Topps Tiles says it has seen a record year for sales on the back of things such as its “award-winning website”, “world class customer service” and good stock availability.
The Leicestershire tile retailer said profits were slightly up on previous forecasts as it announced its latest figures.
The business is on a corporate mission to take £1 of every £5 spent on tiles and tiling products in the UK by 2025.
Group revenues for the year to October 2 were £222.5 million, up from about £193 million a year earlier (when the economy was badly hit by the start of the pandemic) and around £220 million the year before that.
In a trading update the business said: “Supported by a buoyant home improvement market in the UK, this record performance is even more notable given that one quarter of the year included significant trading restrictions and a national lockdown.
“We believe it demonstrates the success of our growth strategy and is a good step towards the achievement of our market share goal of ‘1 in 5 by 2025’.”
Topps said gross margins were lower than last year due to “higher shipping costs, product mix changes and continued investment”, but gross profits were strong, and costs were “well controlled”.
The trading update said: “We have invested in higher levels of inventory over the current period, which we believe is a significant competitive advantage in a market which is facing well-documented supply chain challenges.”
The Topps board expects to reinstate dividend payments at the end of the year, with a final dividend payment relating to the whole financial year, rather than just the second half.
Topps Tiles, which started trading in 1963, has 313 stores, seven commercial showrooms and three trading websites.
Chief executive Rob Parker said: “The group has delivered an excellent final quarter and we have achieved a record level of annual revenue, despite operating with trading restrictions for significant parts of the year.
“These results are testament to the hard work and commitment of our colleagues, and I thank them again for their unwavering dedication and support.
“Like-for-like sales were strongly ahead of 2019 in the final quarter but were also above the same period in 2020, when our sales bounced back strongly following the first national lockdown.
“This performance reflects a robust level of consumer demand but also underlines the strength of our growth strategy and the success of initiatives such as our improved value range and investment in our award-winning digital offer.
“We remain confident on the outlook, against a backdrop of strong demand for DIY products and continued investment into home improvements.”
