Rainham, England, August 17--Britain's biggest carpet retailer Carpetright yesterday blamed weak consumer spending and disruption caused by the London bombings for a sharp fall in sales over recent weeks, according to the Guardian.
Revenues were down 7.5% in the first 15 weeks since end-April, but the company said it expects business to recover in the autumn.
Unadjusted sales at the company's 376 stores and 27 concessions in the UK and Ireland were down 7.3% compared with the previous year, with like-for-like sales down 7.5%. A spokesman said sales were also hit by the heatwave in late June. "When it's hot, people don't tend to think about a new carpet," he said.
High street sales have been badly hit by a fall in consumer spending, with most of the country's retailers reporting a sharp downturn. Last week the British Retail Consortium said sales last month were down 1.9%, the worst July for a decade.
Carpetright's results come during a period of expansion for the company, which has opened a concession in Debenhams on London's Oxford Street and several more in department stores in the south-west and north of England.
Floor coverings distributor Headlam Group announced an 8.7% rise in profits to £18.2m in the six months to June 30. The company, which supplies carpets, rugs and vinyl flooring to independent retailers, saw like-for-like revenues increase by just under 3% and said it was confident of achieving its full-year goals.
