Monday, July 22, 2019
TOP STORIES
Property deals boost profits, cash for owner of Ely's, Pearsons
Profits jumped three-fold for independent department store group Morleys in 2018–19 after the retailer made big gains from property sales.
More Harveys stores closed in six months to end March
Harveys continued to rationalise its store portfolio in the six months to end March and has now shut 24 shops within the past two years.
Factory gate mattress price inflation widens to 29-month high
Producer price inflation for mattresses widened to its highest level since the beginning of 2017 last month but, as the chart below shows, remains at a low level.
Flooring group reveals cost of new debt issue
Acquisitive floorcoverings manufacturer and distributor Victoria successfully placed £330 million of senior secured notes with bond investors Friday, revealing the pricing for the first time.
Manchester show organiser vows significant investment in 2020 event
Organisers of the Manchester Furniture Show say they will build on the event's decades of heritage, with planning for the 2020 edition next summer already underway.
Warm weather comp boosts June furniture sales
June saw furniture retailers recover some of the revenue lost last year when Britain was going through one of the hottest summers on record.
Ligne Roset has high hopes for new Harrods showroom and online
A new-look space within Harrods and the development of its sales within other multi-brand stores outside the capital can lift revenue for Ligne Roset, the French furniture brand said in just-filed accounts.
Wayfair to put a name to the face with a one-day-only U.K pop-up store
Wayfair will meet U.K. shoppers face-to-face for the first time with a new store in London. But only briefly, with the pop-up lasting for a single day.
Recliner giant Stressless opens first U.K. brand store
Stressless has become the latest big-name furniture brand to open its own U.K. retail showroom, taking a heavily-trafficked unit on one of London's prime furniture shopping streets.
Like Sofology in years passed, Eve Sleep believes in power of the sloth
Eve Sleep has launched a new television advertising campaign and is following a well-trodden promotional path in the home goods industry, with the use of a fictional sloth.
Takeover by furniture specialist consolidates retail software market
Swan Retail, which majors in providing retail software to the furniture, garden and department store sectors, has acquired rival business Touchretail.
Unwinding container issues aids living, dining and bedroom cabinet imports
Chinese, Malaysian and Vietnamese cabinet imports climbed sharply as the latest HMRC data dump annualised against issues with container ships arriving from Asia.
INTELLIGENCE
Market Data
Detailed market information about each of the Upholstery, Beds, Cabinet Furniture and Floorcoverings sectors at suppliers' prices.
Discover the up-to-date value of:
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UK production
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Imports
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Exports
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Key Trading Partners
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Total UK market size
BEST READ IN THE PAST MONTH
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International business sings in record year for Savoir Beds
Savoir, whose beds retail for an average of about £25,000 each, posted record sales and a high single-digit net margin in 2018 after it consolidated its presence in key international markets.
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New stores power growth at 78-store lifestyle retailer Oliver Bonas
Oliver Bonas, the British retailer which carries occasional furniture among a comprehensive lifestyle product offer, enjoyed double-digit growth in 2018. Profits declined on cost headwinds.
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U.K. furniture manufacturers feel squeeze as total value of production declines
British furniture manufacturers' collective output declined last year with cabinet furniture producers and sofa makers among those seeing the biggest falls, new figures for 2018 reveal.
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Furniture makers seek cost savings amid rising input, falling output
One in four furniture manufacturers have made redundancies and nearly one sixth introduced short-term working as producers grapple with some of the most challenging trading conditions in years,...
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Furniture Village launches limited-edition line to mark 30th anniversary
National retailer Furniture Village has put together a limited-edition collection of upholstery, cabinet and beds in partnership with five suppliers to mark its 30th anniversary.
INTELLIGENCE
Retail Sales
Up-to-date monthly UK retail sales data spanning total furniture and lighting sales PLUS detailed breakdowns for each of the Upholstery, Beds, Cabinet Furniture and Floorcoverings sectors.
Proprietary granular data covering:
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UK retail sales value and y/y delta. Monthly and annual
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Breakdown by product category
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Historical data
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Monthly and annual figures
OPINION & ANALYSIS
Key takeaways from 2018 U.K. furniture, beds and floorcoverings production data
The release of 2018 manufacturing data across U.K. industry by the Office for National Statistics leaves us with a complete picture of the key furniture and floorcoverings categories when combined with already-known import/export data.
After 30 years, industry braced for change to furniture fire regs
Loved, loathed or tolerated, Britain's furniture fire regulations are some of the most stringent in the world. Introduced in 1988, they are also in need of a serious overhaul.
New bed boss arrives from outside sector but with highly-relevant experience
The first time I met Steve Freeman, who is stepping down as group managing director at Silentnight, was in rather awkward circumstances.
The common thread, and threat, linking IKEA and elite U.K. furniture independents
On the surface, there is little in common between global conglomerate IKEA and Britain's best independent furniture retailers. But the home furnishings market leader does share one very important trait — a strength which is also a threat.
DATA & LISTS
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Debt Report: Who's owed what by insolvent industry companies — July 19, 2019
Today's list contains six insolvent companies leaving combined debts of £1.45 million. Names all c. 20 creditors owed £10,000 or more.
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Furniture, furnishings bankruptcies announced between July 13–19, 2019
16 insolvencies from within the furniture and furnishings industry were announced in the period July 13–19, 2019.
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Debt Report: Who's owed what by insolvent industry companies — July 12, 2019
Today's list contains six insolvent companies leaving combined debts of £1.3 million. Names all c. 15 creditors owed £10,000 or more.
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Debt Report: Who's owed what by insolvent industry companies — July 5, 2019
Today's list contains six insolvent companies leaving combined debts of £1.3 million. Names all c. 25 creditors owed £10,000 or more.
TOP STORIES
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Property deals boost profits, cash for owner of Ely's, Pearsons
Profits jumped three-fold for independent department store group Morleys in 2018–19 after the retailer made big gains from property sales.
-
More Harveys stores closed in six months to end March
Harveys continued to rationalise its store portfolio in the six months to end March and has now shut 24 shops within the past two years.
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‘Profitable’ mattress brand Emma says U.K. sales on track to hit £45m
Direct-to-consumer mattress brand Emma says a three-fold rise in first half sales has put the bed-in-a-box business on target to hit full year U.K. sales of £45 million in 2019.
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Government vows ‘new approach’ in furniture fire regs response
The Government has issued its long-anticipated response to a 2016 consultation on U.K. furniture fire regulations, promising new procedures “consistent with those taken for other consumer products.” But change may be some time away.
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Argos, Dunelm and Homebase strike deals to sell Eve Sleep online
Mattress brand Eve Sleep has agreed retail partnerships with three of the biggest names in the sector as it adds to existing tie-ups and replaces exposure lost following the end of trading relations with Dreams.
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Furniture retail price inflation eases from recent highs
Consumer price inflation for furniture eased fractionally in June as retailers passed on a softer increase to their customers.
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Sofa maker posts sixth straight sales jump, bucking market
Whitemeadow, the U.K.’s largest management-owned sofa maker, booked larger profits on higher sales in 2018 as it outperformed a declining wider market.
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Underlying bed sales down mid single-digits in first quarter, NBF members say
Like-for-like bed sales fell 5 percent in the first quarter of 2019 according to the National Bed Federation's latest State of Trade report, though the volume fall was less severe.
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Mattress imports up at fastest pace so far this year
An upshift in the value of mattresses arriving from Denmark, home to Tempur's European manufacturing unit, helped power imports to their biggest growth since December last year.
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Plumbs' profits jump as restructuring work three years back bears fruit
Profits jumped at Preston based sofa covers business Plumbs as efforts going back to 2016 to prune the company's cost base continued to yield improvements.
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OTHER NEWS
Factory gate mattress price inflation widens to 29-month high
Producer price inflation for mattresses widened to its highest level since the beginning of 2017 last month but, as the chart below shows, remains at a low level.
Flooring group reveals cost of new debt issue
Acquisitive floorcoverings manufacturer and distributor Victoria successfully placed £330 million of senior secured notes with bond investors Friday, revealing the pricing for the first time.
Manchester show organiser vows significant investment in 2020 event
Organisers of the Manchester Furniture Show say they will build on the event's decades of heritage, with planning for the 2020 edition next summer already underway.
Warm weather comp boosts June furniture sales
June saw furniture retailers recover some of the revenue lost last year when Britain was going through one of the hottest summers on record.
Ligne Roset has high hopes for new Harrods showroom and online
A new-look space within Harrods and the development of its sales within other multi-brand stores outside the capital can lift revenue for Ligne Roset, the French furniture brand said in just-filed accounts.
Wayfair to put a name to the face with a one-day-only U.K pop-up store
Wayfair will meet U.K. shoppers face-to-face for the first time with a new store in London. But only briefly, with the pop-up lasting for a single day.
Recliner giant Stressless opens first U.K. brand store
Stressless has become the latest big-name furniture brand to open its own U.K. retail showroom, taking a heavily-trafficked unit on one of London's prime furniture shopping streets.
Like Sofology in years passed, Eve Sleep believes in power of the sloth
Eve Sleep has launched a new television advertising campaign and is following a well-trodden promotional path in the home goods industry, with the use of a fictional sloth.
Takeover by furniture specialist consolidates retail software market
Swan Retail, which majors in providing retail software to the furniture, garden and department store sectors, has acquired rival business Touchretail.
Unwinding container issues aids living, dining and bedroom cabinet imports
Chinese, Malaysian and Vietnamese cabinet imports climbed sharply as the latest HMRC data dump annualised against issues with container ships arriving from Asia.