by Lisa Jones, South Wales Echo
 A NEW up-market furniture store has been hit by a flood five days into its opening week.

Rossiters in the Royal Arcade, Cardiff, had to close its lower basement, displaying dining and bedroom furniture, yesterday, because of a flood in a communal service area, which seeped into the shop.


But staff at the family-owned store are determined to bounce back and say it is very much business as usual.

Store manager Alan Lowe said the flood was a glancing blow, as opposed to a knock-out.

The affected area covered a small part of the 14,000sq ft, two-floor shop, which will be cordoned off until Tuesday.

“The carpet is ruined,” he said. “And we’ve had to replace it.

“You could see it shrinking before your eyes.”

The independent store, which has a parent shop in Bath, has created a buzz of excitement since it opened.

“Cardiff has been waiting for this,” added Mr Lowe.

Water got into the building through a faulty overflow tank, which serves the sprinkler system.

Some seeped into the space due to be occupied by Borders bookshop and Crumbs Cafe, but Rossiters suffered the lion’s share of the damage.

Mr Lowe added: “It was beyond our control. We are as disappointed as everybody because we’ve got a brand new shop.

“It’s unfortunate that within a short space of time we’ve got a small disaster on our hands. We spent three weeks kitting it out.”

Three weeks of preparation was ruined when water came pouring into the shop through a fire door.

But quick-thinking staff whisked every stick of furniture to safety before the waters got to it.

Workmen were busy ripping up the ruined carpet to get the shop back in tip-top condition for early next week.

Michael Brown, of Helical Bar, which owns the arcades, said the flood was a one-off event which arose as a result of a fault in the sprinkler system.

Meanwhile, a Barry school affected by flooding in July has had its reopening delayed. Concerns over health and safety have prevented the opening of Oak Field Primary on Monday.

Staff at the school will be contacting parents to let them know when their children can return.

lisa.jones@wme.co.uk