Carpetright stays bullish on plans

BRITISH-owned carpet and floor covering retail group Carpetright has said it is not changing its growth plans for the Irish market, even though its first quarter figures, published yesterday, showed a 14.8% year-on-year drop in sales for its combined British and Irish stores.

The company — which was the subject of a failed management buyout bid led by chairman and chief executive, Philip Harris and more recently became an investment vehicle for technology mogul, Bill Gates — currently has 26 stores across the Republic. According to a spokesperson, the plan remains to increase that to 30 stores.

Group sales for the 13 weeks to August 2, decreased by 9.2% compared to the same period last year. Like-for-like store sales were down by 15.4%. There were five store openings and five closures in Britain over the period, but no movement here.