A large number of jobs are under threat, as carpet chain store ‘Carpetright’ announced the closure of dozens of stores.
Carpetright have around eighteen stores in Brighton and Hove and Sussex. Each store has roughly ten members of staff who manage the day to day running of the store.
And it’s not just the staff that face losing their jobs. Hundreds of independent carpet fitters face doubt, as they are still debating the future of the rest of the countries stores who employ them as contractors.
Graham Wickham, an independent carpet fitter based in Brighton is finding out the hard way as he has just paid £500 to join their carpet fitting academy.
He stated that all carpet fitters have to graduate their academy by September if they are to work for them. It will certainly affect him, along with many other fitters, if his local store closes for good.
Graham is normally a freelance fitter, but said that because there is not a lot of work out there at the moment he ended up joining the academy.
Carpetright is the last big carpet firm based in Brighton, leaving just small independent retail shops left in the area.
Graham worked for Allied Carpets for 25 years before joining Carpetright when they were forced to cease trading.
The news about Carpetright came within 24 hours of word spreading about store chain TJ Hughes and Chocolate retailers Thornton’s facing financial trouble.
Carpetright will review the future of their remaining 94 stores over the next three years, as and when individual leases are up for renewal.