk.’
Flanders Flooring Days is one of a kind. Its first edition was organised during the pandemic by several industry leaders. Flanders is globally renowned for its flooring industry, and manufacturers are located mere kilometres from each other, making it easy to visit several in a day. That is what the exhibition’s founders set out to do: in 2022 they joined forces to organise a flooring exhibition in their own facilities. Visitors could see and feel the products for themselves.
Fast-forward to the third edition: the event has grown significantly and attracted a host of international visitors as well. In 2024, European manufacturers were also welcomed and were invited to exhibit in The Hub in Kortrijk. ‘New to this edition was a free shuttle service between showrooms and The Hub, and the possibility to schedule appointments at the showrooms. This way visitors could see several manufacturers in East and West Flanders and in The Hub in a short span of time’, says Isabelle Fruy, Kortrijk Expo content manager.
In the flooring industry, you need to see, feel and hear a product to appreciate it. In a world that is increasingly digital, meeting face to face is what makes the difference in business. Flanders Flooring Days is the perfect event to get to know the faces behind the flooring.
Hosted in hospitable Flanders, the organisers stress the Burgundian character of the event. A cultural excursion or dinner with business partners, old and new? Opportunities abound. To top it off, there is Flanders Flooring Night, a gala event to network and celebrate a successful edition.
The success of this third edition is evident from its numbers, which have grown from 14 to 52 exhibitors, Flemish and international. It welcomed 3,474 visitors from 78 countries. Flanders Flooring Days has grown into a successful platform for the high-quality European soft and hard flooring industry and will continue in 2025, from 2-5 June, with additional exhibitors in The Hub.