One of Britain’s biggest carpet retailers is laying off more than 25% of its head office staff as it faces a prolonged trading downturn.
Sky News understands that Carpetright, which is privately owned, notified staff on Tuesday morning that around 70 jobs would be lost as part of a cost-cutting process.
The redundancies will affect Carpetright’s base in Purfleet, Essex, but will not affect the number of stores or the number of staff in its stores, according to internal sources.
Carpetright sells from more than 285 stores and concessions across the UK, with a further 120 outlets in Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The company said reducing functions in areas such as IT and storage would allow it to reduce its cost base by around £22m.
Carpetright, which was advised by Teneo on its cost-saving options, has reported substantial losses in each of the last two years.
Founded by Lord Harris of Peckham, the chain has been hit by weaker consumer spending as well as competition from chains such as Tapi – which was run by Lord Harris’s son before his departure.
Kevin Barrett, chief executive of Nestware Holdings, Carpetright’s parent company, said in a statement released to Sky News: “While we have worked tirelessly to address our current challenges, we understand the impact this restructuring will have on valued members of our team.
“Our top priority continues to be supporting those affected by this process.
“As with many businesses, we face ongoing challenges in today’s difficult economic climate.”
He added: “We carefully examined our performance against operating costs, which led us to make difficult decisions to ensure the future success of our brand.”
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