Beaulieu International Group Incorporates BenQ LU960ST2 Simulation Projectors to Build an Interactive Showroom

Founded in 1959 as a family business, Beaulieu International Group (B.I.G.) is a global leader in cushion vinyl, hard flooring solutions, and other upholstery activities. The company has expanded significantly over the past decade with an open mind on their creative strategies, autonomous growth, innovation, and sustainability.

B.I.G. has their headquarters and experience centre in Wielsbeke, Belgium, where it all began for them 65 years ago, proving that endeavour, forward-thinking, and perseverance can make dreams come true. The team at B.I.G. strives to bring quality living and working to every generation and shaping sustainable living for and together with their customers.

To stay relevant and competitive in today’s digital market with tech-savvy audience, B.I.G. had to come up with a smart way to incorporate technology and add an experiential component to their customer engagement strategies. They decided to go from a conventional showroom that merely exhibited product samples to an experience centre where buyers could actually visualise, test, and interact with products before spending their money – especially since the solutions were designed for long-term use and would always be in sight after installation.

When B.I.G. realised that their idea needed expert conceptual design, they reached out to Ocular, who would “take a frank look at the formula that would suit [them] best”. Ocular spent days on investigating B.I.G.’s needs and expectations through detailed conversations with all their divisions. Having successful experiences with BenQ in their previous installations, they discovered that our projectors were the right appliances to use in the project. They recommended the LU960ST2 simulation projectors for their superior technical specifications to make B.I.G.’s dream a tangible reality.

To realise the initial idea, 7 LU960ST2 simulation projectors were installed in the two rooms of the showroom space. Since the showroom was well-lit, the 4,500 ANSI lumens brightness, together with the WUXGA (1920x1200) resolution and DLP technology guaranteed clear, vibrant, crisp, and accurate visuals. The 0.5 throw ratio also made them ideal for creating large, sharp images from only 2 metres away. Last but not least, they were a durable and sustainable choice with 20,000-hour laser life and minimal maintenance needs, even with heavy usage.

Ocular wanted to turn one of the rooms in the showroom into a 180° immersive space to simulate sports fields and promote B.I.G.’s fine-textured artificial grass flooring. They combined light, audio, and visual elements in addition to the sports turf to design and create the ‘Sportbox’ concept. To create a fully immersive effect in the room, they recommended BenQ projectors for their vivid, consistent projections through ultra-short throw ratio lenses.

The artificial grass and the magnetic entertainment content shown on the curved screen could combine visual and physical experience, creating the feeling as if the buyers were standing on a football field or tennis court. They could test out sports turf and the sustainable landscaping grass beneath their feet while watching inspirational content.

In the other room, Ocular wanted to demonstrate flooring solutions using the element of interactivity. To create an interactive space where buyers could choose various walls and flooring options, Ocular recommended installing 4 BenQ LU960ST2 projectors. With the LU960ST2’s edge blending feature, a smooth transition of images across multiple projectors was ensured, which was key to creating a flawless immersive experience.

Using a tablet, buyers could select digitally printed flooring designs, adjust ambient light levels, and instantly see results projected onto the walls and floor. They could immerse themselves in different virtual scenarios and envision the result for their own home.