Retail return "rollercoaster" for flooring
THE STOCKLISTS SURVEY • June 26, 2020
Floor retailing is on a rollercoaster for the next six months according to a survey of readers that found strong belief in pent-up demand alongside an expectation that that the year’s sales figures would be devastated by the lockdown.
69% of readers of The Stocklist believe there is pent-up demand among consumers but a third said their sales for the year would be down more than 20%, another third said more than 30% and a worryingly large 15% expect their turnover to be halved!
Only 27% expected their monthly sales figures to return to pre-lockdown levels this year – 39% expect that recovery in the first half of 2021 and 31% not until the second half of 2021.
not very quickly,” said a Dorset store owner. “Carpet is luckily a touchy, feely purchase and so I feel customers will always want to come to a shop and purchase.”
“People will still need flooring – we may even benefit from them spending more time indoors,” said a reader in the North East. “I’m confident things will be fine.”
“Now, more than ever, we should be supporting our UK flooring manufacturers. They will be the ones who will reliably provide consistent quality goods at more stable prices,” said a retailer in Warwickshire.
“I feel there is a great consumer desire for British goods which has only strengthened during lockdown. We shouldn’t be afraid to be proud of our quality products and services going forward, and make a reasonable profit for a change.”
Retailers also expressed concern that suppliers might not be ready for the return to trading. 74% said they expected supply or stock issues in the next few weeks.
said it was confusing).
non-essential retail re-opening.
was well-timed, 55% believed it was about right, 35% too soon and
10% too late.
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