Still tough at Carpetright

27th Oct 2010 07:13

Floor coverings retailer Carpetright said group sales declined 5.2% in the 12 weeks ended 23 October 2010 and warned it expects tough market conditions to continue into 2011.The closure of its operations in Poland accounted for 0.5% of the total revenue decline. UK and Republic of Ireland sales declined 4.6%, with like-for-like sales down 7.3%. Chairman and chief executive Lord Harris of Peckham said, "The tough trading environment in the UK and Republic of Ireland continued into the second quarter of our financial year. The further reduction in mortgage approvals along with fragile consumer confidence has produced a difficult market. We expect these market conditions to continue into 2011."Mortgage lending slumped to its lowest level for September since the year 2000 last month as evidence of a slowdown in the housing market mounts.The group said amid these challenging market conditions, it has progressed the roll out of its bed offer, with the opening of 44 bedding departments within its existing UK estate and plans a further 50 by the end of April 2011."We expect the full year UK margin to increase by around 30-50 basis points through a combination of price and promotional management. The focus on effective cost management has continued," Carpetright explained.