29 Oct 2009 10:00
29 October 2009
United Carpets Group plc
('United Carpets' or 'the Group')
AGM Statement
The following statement was made at the Annual General Meeting of United Carpets held today at 10.00am.
'During the 26 weeks to 30 September 2009, the Group performed well given the prevailing market conditions. The first quarter was more challenging but since the beginning of July sales have improved steadily, producing a positive like for like result, up by 2.5% for the period.
During a tough trading environment, we have sought to counter consumer caution by promoting the excellent value for money which we offer and invested more time in staff training, with particular focus on developing customer service skills and deepening understanding of the extensive product range we offer. The results of those ongoing efforts, together with some early indications of improving confidence in the economy and a modest impact from the closure of many of the Allied Carpets stores, provide reasonable grounds for cautious optimism for the remainder of the year.
The Group has made good progress in increasing the number of franchised stores, with the number of corporate stores reducing from 23 to 17 over the period. We have in place an excellent pipeline of potential franchisees many of whom have already made a significant financial commitment to join the Group. During the period, store numbers remained unchanged at 80 and, while the immediate focus continues to be the successful conversion of corporate stores to franchised stores, new store openings will continue but at a lower rate to the previous year.
Building on the momentum begun in the previous year, bed sales have continued to increase, up by 11.2% on a like for like basis during the period. Sales of beds still only represent approximately 10% of total sales and we believe there is significant scope for this to increase. Over the last twelve months, the Group has introduced new ranges, simplified the sales and delivery process and improved customer service and the benefit of these actions is now becoming apparent.
With the majority of stores operating under the Group's franchise model, the business continues to benefit from the entrepreneurial drive and motivation of the individual store owners. This, together with our focus on the value sector of the market, means the Group remains well positioned to combat the current market environment. Trading since 30 September 2009, has continued positively. The Group has robust cash balances and looks forward to further developing the business in the second half of the financial year.
We will report our interim results for the 6 months ended 30 September 2009 in December 2009.'
Enquiries:
United Carpets 01709 732 666
Paul Eyre, Chief Executive
Ian Bowness, Finance Director
Cardew Group 020 7930 0777
Tim Robertson
Jamie Milton
Seymour Pierce
Jonathan Wright/Nicola Marrin 020 7107 8000