Carpetright Leicester Store Closes its Doors for Good
The huge Carpetright showroom at Abbey Retail Park, Leicester, sits empty this week. After years of trading, the familiar red and blue sign has been taken down, ending another chapter for a retailer that was once a household name. This closure is not just a local blip—it's part of Carpetright's nationwide collapse into administration, triggering a seismic shake-up across the UK’s flooring and home interiors sector.
The trouble for Carpetright isn’t new, but the recent months have been brutal. Reduced consumer spending hit them right where it hurts. People just aren’t splashing out on new carpets or flooring like they used to, especially with interest rates up and house moves at a crawl. The housing market is crawling, and when people move less, they buy less for new homes. For big-ticket retailers like Carpetright, that shift is devastating. And then to make matters worse, a damaging cyber attack earlier this year piled on costs, spooked customers, and made the whole system falter.
If you thought this was just another retail chain trimming off some excess, think again. After administrators from PwC stepped in, the numbers were stark: 1,018 redundancies fell mostly at head office and shuttered stores. Even with 308 jobs saved by Tapi Carpets’ acquisition of 54 selected outlets, hundreds are now out of work. For Leicester’s staff, that meant an abrupt end—with administrators now handling their redundancy claims and trying to soften a frankly harsh blow.
Retail Upheaval—Why Carpetright Couldn’t Survive
This isn’t just a Carpetright story—it’s a snapshot of what’s battering UK retail. The flooring giant found itself squeezed by rising costs, discount-driven rivals, and shoppers tightening belts. Whether it’s inflation, nervous first-time buyers, or just people wanting to ‘make do’ with older carpets, demand simply dried up.
Zelf Hussain, one of the administrators at PwC, didn’t sugarcoat it. Talking about the retailer’s failure, he pointed directly at industry-wide pain, saying, “Carpetright has fallen victim to challenges facing many retailers, especially those selling big ticket items.” The cyber attack was the last straw, draining already thin margins and throwing their operations into chaos at the worst possible time.
Tapi Carpets, which swooped in to grab 54 stores plus the all-important brand and warehouse network, is planning to keep those shops running. That’s a glimmer of hope for customers and workers, at least in those branches that survived the cull. For the unlucky majority, including Leicester, the focus now turns to job hunting and waiting for their redundancy pay to come through.
Abbey Retail Park isn’t the only site left searching for a new tenant. Across the UK, 218 Carpetright stores are now empty, and hundreds of former employees are left with tough questions about their future, looking for stability in a retail environment that feels anything but predictable right now.