31 Oct 2008 10:00
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.
'As anticipated in our preliminary results announcement in July, trading conditions are challenging and are likely to remain so for some time. However, United Carpets through its franchise model and targeted network of 76 stores continues to deliver a satisfactory performance.
Flooring and beds performed strongly at the beginning of the financial year, coming under more pressure as the expectation of an economic slowdown increased during the summer. Whilst in the last 6 weeks, in the face of unrelenting bad news from the general economy, like for like sales were 6.4% down, cumulative like for like sales for the 30 weeks to 23 October 2008 remain up by 3.0%.
The Group's strategy continues to be focused on providing quality products at affordable prices through a network of branded stores across Northern and Central England. Positioned at the more resilient, value end of the market, with average invoice values for flooring below £200, our stores have benefited from the introduction of new flooring and bed ranges and an increased focus on customer service. The continuation of co-ordinated marketing campaigns with greater emphasis on encouraging customers to improve their existing homes during this period of relative inactivity in the housing market together with the increasing scale of the business have contributed to the growing awareness of the United Carpets brand.
The Group now operates 76 stores, up from 65 at the beginning of the financial year, with a further 5 new stores already scheduled to open in this financial year. Whilst selective expansion will be a key driver in the longer-term growth of the business, this will only be pursued where there are clear opportunities to establish a profitable store. At the same time we will continue to seek high quality franchisees to take on new or existing corporate stores.
Whilst recognising that few retail businesses are immune to a general economic slowdown, we believe United Carpets is better placed than many to operate in the current environment. The business benefits from its franchise model which ensures the majority of stores are run by highly motivated self-employed franchisees targeting the value end of the market. This together with our principles of steady, controlled growth supported by positive average cash balances means that the Group continues to deliver a stable performance.
We will report our interim results for the 6 months ended 30 September 2008 in December 2008.'
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 020 7107 8000
Jonathan Wright/Nicola Marrin