Intellectual property disposal follows the collapse of the £1.6 million turnover Bedfordshire upholstery manufacturer earlier this year.

The company that controls the Axminster Carpets manufacturing business has revised upwards the value of its investment properties after a series of successful planning applications.

Swedish beds conglomerate Hilding Anders has divested a key part of its French business, selling a €40 million turnover mattress maker to a CEO-led management buyout.

Enterprises from across the U.K. and international bedding industry have agreed to become the first-ever individual award category sponsors of the National Bed Federation (NBF) awards, whose 2020 winners will be announced this autumn.

Upholstery manufacturer Nicoletti Home says it has boosted production capacity at its Italian base to ensure surging demand for products doesn't mean customers will have to compromise on pre-Christmas delivery timeframes.

The North West upholstery producer behind the Timeless Chesterfields brand is calling on other sofa makers to follow its lead so that traditional skills aren't lost to British industry.

Lancashire smooth floorcoverings supplier Havwoods says it has adjusted well to the Covid-19 situation but warns it could take a year and a half for revenue to be restored.

Mattress and bedding manufacturer Duvalay has plans to further build out its business now that it has completed its move into the West Yorkshire factory it bought last year.

Upholstery fabrics and soft furnishings show Proposte will take place in the north of Italy from April 19–21, 2021, exhibition organisers have announced.

One of the world's largest mattress manufacturers and a longtime Sealy licensee is close to a rescue of the Sealy U.K operation at Aspatria in a deal backed by the U.S. based brand owner.

Paul Little returns to the beds industry today (Sep. 1) by becoming group managing director at CPS Group, a key partner to the U.K. beds and furnishings sectors.

Mandated store closures left bedroom chain Sharps bereft of sales in the three months to end June but it still generated cash from operations and recorded a skinny profit at the adjusted EBITDA line.

The winners of the eleventh edition of the National Bed Federation (NBF) Bed Industry Awards will be announced late autumn with the trade association having now revealed the categories for this year's programme.

Upholstery fabrics supplier Mobus is finalising its move to a new West Yorkshire warehouse HQ that effectively gives it twice the stock space and will deliver upgraded service levels for its customers.

The Norwegian owner of recliner brand Stressless reported revenue in the U.K. and Ireland down by almost 36 percent in the second quarter as mandated store closures impacted trade.

Local lockdowns impacted sales and eliminated profits for the carpet giant Balta in the first half of 2020 but the Belgian conglomerate still managed to generate cash.

German bedroom supplier Wiemann is to showcase an upgraded programme of finishes and options for its popular Monaco VIP range at three separate U.K. furniture events this autumn.

The bounceback is well underway with U.K. furniture retailers having already recouped much of what was lost from when the Government mandated retail and factory shutdowns earlier this year.

Demand has rocketed since the Buoyant Upholstery factory reopened but its md Mike Aramayo says the surge has brought with it fresh production headaches.

Savoir, the bed manufacturer whose products retail for an average price of £25,000, will celebrate the simple pleasures of being in bed as part of a new advertising campaign about to go live.

Tempur Sealy International, the world's biggest bedding company, is building a new factory in the U.S. with a target opening date of Q1 2021. It will be one of three opening within a six-month period.

Mattress manufacturing at Huntingdon will be at the core of Bensons for Beds transformation, the retailer says, with it yesterday launching its inhouse Slumberland brand into the roll up space.

Factory and customer closures meant revenue was down sharply for TCM Living, owner of the Alstons, Ashley Manor and Alexander & James brands, in the second quarter of 2020.

Spinks, the spring and comfort technology company, has promoted commercial director Darren Marcangelo to managing director. He will also take a seat on the group's main board.

Retailers have reacted warmly to new product plans at South West bed maker Relyon following its takeover out of administration in a deal led by its former CEO earlier this month.

U.K. sprung and foam mattress imports increased on an annual basis in June, ending a barren year-on-year stretch dating back to September 2019.

The value of wood cabinet imports shipped to the U.K. in the first six months of 2020 is down just over a fifth on last year, a less severe decline than those seen in all other big-ticket furniture categories.

The Furniture Industry Research Association is launching a series of recorded training sessions on key regulations that impact stakeholders in the furniture sector.

Harvey Ellis, who for decades ran what became one of Europe's largest sofa manufacturing operations as production director for DFS, formally left the business earlier this summer.

Employees at Formation Furniture, historically one of the country's largest upholstery factories, face redundancy after a successful sale out of administration failed to materialise.

First half carpet imports into the U.K. are down by a third on the previous year after June saw an eighth consecutive year-on-year decline.

A fifth straight decline in upholstery imports means the value of goods shipped to the U.K. is down by a third in the first half of 2020. But June figures were an improvement.

One-time major U.K. cabinet distributor says it will record a loss for the first half of 2020.

Jarrow cabinet furniture and shelving company Funky Chunky Furniture says it expects to achieve over £4 million in sales in the next year after it expanded and reconfigured its manufacturing operation.

Relyon has all the tools it needs to succeed as a private company following its sale out of administration to its former CEO Ian Topping and other private investors.

Wayne Nortjé has joined privately-owned bed manufacturer Breasley as operations director, with responsibility for both its East Midlands sites.

Two senior managers at Clive Christian Furniture Co. have led a management buyout of the luxury cabinet maker, supported by David Dare, the former owner and md at high-end interiors company Shaws of Darwen.

Resurgent bed maker and retailer Warren Evans has begun manufacturing a range of wooden bed frames, expanding on the new mattress line introduced when the brand relaunched earlier this year.

There is no shortage of consumers or retailers wanting to buy furniture designed, made and sold by Ercol, the Buckinghamshire company that will celebrate its 100th year in 2020.

Mattress and upholstery group Airsprung says its performance has picked up since April, putting it on track to reverse widening losses incurred in 2018–19.

Fitted bedroom and home office furniture maker and retailer for sale after filing for administration.

Silentnight, the U.K.'s largest bed manufacturer, has launched its autumn marketing campaign and the first since appointing a new lead agency.

Profits doubled for the U.K. arm of global foam manufacturer and converter Carpenter in 2018, lifted by a "slight softening in some raw material costs" and higher sales.

Fitted furniture vertical Hammonds has extended the lease of its Leicestershire manufacturing facility, securing the long-term future of its production in Hinckley.

Wider gross margin and lower distribution costs boosted 2018–19 profitability at filled bedding company Trendsetter, owner of brands including The Fine Bedding Company and Nimbus.

John Lewis of Hungerford, the premium cabinet furniture vertical, says current customer behaviour suggests clarity over the current political environment will unlock pent up demand.

Office seating, desking and storage manufacturer Triumph Furniture has collapsed with the loss of about 250 jobs.

The British Furniture Manufacturers' (BFM) association has updated its legal advice service, which offers members access to support geared to the specific needs of the sector.

The Chinese manufacturer behind the Mlily mattress brand has agreed to buy a California headquartered furniture chain with 36 stores across the U.S.

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Sebastian Mertes, Emma's new CFO. Photograph: www.tw-klein.com.
The German company behind the Emma mattress brand has appointed a former investment professional at British private equity company Permira as its new chief financial officer.

Natuzzi has named Jason Camp as president of Natuzzi Americas, making him its most senior company official in the territory.

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The London Fabric Show has become BFM Fabric Show London ahead of its 2020 edition in a move that opens the door to possible expansion around the U.K.

Brintons, the private equity backed Worcestershire carpet maker, is to scale down its yarn-spinning operation ahead of the facility's planned closure next spring.

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HSL is headquartered at Batley, West Yorkshire, and trades from stores nationwide.
Sales climbed at the 59-store specialist furniture retailer HSL in 2018 with the company's West Yorkshire factory powering much of the uplift.

Britain's bed makers sold as many products in the second quarter of 2019 as they had the previous year but the value of those sales declined, according to the National Bed Federation (NBF).

Fitted furniture maker and retailer bolstered balance sheet in more challenging trading year.

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Sofa.com has its own factory in Poland.
ScS would have utilised Sofa.com's Eastern European manufacturing base to serve other parts of its business if it had successfully bought the company, its chairman said yesterday.

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Lebus' Lincolnshire factory.
The Dutch majority owner of Lebus Upholstery has reduced its stake in a long-planned transaction that hands control of the Lincolnshire sofa manufacturer to its U.K. board.

Warren Evans has opened its first showroom since the brand was resurrected as an ecommerce business by its eponymous founder earlier this year.

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Westbridge's Coach House collection.
The revenue trend at Westbridge, Britain's largest non retailer-owned sofa maker, reflected the wider U.K. upholstery market last year.

Preston upholstery producer Tetrad continued to gain momentum in 2018, with double-digit pro-rata sales growth helping it glean a bigger share of a declining upholstery market.

Mattress maker Duflex, supplier to retailers such as IKEA, Eve, Asda and Argos, posted lower sales for the first time on public record last year. Group bed sales still advanced after parent Belfield opened a second factory.

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Natuzzi Editions new store in the North West.
Natuzzi added a fifth U.K. store for its Editions brand on Saturday, a day after the Italian upholstery giant released second quarter figures that reflected myriad challenges across the globe.

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The company claimed the Bed of the Year award at the Bed Show 2019 for its new J. Marshall by Vispring range, which pitches the brand to a younger clientele.
Manufacturing efficiencies and exports helped offset weaker domestic U.K. sales last year at Vispring, the luxury Devon bed manufacturer.

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A change in the retailer's accounting reference date was a contributing factor in rising net debt at its latest balance sheet dateline.
Upholstery market leader DFS has this month increased the size of its revolving credit facility by £20 million "to reflect the increased scale of the group's operating activities."

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DFS is the U.K. market leader in upholstery.
Sales and adjusted profits advanced for DFS in the year to end June while the group — owner of Sofology, Dwell and Sofa Workshop — says it will exit a number of 'poorly performing' suppliers.

Upholstery producer Ekornes, owner of the Stressless recliner brand, says it maintained U.K. profits last year despite the negative impact of a legacy group logistics contract.

High-end bed maker Hypnos has bolstered its ethical credentials by partnering Red Tractor Food and Farming Standards, an industry-first for the mattress sector.

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15 years ago, Highgrove sales were under £1m. Today it is one of the U.K.'s largest bed manufacturers.
West Yorkshire bed maker Highgrove posted a 15th straight top line rise in 2018 despite tough trading conditions. Underlying profits also climbed with statutory earnings down because of one-off expenses.

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The company is a bellwether for the U.K. sofa industry.
Revenue fell and margins narrowed in 2018–19 for Flameproofings, the U.K. market leader in the flame retardant coating of fabrics for the upholstery and household textile markets.

The Senator Group, one of Britain's biggest furniture manufacturers, posted mid single-digit revenue growth in 2018 after selling more to customers in overseas markets.

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Karndean's Vale Park, Evesham showroom and headquarters.
Luxury vinyl tile floorcoverings supplier Karndean booked high, but narrower margins in 2018, a year when revenue continued to climb thanks to export orders.

The phoenix company that bought the four-store kitchen maker and retailer Earle & Ginger out of administration earlier this year has itself filed for insolvency.

There was an across-the-board easing of factory gate furniture and carpet price inflation in August according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Profits climbed four-fold for the company behind the Vitafoam brand last year as it grew sales and annualised against high one-off expenses.

Privately-owned carpet maker and distributor Cavalier Carpets continued to book high six-figure profits in 2018 after a slight uptick in output.

Sales and profits will climb in 2019 after East of England furniture company Warings secured new business last year, prompting it to hire and train new staff.

The British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) has expanded the scope of its commodity price tracker, a tool used by its members to support their buying negotiations with suppliers.

Vispring's pitch to a younger customer base was rewarded with it winning the Bed of the Year category of the NBF's Bed Industry Awards last night. Harrison Spinks and Vitafoam also won supplier awards.

Mark Draper has been promoted to commercial director at upholstery distributor La-Z-Boy U.K. with the business also announcing new heads of both marketing and independent sales.

Furniture makers from across Ireland will descend on Dublin next month to discuss and plan ways industry participants can collaborate to rebuild the sector.

Heritage carpet maker Axminster Carpets will streamline operations at its Devon factory after announcing voluntary redundancies.

Upholstery giant offloads shareholding in Nick Scali — one of the largest furniture chains in the Southern Hemisphere — for the equivalent of about £41 million.

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Sales fell despite an improving trend in the first half.
Half year sales declined in the U.K. and Ireland for the company behind major European upholstery brand Stressless, though the second quarter improved on the first.

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Left–right: Managing director Simon Spinks and chairman Peter Spinks of Harrison Spinks with Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Ed Anderson.
Leeds bed maker Harrison Spinks hosted the Queen’s representative in West Yorkshire to its headquarters to receive the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development.

Upholstery manufacturer and retailer Sofa.com could veer from its monobrand history for the first time according to weekend press reports.

High end furniture maker and retailer Linley recorded a bigger a loss in 2017–18 because of project delays and a strategy pivot but said the future remains bright for the company.

Window dressings manufacturer Ena Shaw has introduced its first-ever collection of Montgomery branded ready made velvet curtains, designed and manufactured solely in the U.K.

Residential and commercial furniture manufacturer Style Matters is upsizing after agreeing to move to larger premises at a North West industrial park.

Associated Weavers, the Belgian carpet manufacturing giant, said it allocated significant funds to its entry into the luxury vinyl tile (LVT) sector in the U.K. market this year.

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Whitemeadow managing director Ian Oscroft is pictured with head of group human resources Karen Clarridge.
Nottinghamshire furniture manufacturer Whitemeadow has achieved Investors In People status, having met the requirement criteria and successfully passed an assessment for the people management standard.

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Lebus is one of the U.K.'s biggest sofa manufacturers.
A fall in overheads boosted profits at Lincolnshire sofa maker Lebus Upholstery after sales were hit by the long spell of sunny weather that brought six straight years of growth to an end.

Two major European foam companies are in dispute after one accused the other of overstepping the mark in the region where the pair have operated a joint venture since the 1990s.

Giorgetti, the upmarket Italian designer furniture manufacturer, is opening a first U.K. showroom after signing a lease for a unit in West London.

Heritage Upholstery Supplies has rebranded as Heritage Components in a move that reflects its evolution into a worldwide furniture components supplier.

Kasen International Holdings, the one-time owner of a U.K. upholstery retail chain, recorded double-digit sales growth to Europe in the six months to end June.

The largest U.K. distribution arm of Mohawk Industries, the world's biggest floorcoverings company, booked higher profits after sales growth outgunned the impact of narrower margins.

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Hush-a-Bye is becoming hushabye (new logo, inset). Its new edj mattress is pictured.
Bed business Hush-a-Bye is rebranding as hushabye with a refreshed identity that better reflects the brand's "tone of voice" according to Nick Gigg, md at the Airsprung Group owned manufacturer.

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Sales continued to build for Mlily.
Output continued to ramp up for the company behind the Mlily mattress and pillow brand in the first half of 2019 despite growth slowing in the second three months of that period.

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Dura Beds' West Yorkshire factory.
Batley mattress maker Dura Beds returned to growth in 2017–18 and says investment at its West Yorkshire plant will result in a further build out in sales.

Customers of prestige British bed maker Savoir can buy certain products online from the company for the first time after it added transactional functionality to its website.

Duff & Phelps says "progress has been made" in its bid to claw back cash from a foam supplier for the benefit of creditors of fallen upholstery chain Multiyork.

One of the U.K.'s biggest rug and floormat suppliers said the downsizing of home improvement chain Homebase had a negative impact on sales last year.

Melrose Interiors, one of the country's largest independent rug suppliers, closed out a seven-figure property sale this summer after earlier completing a "landmark relocation."

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Rising shipments from Asia powered the increase.
Living, dining and bedroom cabinet imports to the U.K. have trended up in mid single-digits in the first half of 2019 driven by shipments from the Far East.

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Natuzzi has vast manufacturing operations.
Italian sofa giant Natuzzi says it will sell non-strategic assets and revise its worldwide manufacturing configuration as part of plans to insulate itself from new tariffs.

Revenue and profit growth returned for Westex last year, as the West Yorkshire carpet maker — part of the flooring conglomerate Victoria for nearly six years — delivered a best-in-class performance.

The new chief executive of Steinhoff International Holdings said its €9 billion debt pile is too high as he offered a vision of the future for the embattled conglomerate yesterday.

One of the first direct-to-consumer sofa makers to allow shoppers to design their upholstery using an online configurator has agreed a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) with creditors.

June saw the weakest trade data in the year so far for the carpet industry as imports fell 6.3 percent on the same month a year ago. They remain ahead on a six-month basis.

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Sleepeezee is in line to reverse a 2018 top line decline this year.
The CEO of Sleepeezee says sales are tracking well ahead of 2018 as it annualises the announcement of the heritage British bed maker's owner plan to invest heavily in the business.

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DFS is one of Europe's largest sofa manufacturers as well as retailers.
DFS has declined to snuff out speculation regarding the employment status of Harvey Ellis, arguably the pound-for-pound holder of the seniormost role in U.K. furniture manufacturing.

Sales growth accelerated at Essex sofa maker Alstons Upholstery in 2018, helping operating profits double for the Thai-owned manufacturer.

La-Z-Boy is to consolidate upholstery production in the U.S. leading to the closure of one factory there and the shift of a cut-and-sew operation at another.

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The Lebus Dakota range, which includes Springbond.
The manufacturer behind Springbond, an eco-engineered material used as carpet underlay, has diversified into the upholstery sector after agreeing a supply partnership with Lebus.

One of Europe's largest living, dining and bedroom cabinet furniture makers is to diversify into upholstery, building a new multi-million factory in Poland.

Sales fell for the second straight year at East of England beds manufacturer Mansion House Bedding Group in 2018–19 but it hopes to reverse that this year with a strengthened sales team.

New equity funding and a property revaluation helped boost the book value of premium upholstery business The Sofa & Chair Company in 2018, consolidated accounts for its holding company reveal.

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An estimated 1.75 million of over 8 million mattresses disposed of in 2018 escaped landfill.
The bed industry's efforts to reduce the amount of end-of-life mattresses ending up in landfill is paying off with recycling numbers having doubled in the past four years, new research suggests.

Distributor and manufacturer Victoria has bolstered its roster of ceramic floorcoverings businesses with the acquisition of Spanish tile company Ibero in a deal worth up to an estimated £14 million.

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Silentnight is headquartered at Barnoldswick.
Silentnight Group, Britain's largest beds manufacturer and a key bellwether for the sector, posted lower sales and profits in 2018–19. It remained cash generative and cleared the last of its shareholder debt.

Millbrook Healthcare, the largest division in the family-owned group that includes Millbrook Beds, has been sold to a specialist private investment firm. The bed manufacturing unit is unaffected.

Fast-expanding cabinet furniture vertical Wren Kitchens has reached 80 stores nationwide with the opening of a new unit in Exeter.

Sales advanced at major upholstery fabrics supplier Mobus in 2017–18, but profitability was "restrained by pressures on margins and a restructure of the business."

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Spaceslide trades from more than half a dozen of its own showrooms.
The Yorkshire group behind the Spaceslide bedroom furniture brand returned to profit at the EBITDA line last year, while entering new sectors helped offset weak retail demand.

London-headquartered upholstery vertical shrugs off tough conditions.

Expanding kitchen maker and retailer Wren has gained various globally-known International Standards Organisation (ISO) accreditations for its factories in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

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Sofa.com's Edinburgh store.
The price paid and reason behind Sports Direct International's takeover of upholstery vertical Sofa.com has been disclosed for the first time. Neither will surprise many in the furniture trade.

Diversified mattress maker and foam product supplier Comfortex bucked market headwinds to grow sales and profits in 2018, new accounts show.

The U.S. rescuer of the Smallbone of Devizes and Mark Wilkinson Furniture luxury kitchen companies has added another Wiltshire business after completing an insolvent takeover earlier this month.

Worldwide sales advanced for Tempur Sealy International in the second quarter after its fast-growing direct business outpaced declining wholesale revenues.

Diversified Far East furniture manufacturing giant Green River Group is divesting another of its furniture factories after agreeing the sale of a majority stake in a case goods plant to Samson Holding.

No foam or glue will be used in the production of all new mattresses going into development from now onwards, Leeds bed maker Harrison Spinks has pledged.

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.

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.

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.

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Revenue climbed again for Whitemeadow.
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.

Flooring manufacturer and distributor Victoria is dusting off previously-jettisoned plans to launch a corporate bond, following through on comments made last week when it released its full year results.

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.

IKEA Industry, a manufacturing unit of the furniture retail conglomerate based out of the U.S. state of Virginia, is closing its factory there at the end of the year.

Profits climbed at West Midlands motion furniture manufacturer Furmanac in 2017–18 after margin improvement from taking its fleet inhouse and a tax credit countered the impact of lower sales.

An aborted financing exercise that left Victoria's chairman angered by onlookers with "less than pure" motives cost the acquisitive floorcoverings group a high seven-figure sum in wasted fees.

Balta, the Belgian floorcoverings manufacturing group whose U.K. and Ireland sales number well over £100 million, has named the new head of its carpet production business.

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All DFS brands delivered like-for-like growth, the retailer said.
Sofa market leader DFS said underlying gross sales have climbed by 7 percent in the year to end June, but cautioned that its progress moving forward is partly dependent on factors outside its control.

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The Spinks Springs factory in Leeds.
The components arm of the Harrison Spinks mattress and bed technology group says its new spring system could redefine the beds sector in the same way bonnell springs and memory foam did years before.

Lieven Vandendriessche has been appointed CEO of Latexco Group, the family of Luc and Carole Maes and the board of directors have announced.

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Keith Wilson has been prompted to president, International at La-Z-Boy.
Former La-Z-Boy U.K. md Keith Wilson has been promoted for the second time in just over a year, becoming responsible for all non-U.S. business at the upholstery giant after being named president, International.

The Archwood home improvement group, owner of flooring business Atkinson & Kirby and other timber products businesses, incurred a further loss in 2017–18 after revenue fell and costs increased.

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BFM drills down into the issues affecting furniture manufacturers.
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, according to a survey by BFM.

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Mattress production climbed though the overall bed market was impacted by divan production.
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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