Topps Tiles is to close 23 underperforming stores this year as part of a wider cost-cutting drive aimed at delivering sustainable profit growth.
The retailer said it has begun rolling out a series of “self-help measures” across the business to improve efficiencies at both head office and store level, as it contends with a softer home improvement and DIY market alongside rising inflationary pressures.
Topps Tiles said the programme is intended to offset government and macro-driven cost inflation, with savings expected to be weighted towards the second half of the financial year.
The group said the closure programme would reduce overall Topps Tiles revenue, but improve profitability through a combination of lower costs and sales transference from the affected locations.
Chief executive Alex Jensen said: “Topps continues to outperform a softer market. In light of subdued consumer sentiment and geopolitical uncertainty as well as the cumulative impact of cost inflation, the management team is implementing a targeted programme of self-help measures weighted towards the second half.
“These actions are designed to support year-on-year profit growth and provide a stronger financial platform for 2027 and beyond.”
In a trading update, Topps Tiles reported group revenue of £142.7m, down 0.1 per cent year on year. It said the decline was driven by volume loss linked to the lengthy Competition and Markets Authority process surrounding CTD.
Excluding CTD, group revenue rose 2.1 per cent, although the retailer said growth moderated slightly in the second quarter. Topps Tiles delivered like-for-like revenue growth of 0.1 per cent during the period.
The business added that its online brands continued to perform strongly, with Pro Tiler revenue rising more than 21 per cent year on year.
The latest closures come as Topps Tiles continues to reshape the business following its acquisition of rival CTD. The retailer had already been required by the competition regulator to close four CTD stores as part of the deal.
Topps Tiles is now set to retain 22 CTD stores, down significantly from the chain’s original 86 sites before it collapsed into administration in 2024.
Despite the store closure programme, Topps said it continued to outperform the wider market, which it noted had declined by 2.5 per cent over the period according to Barclays research.
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