Home About Carpetright About Carpetright Company Overview Our History Our Vision Our Businesses Our Awards Board of Directors FAQ's Investors Investors Corporate Governance Financial Overview Advisers Results & Presentations Annual Reports and AGM's Financial Calendar Investor FAQ RNS Announcements Share Price Information Investor Contacts Media Latest News Media FAQ's Media contacts CR CR Providing excellent service Developing committed people Sourcing great products Creating a safe place to work & shop Respect for the environment Careers Careers Learning & Development Our People Rewards & Benefits Why Join Carpetright? Opportunities Store Support Office Vacancies Store Vacancies RETAIL SITES UK Carpetright UK Storey Carpets EUROPE Carpetright Ireland Carpetright Belgium Carpetright Holland You are here: Home » About Carpetright » Our History About Carpetright Company Overview Our History Our Vision Our Businesses Our Awards Board of Directors FAQ's Our History 1988 1990 1993 1998 2000-06 Building a truly national brand 2002 Expansion into Europe and warehouse investment 2003 Professional Service 2007 Relocation to ‘state of the art’ premises (with video of HO&amp;Warehouse) 2008 Sleepright 2009 Carpetright Online 2012 Carpetright Online Carpetright was founded by Lord Harris in November 1988 with the first store in Canning Town, London operating from a central warehouse in Barking, Essex. During 1990 the Company moved its head office and warehouse to Rainham, Essex and set up two small semi-automatic cutting tables, which were able to provide 1,000 cuts a week. By the end of that year Carpetright had 71 stores trading from 690,000 square feet, giving a turnover of £37 million and a profit of £400,000. In 1993 Carpetright floated on the London Stock Exchange and by the end of April 1996 had expanded rapidly with 246 stores, over two million square feet of trading space, a turnover of £185 million and a profit of £25 million. In November 1998, Carpetright celebrated its 10th birthday with a very successful birthday trading celebration. This milestone highlighted the huge change in size which had been achieved in Carpetright’s first 10 years. It now had 308 stores, over three million square feet of trading space, a turnover of £277 million and a profit of £23.5 million. In January 1999 selected Carpetland and Allied Carpets stores were purchased and rebranded as Carpetright and 30 new Harris Carpets stores were opened. In June 2002 Carpetright opened a 63,000 sq foot (5,853 sq metre) warehouse in Thurrock, which provided a new five metre cutting facility, increasing cutting capacity by a third. In October 2002 Carpetright purchased “Interiors for Europe” providing a solid base for developing business in the Benelux regions. Holland and Belgium were chosen as the key markets to expand as they are culturally similar and geographically close to the UK. In 2003 the Company launched its Fitters’ Academy programme, in association with the Flooring Industry Training Association, to assess and train third party fitters used to provide a fitting service to our customers. To date Carpetright has assessed over 1,700 fitters ensuring it continues to lead the industry in customer service. In December 2007, after 6 months of comprehensive planning, Carpetright relocated its Central Support Office & Warehousing into brand new premises in Purfleet, Essex. With an area of over 500,000 sq feet it enabled the complete consolidation of all the cutting and distribution facilities into one location, extending the output capacity for future growth in the business and providing staff with state of the art facilities. The bed retailer Sleepright was acquired by the Carpetright Group in December 2008 and we now sell beds in approximately 155 locations within the existing Carpetright stores and online. Carpetright Online is launched! In Sept 2009 we embraced online selling and developed an award winning fully transactional website which allows consumers to complete the whole transaction online, including ordering samples, requesting home consultations and booking fitting services. 2012 - Carpetright begins a comprehensive Aqua store refurbishment programme which revitalises the Carpetright branding with a fresh new look. New store formats are trialled across the country. About Carpetright About Carpetright Company Overview Our History Our Vision Our Businesses Our Awards Board of Directors FAQ's Investors Investors Corporate Governance Financial Overview Advisers Results & Presentations Annual Reports and AGM's Financial Calendar Investor FAQ RNS Announcements Share Price Information Investor Contacts CR CR Providing excellent service Developing committed people Sourcing great products Creating a safe place to work & shop Respect for the environment CAREERS Careers Learning & Development Our People Rewards & Benefits Why Join Carpetright? Opportunities Store Support Office Vacancies Store Vacancies Accessibility Terms & Conditions Privacy & Security Site map FAQ's Our Awards Contact Us Company Factsheet © 2010 Carpetright Plc.