// Tapi Carpets full-year losses widen to £15.3m
// However, full-year revenue rise to £79 million
Tapi Carpets has revealed widening losses in its full year report, which the flooring retailer attributed to its accelerated store expansion scheme.
For the year ending December 29 last year, the retailer – founded in 2015 and owned by Martin Harris, son of Carpetright founder Lord Harris – saw full-year losses come in at £15.3 million.
This is worse than the £10.9 million loss recorded the previous year.
However, Tapi saw full-year revenue rise from £56.9 million to £79 million and said that its like-for-likes enjoyed double-digit increase – but an exact figure was not provided.
READ MORE: Big Interview: Martin Harris, Founder & CEO, Tapi Carpets
However, administrative expenses grew from £44 million to £59.3 million year-on-year, and the cost of sales increased from £23.8 million to £35 million.
Tapi blamed its deepening losses on the “period of rapid rollout” from 2018 – when it snapped up a number of former Carpetright stores that shut as a result of its CVA.
It was also hit by the 2018 summer heatwave which put customers off buying carpets.
Tapi also raised £9.9 million in fresh cash from investors.
The retailer currently trades from 114 shops and 52 showrooms, some of which are in Homebase and Next.
Looking ahead, Tapi said it would focus on its “hub and spoke model with main stores supported by concession space and mobile showrooms”.
It added profitability could be achieved through the possibility of an “accelerated rollout of concession stores during 2020”, along with the “further development of alternative channels”.
Tapi’s directors were confident of achieving profits over the next two years.
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