Tapi posts sales and profits boost as Carpetright buyout settles

The flooring and carpets retailer saw turnover soar 33% to £227m for the year ended 28 December, with operating profit almost doubling to £15.9m from £8.1m in 2023. 

Tapi said the performance was driven by organic growth, aided by a combination of new store openings and ”investment into all aspects of the customer experience”. 

Last summer, Tapi acquired the brand, IP and 54 stores from rival Carpetright, the integration of which Tapi said had ”gone to plan”, with the converted stores for the second half of the year included in the results.  

The retailer also opened three new stores during 2024 in Dalston, Clacton and Old Kent Road, alongside one site relocation. Seven stores opened in 2023 “continued to grow strongly” as they became established in their local markets, according to Tapi. However, several Homebase concessions were closed following the retailer’s collapse into administration.

Tapi delivered its second consecutive year of profitability, reporting an operating profit of £15.9m and a 7% operating profit margin. The year-on-year uplift is mainly driven by the revenue growth and the benefits of further scale that this infers, coupled with management’s continued efforts to maintain tight cost control across the business.

Tapi reports that it has maintained momentum into 2025, reporting like-for-like sales growth for the first six months despite pressures on big-ticket consumer spending. The retailer has also opened concessions in 19 John Lewis department stores under a new partnership agreement, offsetting the closure of 14 Homebase concessions.

However, Tapi warned that it faced headwinds from the 2024 Budget, with changes to employers’ National Insurance, minimum wage rates and employment rights expected to increase annual costs by approximately £2.3m from April this year. 

Tapi chief executive Jeevan Karir said: “We achieved strong organic growth during 2024 in a challenging market. Continued investment into new stores, ongoing improvements to our flooring ranges, combined with a deep focus on our end-to-end customer experience and great value, is enabling Tapi to outperform the wider market. 

”Looking ahead, I’m proud of what the team has achieved so far in 2025, with 42 Carpetright to Tapi conversions now completed along with 19 concessions with our new partner, John Lewis, giving us nationwide coverage across mainland UK. We’ve also launched branded ranges from Quick-Step and Karndean, a Tapi underlay made with Nike Grind and a takeaway laminate collection in over 100 stores. I’m confident we’ll deliver another year of significant profitable growth despite £2.3m of higher annual employment costs resulting from the Budget.”