Gamble of the week: A risky punt on carpets

If this carpet retailer can get its costs down, the shares could be worth a risky punt, says Phil Oakley.

If you are thinking of buying shares in the UK's largest seller of carpets, then virtually everything you hear or read about the company right now is telling you to steer well clear.

Selling carpets is a cut-throat business. Customers are always looking for a deal and plenty of sellers seem willing to cut prices to give them what they want. This makes it hard to keep your head above water when you have to carry the costs of renting stores and the staff that work in them.

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Phil spent 13 years as an investment analyst for both stockbroking and fund management companies.

 

After graduating with a MSc in International Banking, Economics & Finance from Liverpool Business School in 1996, Phil went to work for BWD Rensburg, a Liverpool based investment manager. In 2001, he joined ABN AMRO as a transport analyst. After a brief spell as a food retail analyst, he spent five years with ABN's very successful UK Smaller Companies team where he covered engineering, transport and support services stocks.

 

In 2007, Phil joined Halbis Capital Management as a European equities analyst. He began writing for MoneyWeek in 2010.