Last week’s BRC retail sales figures provided some much needed hope for many.

But while some sectors – namely clothing and footwear – were up after several months of poor trade, the furniture and floor coverings sector worsened. In fact, the sector showed its largest year-on-year fall for at least nine years.

It’s easy to see why furniture purchases can be put off, especially if the housing market has dried up. But the theory that if consumers aren’t moving house, they are doing them up could help retailers in this arena, particularly with signs that consumer confidence is stabilising. And next week we may well see one retailer faring better than most in its sector – Carpetright.

Carpetright performed solidly at the start of the year, with like-for-like sales for the five weeks to January 31 down 2.9 per cent. What stood out for the City, though, was that the carpet specialist managed to maintain margins, despite the volatility in sterling. Lord Harris said at the time that sales will level back up to flat by September, so it will be interesting to see what progress the retailer is making at next week’s pre-close update.

Carpetright has made no secret of the fact it intends to go hell for leather to gain market share in the recession. It already has around 30 per cent market share and its healthy balance sheet means it can pounce on any competitors that are showing signs of weakness.

Lord Harris seems willing to consider acquiring both other carpet retailers – be they independents or small chains – and complementary retailers like Topps Tiles. As such, some analysts believe Carpetright could own close to 40 per cent market share before too long.

And while Carpetright has maintained good control of costs, it is also spending where it believes it will gain. From next month, it will up its ad spend and continue to open stores while its competitors flounder.

While rival Allied Carpets’ new owner decides on its future strategy, Carpetright will become omnipresent. And while Lord Harris won’t be expecting miracles, he knows better than most how to ride out a downturn.

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