// UK Flooring Direct says coronavirus pandemic has allowed it to create more jobs
// The pandemic also accelerated its growth plans
// The online flooring retailer hopes to grow from 125 to 200 staff by the end of 2021
UK Flooring Direct has increased staff by 20 per cent during lockdown and is set to recruit three more senior directors during the third quarter of the year.
The online flooring retailer has also brought forward its growth plans after seeing sales increase over the past three months, adding more than 20 new staff to the team.
Chief executive Jason Ashby recruited seven directors since the start of 2019 and a further three will be added in the next three months, taking the retailer’s headcount to a record 125.
READ MORE: 5 minutes with Jason Ashby, CEO, UK Flooring Direct
Additionally, further staff were added before and during lockdown across a range of departments and UK Flooring Direct said there were “more roles to fill” in the coming weeks, with plans to top 200 staff by the end of 2021.
Ashby said UK Flooring Direct’s growth strategy accelerated on the back of its coronavirus response coupled with the existing plans it had in place.
“Just before the country went into lockdown, we were recruiting, we were investing and we were enhancing the service offered to our customers nationwide,” he said.
“Rather than set us back, the growth in online retail has meant we’ve had to accelerate.
“We’ve responded to the market too and have seen a growth in easy-fit flooring suitable for DIY customers and, as restrictions have been lifted, there has been an increase in the products that would normally require a professional fitter.
“That has been about investing in IT and systems that has seen the team work from home, as well as having a robust supply chain in place to ensure our stock levels were meeting unprecedented demand.”
He added: “We’re building a really impressive senior team of directors, with incredible experience and expertise to help push the next phase of growth and we hope to have that team of ten completely in place by the end of this quarter.
“The past few months have been a real team effort from everyone in the business and, even prior to lockdown, we had just achieved our record levels of staff retention which, again, is key to growth.
“We are looking forward to executing the next phases of our growth plans over the coming months and years with a great team in place.”
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