"Where do you actually get your tiles from?" is one of the more useful questions a homeowner can ask a contractor, because the answer explains a lot about the quote you're getting. Some contractors buy from whichever wholesaler has stock that week. Some quietly mark up a retail shop's price. As a BCA registered contractor, here is exactly how LN Flooring sources tile, why we chose the two suppliers we did, and what that does and doesn't change about what you pay.
Buying at a shop vs sourcing through LN
Tap a path to see how the pricing and accountability differ
Buying at a retail tile shop
You pay the listed retail price, then find an installer separately
Sourcing through LN Flooring
One contractor-account price, one accountable team
Where LN Flooring actually sources its tiles
We source through two established Singapore tile suppliers: Hafary and Soon Bee Huat (trading as SBH). Hafary has operated in Singapore since 1980 and describes itself as a leading building material supplier, carrying tiles, stone, countertops and vinyl, including its own Wood Culture and Melmer Stoneworks lines. Soon Bee Huat states on its own site that it has "over 30 years of excellence" specialising in tiles, stones and mosaics. Between the two, LN's tile catalogue includes premium Italian and Spanish porcelain from makers such as Italgraniti, Marazzi and Settecento, alongside everyday marble-look, wood-look, stone and cement finishes.
Both are wholesale-and-trade suppliers rather than a single small workshop, which matters for two practical reasons: consistent stock across a job (so a repair or extension years later can still be colour-matched where possible), and pricing that reflects volume, contractor-account terms, rather than a one-off retail sale.
Why the sourcing relationship changes your quote
A retail tile shop prices for a walk-in customer buying a single project's worth of material once. A contractor account, the kind LN holds with Hafary and Soon Bee Huat, is priced for an ongoing trade relationship, and that difference in rate is exactly what gets passed to you rather than absorbed as extra margin. We are not the cheapest possible way to acquire raw tile if you are willing to shop, compare and haggle at multiple showrooms yourself. We are, on the numbers we see, generally cheaper than paying full retail and then hiring a separate installer, because the same trip that sources the tile also books the crew that lays it.
What sourcing does not change: no tile warranty
However you buy tile in Singapore, whether at a retail shop or through a contractor account, the tile itself carries no manufacturer product warranty. LN is the installer, not the tile manufacturer, and standard porcelain and ceramic tiles from Hafary and Soon Bee Huat are supplied without a multi-year product warranty; material defects are assessed on delivery, before installation. Our own 25-year material warranty applies to our LVT vinyl range only, not to tile of any kind. We would rather be upfront about that than let a client assume tile carries the same cover as our vinyl.
Why two suppliers, not one
We deliberately hold accounts with both Hafary and Soon Bee Huat rather than committing to a single source. The two catalogues overlap in places but each has genuine strengths: Hafary's range leans into premium imported porcelain from European makers, while Soon Bee Huat's decades in tiles, stones and mosaics give it deep everyday stock in the workhorse sizes and finishes most HDB and condo jobs actually use. Splitting sourcing across both means a client is not limited to whatever one supplier happens to be pushing that quarter, and it gives us a fallback on lead times if one range runs short on a popular SKU.
Where buying it yourself might still make sense
We would rather be straight about the limits of this too. If you have found a specific decorative tile at an overseas showroom, a bespoke mosaic from a boutique studio, or a one-off feature piece that neither Hafary nor Soon Bee Huat stocks, sourcing it yourself and having us install it is a reasonable path, and we do take on installation-only jobs on request. For the vast majority of floor and wall tiling though, where the deciding factors are size, finish, durability and an honest price, going through one accountable supply-and-install team is the simpler and usually cheaper route.
| Factor | Retail tile shop | Sourced through LN |
|---|---|---|
| Price basis | Retail, walk-in rate | Contractor account rate, passed direct |
| Installer | Sourced separately by you | Same team that supplies the tile |
| Samples | In-store only | Brought to your free site visit |
| Accountability if issues arise | Split between shop and installer | One point of contact |
| Product warranty | None, standard for the industry | None, standard for the industry |
LN Flooring is a supplier-and-installer, not a shop. We source through Hafary and Soon Bee Huat, bring real samples to your free site visit, and quote tile supply and installation as one project price rather than a marked-up material line plus a separate labour quote. See the full catalogue on our tiles page.
Read next
For the tile types we carry, see our homogeneous vs porcelain tiles guide, and for sizing your tile, our floor tiles Singapore guide. If you are weighing tile against vinyl for your renovation, our vinyl vs tiles comparison lays out the trade-offs. Browse the full range on our tiles page, and when you are ready, send us your unit details for a quote per room.