Tapi was launched in 2015 by Martin Harris to “blow a breath of fresh air” into the world of carpet and flooring retailing. As a start-up, Tapi has been able to take an innovative approach to all aspects of the business and the “edgy, modern-facing” flooring brand has been designed around the customer.
Rapid expansion of its relatively upmarket format has come at a cost though. With well over 100 standalone stores established from a standing start in four years, standalone development has been reined in from 2019 and, from 2020, the focus is on “accelerated rollout of concessions” in partnership with Homebase and “further development of alternative channels” to take the retailer closer to breaking even.
Tapi has a stylish, inspirational website, but this is used to drive customers to the stores and there are no plans to make it transactional. Harris says customers want to see and feel flooring before they buy it, so he would rather invest in the in-store experience.
Tapi Carpets has secured £16m in new investment and set out its ambitions to become profitable within 18 months.
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Tapi has reported widening full-year losses, as its accelerated store rollout programme begins to slow down.
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