Source
r/dubai•
drromancer

is Floorworld a legit company? Have a gut feeling they are not

I have been closing in on Floorworld to use them for LVT flooring for my home.

Thing is...I have been hearing some rumors that their "Gerbur" products which are supposedly made in Germany are actually products from India/China.

Started digging. I can't seem to find any evidence that such a Gerbur company or factory actually exists in Germany? The address given there seems to be one of those companies that's there for the sake of it.

I reverse image searched one of the images of the factory they put up in the 'Contact Us' section. It was not Gerbur's but actually that of Dekton which is a manufacturer of a flooring but they don't exist in Germany.

Anyone got any views on this?

Posted Nov 14, 2021, 8:15 AM UTC

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Judas456•

I just checked, I think you are totally right. There is probably a Gerbur GmbH company registered in Germany, but it is a shell company and pretty sure it is controlled by floorworld. Their do not say their products are made in Germnany but they just say that the brand is German, which help them to sell at higher price. Very common tactic in the UAE.

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drromancerOPMy head is smoother than my pickup lines•

No they actually state their product is made in Germany

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Judas456•

I did not go to their website, but the way they do it, is they mention on their website it is Made in Germany but when you actually go to the shop and check the packing and item, you should see that there is no Made in anywhere, or another made in. This is a UAE marketing technique but I doubt they mislabel products. They do not have to, the customer should already be convinced by the salespitch.

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leech-peachYour comment from dubai was removed•

Man, most companies here source their stuff from cheap places and sell it saying its Euro/German. Its probably sold in India that way.

I know optical stores that buy stuff from India at AED 10 per frame and sell it here for AED 120.

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drromancerOPMy head is smoother than my pickup lines•

Agreed. Danube had flooring as well which they said is an "Italian brand" but is manufactured in China. I have nothing against the product being made in China but atleast be forthcoming about it.

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vine1eavesHeard it thru the grapevine•

Agree..This kind of branding is very common in building materials business. Danube markets their plumbing brand "MILANO" as an Italian brand. They named it after the Italian city. They even registered an office in Italy. But the products are manufactured in China.

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[deleted]•

[removed]

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buddha_baba•

If they say the brand is German, it's clear the product isn't, just the brand is.

Anyways best to shop around now that you know it's not a German product, it's fine not to chase a German product as long as you pay the right price.

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adithebaddie•

If u want a good flooring theres a company called Lobo & Listone woodfloors. It's legit and gives a really good work.

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drromancerOPMy head is smoother than my pickup lines•

Lobo & Listone woodfloors

They are really good. I visited their showroom. Unfortunately they are more geared towards commercial construction projects and more often deal with real wood products. They do have LVTs but very little in stock. If I have to place an order, I will need at least 200 sqm for them to accept an order

1
ramraid62•

They are ok but I think expensive compared to other companies. I just received a quote from them and it was 100% more than another company for the same job.

1
gbel1234•

Can't tell you much about where their material comes from and all that other background stuff, but a couple of months ago I installed LVT all across my house with those guys. The materials seem solid. Work was very good without many issues, unlike the general workmanship in Dubai that it's shit. Overall I'm happy with what I got. I also have a friend that used them and he's also happy.

1
Ady_Buddy•

Will recommend going with LG LTVs, though the selection is limited but it’s used mostly in commercial establishments and is Preeti good quality wise

1
xuggs•

I got Floorworld to do my flooring sometime in April 2021. It costed me a fucking bomb but the quality is super nice. They have a 25 year or life for warranty. I dont know if the warranty claim process is smooth as I didn't have to claim anything so far. Quality-wise yes I have seen the products at Danube and other places (Dragon mart etc) but it doesn't compare, Gerbur is definitely better. I honestly can't tell if it's made in Germany or a German product but yes that's what we were told as well.

Here is the thing, make sure you get everything written on their Sales Order as Notes. They play with words and it sucks to be scammed. We also got the skirtings from Floor world and verbally he told us that they are waterproof and all that crap but they are not, they are just a freaking plywood that is oil painted to the closest color of the LVT you have selected. In fact, they came up with nonsense of some fire in their warehouse and it would take them much longer to sort out the skirtings for us. Eventually, they came to install it and guess what the color of the skirting was completely off. I immediately took a picture and sent it to their Operations head, who called me and apologized and promised to fix it. A week later or so, they came again and fixed it but each plan had a different grain, almost a matching color to the flooring but the grain/design on each plain is different and they said that's how they are manufactured bla bla bla and honestly it looks shit but we paid and we have to live with it. For skirtings, just go with anyone in Dragon mart.

For the record, DED is useless. They don't care about Consumers. Yes, they probably help solve some cases but not all.

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onlysaysputtycat•

This is how it works- not defending the slightly confusing marketing tactic, but just saying it like it is:

If a company says ‘Made in Germany’ and lists 100 products they offer- not all of the products are made in Germany- even if just one is made in Germany, they’re technically speaking the truth. To be noted: they aren’t saying that all of their products are German-made. They’re just throwing the ‘Made in Germany’ tag out there and letting you believe what you want to believe.

One step further- the products don’t have to be made by the company themselves. They could be produced by another company, undergo QC/ assembly at this company and get marketed under this name. Any major electronics firm is culpable of this. Again- to be noted: they’re not saying they make it. They’re saying it’s made in Germany. As long as it passes German/ UAE standards for applicable quality, they’re not doing anything wrong, technically.

To drill further down- Company A could be the brand name of the company. Company B could be the manufacturing arm. 99% of financial companies such as international banks/ insurance companies and investment firms work this way. Company A is a holding company which owns a billion trillion gazillion firms under their name, and sell all the products under this name because of maximum visibility.

So- while it may be misleading, they aren’t being malicious. They’re toeing the legal/moral line and letting the customer follow their noses.

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drromancerOPMy head is smoother than my pickup lines•

I agree with your train of thought. I am however not in agreement with the fact that they are toeing the legal/moral line. The company they claimed where the product comes from is a shell company registered to a 'Craig Curtis' who also happens to be the GM of Floorworld.

You cannot find any trace online of any factory that makes Gerbur products. It could be a decent product, but where ever the product is coming from, it's not made in Germany. That's a guarantee imo.

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onlysaysputtycat•

You cannot say for certain that it isn’t from Germany. I work in a field that involves tracking of shipments and movement of money on an almost daily basis, and snd i wouldn’t hazard a guess either way, despite my experience. Documentation proving origin exists, but it is highly unlikely that any company will give you access to those.

Not meaning to be rude, but your guess and mine don’t mean anything.

GM of Floorworld.

This is exactly what i described. For a variety of reasons(usually visibility to the public) goods may be manufactured/procured/QC vetted by one company in a group, but sold under another company due to easier marketability.

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Sadnecesscary•

For what it’s worth, I’m at Floorworld right now and getting the Gerbur extra wide LVT and I asked the salesman explicitly. He said it is made in Germany and has a lifetime warranty

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drromancerOPMy head is smoother than my pickup lines•

Ask him to show the location of the gerflor factory on the map and he won't be able to :)

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