Carpetright is the UK’s largest floor coverings retailer, established by Lord Harris of Peckham in 1988. Carpetright has been downsizing for the past decade and had just over 330 mainly out-of-town stores in the UK by mid-2019. It closed 80 through CVA from 2018, after failing to keep up with new market entrants Tapi. It also has a significant presence in Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland, with more than 130 overseas stores. Carpetright has been pushing a digital strategy of late, in the hopes of driving online visitors in store with a seamless and inspirational experience. Since 2016, the retailer has been promoting a new brand identity to appeal to a higher-spend customer while still maintaining its value heritage. It has also broadened its product ranges to include hard flooring, luxury vinyl tiles and premium-branded carpets. Carpetright also sells a selection of beds and mattresses – a range which it is focusing on the development of. In late 2019, investors approved Carpetright’s sale to Meditor.
Flooring retailer Carpetright has reportedly drafted in advisers to help explore cost-saving measures as demand for the business has slowed.
Retail Week sits down with Tapi founder Martin Harris to discuss how the business has grown over the past seven years and why smaller stores might be the future of flooring
Retail Week ranks the top-performing and most improved retailers for gender pay equality this year.
Wilf Walsh is to step down from the helm of Carpetright parent Nestware, Retail Week can reveal.
Fifteen major retailers and brands have joined forces with Be Inspired, Retail Week’s six-year-old diversity initiative to promote inclusivity across the industry in 2022 and beyond.
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