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The Sun
03-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Major update on Carpetright closures as dates for stores opening under new name confirmed
Adele Cooke, Senior Consumer Reporter Published: Invalid Date, FOUR former Carpetright stores will reopen as branches of Tapi in days after the chain unveiled 21 new shops so far this spring. Carpetright entered into administration on July 22, 2024, after 'challenging trading conditions' put pressure on the homeware retailer. The brand was then acquired by Tapi, who purchased two of its warehouses and 54 of its retail units. Tapi was founded in 2014 by Martin Harris, the son of Carpetright founder Lord Harris of Peckham. The move aimed to save 308 jobs and preserve the Carpetright brand, with hopes it would flourish under new ownership. So far 21 new shops have opened this spring in the following locations: Bristol Cannock Carmarthen Chesterfield Cramlington East Grinstead East Sheen Epsom Hereford Ipswich Lancaster Mansfield Newbury Newmarket North Shields Sevenoaks Southampton Teddington Trowbridge Wimbledon Woking Tapi has now announced that four new stores will open in May. Former Carpetright stores in Basildon, Coventry, Crawley and Leeds Birstall will all open as Tapi shops this month. The stores will stock a selection of carpet, laminate, luxury vinyl, vinyl and engineered wood. Once these additional stores reopen, the total number of Carpetright locations that have reopened as Tapi will rise to 25. Charlie Harris, director of buying at Tapi Carpets and Floors said: 'Everyone at Tapi is really excited about our new store openings over the coming weeks. Why are retailers closing shops? EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre's decline. The Sun's business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors. In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping. Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed. The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing. Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns. Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead. In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko to name a few. What's increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online. They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. 'Each of these stores has been carefully chosen to bring us closer to our mission of delivering great value flooring to everyone in Britain and we're quietly confident that they will be a real success for us.' It is not yet clear if and when the remaining 31 Tapi stores will open. Which Carpetright stores were bought by Tapi? According to administrators PwC the following Carpetright stores were purchased by Tapi: Basildon Birmingham Erdington Bishopbriggs Bristol Longwell Green Camborne Camden Carmarthen Cheadle Chesterfield Chichester Chippenham Clapham Common Coventry Airport Retail Park Cramlington Croydon Dumbarton Dumfries East Sheen Edinburgh Hermiston Gait Epsom Farnborough Friern Barnet Haywards Heath Hemel Hempstead Hereford High Wycombe Loudwater Holloway Hove Ipswich Anglia Park Lancaster Leeds Kirkstall Maidstone Mansfield New Malden Newbury Newmarket North Shields Norwich Sprowston Peterborough Plymouth Marsh Mills Southampton Hedge End Stockton Swindon Bridgemead Teddington Trowbridge Truro Washington Armstrong West Wickham Weston-Super-Mare Weymouth Whetstone Wimbledon Woking Yeovil Chessington Warehouse Croydon Warehouse Which other stores have returned to the high street? Several Homebase stores have reopened as branches of The Range as part of a rescue deal. The DIY chain entered into administration in November but was partially rescued by billionaire Chris Dawson, owner of CDS Superstores, the parent company of The Range and Wilko. The intervention aimed to preserve up to 70 stores, safeguard 1,600 jobs and retain the Homebase brand. Huge chain Carpetright survives So far 45 new format superstores have opened across the UK and Republic of Ireland since the beginning of the year. These are The Range stores with Homebase departments, such as Garden Centres by Homebase or Kitchens by Homebase. Six sites will open this month in Stamford, Market Harborough, Cookstown, Tiverton, Santry, Dublin and Clitheroe. Stores in Stamford and Market Harborough reopened yesterday. Meanwhile, shops in Cookstown, Tiverton and Santry, Dublin will open on May 9. The Clitheroe store will reopen on May 16. Once all of these stores have reopened, the total number of former Homebase locations to have been acquired by The Range will rise to 49. Meanwhile, Topshop has teased a return to the High Street and confirmed its new website will launch later this year. Asos rescued the company four years ago and has now signed a deal to sell the clothing in a number of its partner stores. The website will exclusively sell the brand's clothing and is expected to launch in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, Wilko has returned to the high street after falling into collapse. The brand, website and intellectual property were purchased by the owners of The Range and since then six Wilkos have reopened across the UK.
Scottish Sun
03-05-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Major update on Carpetright closures as dates for stores opening under new name confirmed
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FOUR former Carpetright stores will reopen as branches of Tapi in days after the chain unveiled 21 new shops so far this spring. Carpetright entered into administration on July 22, 2024, after 'challenging trading conditions' put pressure on the homeware retailer. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Four former Carpetright stores are set to reopen as Tapi shops this month Credit: Athena The brand was then acquired by Tapi, who purchased two of its warehouses and 54 of its retail units. Tapi was founded in 2014 by Martin Harris, the son of Carpetright founder Lord Harris of Peckham. The move aimed to save 308 jobs and preserve the Carpetright brand, with hopes it would flourish under new ownership. So far 21 new shops have opened this spring in the following locations: Bristol Cannock Carmarthen Chesterfield Cramlington East Grinstead East Sheen Epsom Hereford Ipswich Lancaster Mansfield Newbury Newmarket North Shields Sevenoaks Southampton Teddington Trowbridge Wimbledon Woking Tapi has now announced that four new stores will open in May. Former Carpetright stores in Basildon, Coventry, Crawley and Leeds Birstall will all open as Tapi shops this month. The stores will stock a selection of carpet, laminate, luxury vinyl, vinyl and engineered wood. Once these additional stores reopen, the total number of Carpetright locations that have reopened as Tapi will rise to 25. Charlie Harris, director of buying at Tapi Carpets and Floors said: 'Everyone at Tapi is really excited about our new store openings over the coming weeks. Why are retailers closing shops? EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre's decline. The Sun's business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors. In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping. Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed. The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing. Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns. Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead. In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko to name a few. What's increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online. They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. 'Each of these stores has been carefully chosen to bring us closer to our mission of delivering great value flooring to everyone in Britain and we're quietly confident that they will be a real success for us.' It is not yet clear if and when the remaining 31 Tapi stores will open. Which Carpetright stores were bought by Tapi? According to administrators PwC the following Carpetright stores were purchased by Tapi: Basildon Birmingham Erdington Bishopbriggs Bristol Longwell Green Camborne Camden Carmarthen Cheadle Chesterfield Chichester Chippenham Clapham Common Coventry Airport Retail Park Cramlington Croydon Dumbarton Dumfries East Sheen Edinburgh Hermiston Gait Epsom Farnborough Friern Barnet Haywards Heath Hemel Hempstead Hereford High Wycombe Loudwater Holloway Hove Ipswich Anglia Park Lancaster Leeds Kirkstall Maidstone Mansfield New Malden Newbury Newmarket North Shields Norwich Sprowston Peterborough Plymouth Marsh Mills Southampton Hedge End Stockton Swindon Bridgemead Teddington Trowbridge Truro Washington Armstrong West Wickham Weston-Super-Mare Weymouth Whetstone Wimbledon Woking Yeovil Chessington Warehouse Croydon Warehouse Which other stores have returned to the high street? Several Homebase stores have reopened as branches of The Range as part of a rescue deal. The DIY chain entered into administration in November but was partially rescued by billionaire Chris Dawson, owner of CDS Superstores, the parent company of The Range and Wilko. The intervention aimed to preserve up to 70 stores, safeguard 1,600 jobs and retain the Homebase brand. Huge chain Carpetright survives So far 45 new format superstores have opened across the UK and Republic of Ireland since the beginning of the year. These are The Range stores with Homebase departments, such as Garden Centres by Homebase or Kitchens by Homebase. Six sites will open this month in Stamford, Market Harborough, Cookstown, Tiverton, Santry, Dublin and Clitheroe. Stores in Stamford and Market Harborough reopened yesterday. Meanwhile, shops in Cookstown, Tiverton and Santry, Dublin will open on May 9. The Clitheroe store will reopen on May 16. Once all of these stores have reopened, the total number of former Homebase locations to have been acquired by The Range will rise to 49. Meanwhile, Topshop has teased a return to the High Street and confirmed its new website will launch later this year. Asos rescued the company four years ago and has now signed a deal to sell the clothing in a number of its partner stores. The website will exclusively sell the brand's clothing and is expected to launch in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, Wilko has returned to the high street after falling into collapse. The brand, website and intellectual property were purchased by the owners of The Range and since then six Wilkos have reopened across the UK. Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@ Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories
Russia Today
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russia dismisses Ukrainian claims it attacked Indian warehouse in Kiev
The Russian embassy in India has dismissed Ukrainian allegations of deliberately targeting an Indian pharmaceutical company's warehouse in Kiev, suggesting that an errant Ukrainian air-defense missile was likely to blame for the destruction of the facility. The warehouse, belonging to Kusum Healthcare, was destroyed last Saturday during a Russian aerial strike on Ukrainian military industrial and infrastructure sites. Kiev was quick to blame the incident on Moscow. The Ukrainian mission in India claimed the warehouse contained 'medicines meant for children and the elderly' and that it had been deliberately targeted by the Russian military. The message was further amplified by the British ambassador to Ukraine, Martin Harris, who described the destruction of the warehouse as a part of a Russian 'campaign of terror against Ukrainian civilians.' At the time, neither New Delhi nor Moscow responded to the allegations. The Russian embassy elaborated on the matter on Thursday, stating the facility was not among the targets of the strike. 'The Russian Armed Forces did not attack or plan to attack on April 12, 2025, Kusum Healthcare's pharmacy warehouse in the eastern part of Kiev,' it said in a statement. ❗️In response to the accusations spread by the Embassy of Ukraine in India the Russian Embassy in New Delhi informs that the Russian Armed Forces did not attack or plan to attack on April 12, 2025, Kusum Healthcare's pharmacy warehouse in the eastern part of Kiev. 'On that day, Russian tactical aviation, strike unmanned aerial vehicles and missile forces hit an aviation plant of the Ukrainian military industrial complex, the infrastructure of a military airfield and armored vehicle repair and UAV assembly workshops at a completely different location,' according to the embassy. The warehouse was 'most likely' destroyed by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile that fell on the installation and set it ablaze, the embassy suggested. 'Similar cases have occurred previously whereby Ukrainian air defense interceptors failing to hit their targets fell in urban areas due to ineptly operated electronic warfare systems,' the mission said. The Russian military only strikes legitimate targets and has 'never targeted civilian facilities,' the embassy stressed. It has also become 'customary' for Ukrainian forces to hide their 'air defense systems, rocket launchers, artillery pieces and other military equipment' in densely populated urban areas to use civilians as human shields, the mission noted.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UK announces $31 million social recovery aid package for Ukraine
The UK is allocating 25 million pounds ($31 million) to launch a social recovery initiative in Ukraine called the SPIRIT program, the British government announced on Feb. 8. Announced during Foreign Secretary David Lammy's visit to Kyiv, the program is a collaboration between the UK, Ukraine's government, UNICEF, and the World Bank. Through the funding, the support will 'help Ukraine to meet the varied needs of the population, and accelerate Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic pathway,' the statement read. The SPIRIT initiative will concentrate on three key priorities: expanding access to quality social services, with at least 10,000 families in ten regions benefiting; establishing an Office of Social Recovery under Ukraine's Ministry of Social Policy to coordinate reforms and international partnerships; and launching cross-sectoral initiatives in health, economy, and social services to support vulnerable groups. The program will also provide small grants and training for 100 civil society and local community representatives to expand service delivery and create a sustainable social support system. With a focus on women, families with children, people with disabilities, the elderly, and veterans, SPIRIT aims to strengthen Ukraine's institutional capacity to manage the social and economic challenges caused by the war. 'Investing in Ukraine's social systems is an investment in Ukraine's people - and we know that Ukraine's people are its greatest resource,' Martin Harris, UK Ambassador to Ukraine, said of the program. Read also: Ukraine expecting important decisions at Ramstein meeting, Foreign Ministry says We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
