A MAJOR furniture giant has snapped up 19 former Carpetright Stores after closures.
Bensons for Beds has swooped in to rescue 19 former Carpetright stores from the jaws of collapse.
The bed specialist is not only expanding its empire but also pledging to offer new job opportunities for ex-Carpetright staff, giving them a potential new lease on life.
The move comes after Carpetright, once a carpet retail titan, tumbled into administration last month.
The company was left reeling from weak demand and a devastating cyber attack that hit hard in April.
With a workforce of 1,852 and 273 stores across the UK, Carpetright’s downfall was swift and severe.
After Carpetright’s administration, rival company Tapi wasted no time snapping up the brand, intellectual property, 54 stores, and two warehouses.
It’s understood that Tapi is was the only competitor to have offered a deal that involves rescuing both jobs and stores.
However, the deal could not save the majority of the business, including its head office in Purfleet, Essex.
Jeevan Karir, managing director of Tapi Carpets & Floors Limited, said: “Our goal, initially, was to try to save all of Carpetright.
“However, as we looked into the details of the situation, we quickly established that saving the entire business was unviable.
“The business has been materially loss-making for a number of years, and it has significant debt held by the owner.
“We then turned ourselves to trying to save a number of stores whilst being mindful of how the competition authorities would look at any deal.”
Kevin Barrett, chief executive of Carpetright’s owners Nestware Holdings, added: “We have tried everything to turn Carpetright around and I’m truly sorry that we were unable to save more jobs.”
The closure of over 200 stores has resulted in the immediate redundancy of 1,018 workers.
But here’s where Bensons for Beds is turning the tide.
The bed giant is set to transform these former Carpetright locations into new Bensons for Beds outlets, with the first stores expected to open within the next few months.
The plan is part of a grand vision to boost Bensons’ store count from 162 to over 200 in the coming years.
Nick Collard, CEO of Bensons for Beds, shared his enthusiasm about the expansion, he said: “Increasing the number of Bensons stores remains a key growth priority.
“And we are excited about this opportunity to take on 19 store units. Today’s announcement supports our overall plan to expand our current 162-strong store estate to over 200 over the next few years.”
Despite navigating through “challenging” conditions in the big-ticket furniture market, Bensons for Beds is optimistic.
Collard added: “Since our return to profitability in 2023, we’ve continued to see significant market share gains across all our core categories, reflecting the hard work from all our colleagues across the organisation.
“This work, alongside the announcement today on the new stores, leaves us well-placed when the wider market starts to recover.
“It allows us to realise the longer-term ambitions for Bensons and its colleagues.”
So, while Carpetright’s decline may have left a trail of heartache, Bensons for Beds is turning the page with a hopeful chapter, ready to breathe new life into these once beleaguered store sites.
Carpetright isn’t the only store suffering a major collapse.
The retail industry has been hit hard in recent years, particularly since the coronavirus pandemic when many businesses were forced to close their doors to the public.
High energy and wage costs, as well as business rates, have seen many retailers having to shutter stores.
Some retail giants have been lost since the start of 2023.
Wilko and Paperchase have both collapsed into administration, seeing hundreds of shops close and thousands of staff lose their jobs.
Wilko falling into administration left shoppers gutted as they visited their local stores for the final time to say goodbye to staff.
Other retailers have announced vast swatches of closures too, including Boots, which is shuttering 300 stores.
More recently, iconic high-street chain Ted Baker has fallen into administration while popular beauty brand Morphe has shuttered seven branches.
But it’s not all doom and gloom for the retail industry.
Discount supermarket is set on opening hundreds more stores in the coming years, while the bargain giant B&M has opened 27 branches this year.
Even Lidl is eyeing up potential sites where it is keen to open shops while Paperchase has since returned inside Tesco branches.
DIY chain Screwfix is also set to open dozens of branches as its owner Kingfisher looks to expand its nationwide presence.
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
