1st Nov 2018 10:42
LONDON (Alliance News) - Carpetright PLC said Thursday its trading in the first half was "heavily impacted" by restructuring, as Andrew Page announced he will retire from his non-executive director role at the end of the year.
For the 26 week period ended October 27, the carpet retailer closed 67 underperforming stores, with a further 6 stores expected to close prior to the end of December.
Carpetright said the impact to first half trading was anticipated.
"This is a transitional year for Carpetright as we work through our restructuring plan," said Chief Executive Wilf Walsh.
Like-for-like performance has remained negative, but the company believes there was an improvement in the trend as restructuring began to take effect.
Walsh continued: "I am pleased to report that this activity is firmly on track and has started to yield benefits as we create a right-sized and well-located portfolio of stores on sustainable rents. We also continue to modernise our existing estate as well as investing in our digital capability."
Carpetright remains confident of achieving GBP19 million of annualised benefits.
The carpet retailer said its trading performance in the Rest of Europe - which includes the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland - has been slightly ahead of the same period last year.
Carpetright will announce its interim results on December 11.
Shares in Carpetright were down 1.3% Thursday at 18.65 pence each.
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