Carpetright

Carpetright plc
Public
Traded as LSE: CPR
Industry Retail
Founded 1988
Headquarters Purfleet, Essex
Number of locations
 470 (2015)
Key people
 Bob Ivell (Chairman)
Wilf Walsh (Chief Executive)
Products Carpets
Revenue £469.8 million (2015)[1]
£8.2 million (2015)[1]
£4.5 million (2015)[1]
Website www.carpetright.plc.uk
Carpetright, King Street, Hammersmith, London (2016)
Carpetright, Craigavon, Northern Ireland (2009)

Carpetright plc is one of the largest British retailers of floor coverings. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

History

The company was established by Lord Harris of Peckham in 1988, when he opened the first shop in Canning Town.[2] In June 1993, it was first listed on the London Stock Exchange. In January 1999, it bought selected shops of Carpetland and Allied Carpets.[2] In August 2002, it acquired its first operations in Continental Europe, and in August 2005, it acquired May's World of Carpets.[2]

In May 2008, Cascade Investment, LLC, Bill Gates's investment vehicle, acquired a 3% stake in the company.[3] In December 2008, the company acquired some shops, once associated with Sleepright UK.[4]

In June 2011, Carpetright announced significant shop closure plans[5] and in December 2011, it posted its first loss since 1993.[6]

On 21 March 2018, it was reported that Carpetright was struggling after issuing several profit warnings and that it was looking at possible shop closures. On 12 April 2018, it was announced that Carpetright would close 92 stores with a total loss of 300 jobs out of a total workforce of 2,700, as part of a restructuring measure. On 11 May 2018, it was announced that Carpetright has landed a £15 million loan as it struggles with profits.[7]

Operations

The company now has over 470 shops.[8] It has expanded into Belgium,[8] the Netherlands[8] and the Republic of Ireland.[8] Its products include a wide variety of beds, mattresses, carpets, laminate flooring, vinyl flooring and rugs.[9]

Marketing

In 2016, Carpetright announched a partnership with Lucy Alexander as their brand ambassador.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Annual Results 2015" (PDF).
  2. 1 2 3 Carpetright History Archived 18 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ Hawkes, Steve (29 May 2008). "Bill Gates piles into Carpetright with 3% stake". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Carpetright snaps up Sleepright". 8 December 2008.
  5. ↑ "Carpetright reports a 70% slide in profits and warns it will be closing down more shops". This is Money. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  6. ↑ "Carpetright reports first ever profits dip since floating in 1993". theguardian.com. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  7. ↑ Woods, Ben (11 May 2018). "Carpetright secures £15m emergency funding". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Retail Sites". Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  9. ↑ "Will Carpetright's shares fly again?". Walbrock Research. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
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