The boss of Topps Tiles said the business has hit its aim of taking a 20 per cent market share two years early. Chief executive Rob Parker told BusinessLive the Leicestershire-based group had seen its share of the UK tile market increase to 22.1 per cent today, up from 19.8 per cent in 2022.
Sales, he said, were up 6.3 per cent to a record £262.7 million for the year to the end of September, though the rise was partly due to higher sales prices on the back of inflation which had also hit profits. Actual square metres of tiles sold, he said, was down about 5 per cent year-on-year.
Adjusted pre-tax profits, he said, were down 20 per cent at £12.5 million –slightly ahead, he said, of where the market expected them to be.
In the last two months, he said, sales were down 3 per cent, as the group found itself continuing to adapt to things such as higher interest rates, prolonged high inflation, falling house prices and fewer house sales.
Mr Parker said: “We’re delighted to have achieved our goal of “1 in 5 by 2025”, which was all about getting to 20 per cent market share by the year 2025. We’ve smashed it and are now 22 per cent of the tile and associated markets.
“All of that unpins our third consecutive record year of sales, which are £40 million more than when we set that goal in late 2019/early 2020.
“That reflects significant development and diversification of the group which is now four different businesses – Topps Tiles, which is known and loved across the UK; the Parkside commercial operation; we’ve also now got the Pro Tiler tools business which is an online platform which we acquired about 18 months ago; and the newest part of our operation is Tile Warehouse.
“We feel we’re a very different business from the one we had in 2019 and to reflect that we’ve also announced today that we’ve rebranded the group to Topps Group to send out a strong message to shareholders, colleagues and suppliers that this is now a different business – a different business to interact with, a different business to join and a different business to invest in.”
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He said the whole sector was having to deal with inflation hitting the cost of products and shipping, while rising gas prices were particularly affecting the cost of products.
He said: “In the new financial year sales are down a bit, by about 3 per cent over the first eight weeks, which reflects a tougher market and the particularly strong challenges influenced by higher interest rates, continuation of a high level of inflation, a weaker housing market.
“But we feel really well positioned to deal with those market conditions. We’ve got market leading brands, a very strong competitive position, a really strong balance sheet and an ambitious growth strategy so that we can continue to claim market share.”
Recent years have seen the number of stores cut from about 360 down to about 300 which, he said, was about the right number for the group, and three times the next biggest competitor.
Today Topps employs about 1,750 across the UK and about 250 at its warehouse and offices in Leicestershire, who each got an across the board 5 per cent pay rise on October 1.