[Hilton]

Axminster look to have gone into liquidation,

Change in customer trends seem to have been the reasons, laminate and wood flooring every where.The hard floor industry seem to have won the day.

What impact this has on the carpet cleaning world remains to be seen but with such a prestigious company going under it is a worrying sign.

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

I doubt it will have an impact at all.

Axminster were always a law unto themselves. They never moved with the times, instead they insisted on sticking with top end patterned woven carpets and were outmaneuvered by the tufted twist manufacturers who brought out ranges to suit all budgets.

Certainly in the South, the purchase of patterned carpets by domestic customers is a very small market - I personally can't remember the last time I sold a carpet from Axminster.

They also had a very high and mighty attitude as to who they would allow to sell their carpets and who could hold an account.

It's a shame, but they're not the first and they won't be the last.

[wayne zabel]

Just another story of the uk's vanishing manufacturing sector.

The town were I live once had 10 papermills,now it has none.People haven't stopped using paper though.

It just comes in from abroad.

[Craigp]

Really? I just heard they was dropping 400 workers.

Government can't blame competition from internet companies for this one.


I heard a radio reporter saying how secretly the government don't mind high inflation as longer term in reduces the size of their debt.

[wynne jones]

Well the good news is Poundland's recruiting.

Look what happened to Land Rover when it was taken over. It was dead on its arse not because of poor demand, just poor marketing and management of a heritage brand.

[Kinver_Clean]

Brintons virtually went the same way. It's the third or fourth generation thing. "We are the best so everyone will come flocking to the door to buy."  Stuart Crystal, Brintons, Minton, Brierley Glass. They all went to the wall. Every company I worked for has gone, perhaps they could not manage without me.

[alan lewis]

Agree with Steve, i dont think its got much to do with hard floor, laminate etc, i think people are still buying carpet.....just different makes and styles and probably cheaper to boot.

Alan

[Jim_77]

.... or perhaps you drove them over the edge Trevor!

[Hilton]

The amount of hard floor wood or otherwise must have an impact, in higher end properties a large amount of wood has gone down in place of carpet, the allergy propoganda put out in public domain by the hard floor industry but especially Allergy UK when it comes to asthma prevention has resulted in carpets out, hard floor in.

Its very easy to counter this argument but the organisations that represent the Carpet Cleaning world are hopless at it.

On top of this the Hotel industry has switched from very high quality carpets to lower grade as have cinemas.

Granted Axminster are old world and are still privately owned so a buy out will probably take place, although they will probably be scaled down as a result.

[steve cardy]

Some other carpet manufactuer will come in and just buy the name and supply their own product.

[The TACCA Scrutineer]

I doubt it will have an impact at all.

Axminster were always a law unto themselves. They never moved with the times, instead they insisted on sticking with top end patterned woven carpets and were outmaneuvered by the tufted twist manufacturers who brought out ranges to suit all budgets.

Certainly in the South, the purchase of patterned carpets by domestic customers is a very small market - I personally can't remember the last time I sold a carpet from Axminster.

They also had a very high and mighty attitude as to who they would allow to sell their carpets and who could hold an account.

It's a shame, but they're not the first and they won't be the last.

Good post 

[Mike Halliday]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9885985/Pulling-the-rug-on-Axminster-carpets.html

Here's what the telegraph says

[John Kelly]

Good article, about spot on I would say.

[Mike Halliday]

A woven Axminster, designed to last a generation, sells for about £60 a square metre. This means that with the price of underlay, it can cost £1,500 to fit a modest-sized sitting room. Carpetright could sort you out for about £300

this is an interesting point when you think about our pricing, just think if you could get hold of their database of customers, these are people who would not bat an eyelid about paying a carpet cleaner £100 to clean their lounge carpet.

this is how the NCCA etc should help its members, ( where Axminster a member of the NCCA?) they should approach these high end manufacturers and buy their database

[The TACCA Scrutineer]

Axminster carpets were/are a pain in the bum all round; expensive, lots of wastage on big patterns to get pattern matching right on seams and to 'line

up hallways and landings to stairs etc, no stretch on width and like an elastic band on length which you had to watch the pattern was always square,

shop / customer nearly always insisted on hand-sewing seams,  

They do last 'forever' though, it's a shame this company didn't get into the 'middle market'. As mentioned before, Carpetsh&te are just that, cheap

rubbish that you will need to be changing within 7 -8 years  

[Craigp]

Mike, that is a good idea.

I think NCCA should be helping raise our prices. I have some ideas I been meaning to contact them about.

I think Robert Sounders has helped this industry in that respect. So has chemdry in the past.


The article makes things look bleak for us, eek. They touch on the housing market, I think the lack of activity in the housing market has been bad for carpet cleaners.

[The TACCA Scrutineer]

Mike, that is a good idea.

I think NCCA should be helping raise our prices. I have some ideas I been meaning to contact them about.

I think Robert Sounders has helped this industry in that respect. So has chemdry in the past.


The article makes things look bleak for us, eek. They touch on the housing market, I think the lack of activity in the housing market has been bad for carpet cleaners.

Not wanting to cause further upset  but it's interesting that you mention the NCCA as your first 'port of call' rather than any other trade 'organisation' (being diplomatic here) 

Carpet cleaner's are also not being helped by the ongoing 'banging on' with Vax, Rug Doctor, Bissell etc on large amount of National TV advertising. I would have thought NCCA or any other trade 'organisation'  should tackle that issue by educating the public on the pros of getting a professional in, but we see nothing from the NCCA at all...

[AshWhite]

Mike, that is a good idea.

I think NCCA should be helping raise our prices. I have some ideas I been meaning to contact them about.

I think Robert Sounders has helped this industry in that respect. So has chemdry in the past.


The article makes things look bleak for us, eek. They touch on the housing market, I think the lack of activity in the housing market has been bad for carpet cleaners.

Not wanting to cause further upset  but it's interesting that you mention the NCCA as your first 'port of call' rather than any other trade 'organisation' (being diplomatic here) 

Carpet cleaner's are also not being helped by the ongoing 'banging on' with Vax, Rug Doctor, Bissell etc on large amount of National TV advertising. I would have thought NCCA or any other trade 'organisation'  should tackle that issue by educating the public on the pros of getting a professional in, but we see nothing from the NCCA at all...

Why would they, when you could be using any of those machines and still be a member?