Furniture giant Natuzzi has turned to the office furniture sector for the leader of its newly-formed Furnishing and Accessories business unit, which it hopes will boost order values across its retail network.

Flooring group Victoria says its ability to deliver while others couldn't because they were short of stock enhanced its reputation and has led to market share gains over the past year.

The value of U.K. furniture manufacturers' combined turnover was the highest ever recorded in February, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Princes Risborough bed manufacturer Hypnos has bolstered its sustainability team with the appointment of Gary Mitchell to the newly-created role of sustainable development manager.

Bed maker Sleepeezee is bringing its brand ambassador Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, the Olympic champion heptathlete, to the INDX Beds and Bedroom show later this month.

High demand and wider margins helped Italian furniture conglomerate Natuzzi enjoy a €30 million profit swing last year, with it saying it has continued to write strong business in the early part of 2022.

The price instability in the crude oil and natural gas markets has triggered the introduction of phenomena that the foam industry has not seen for decades, according to the head of the organisation that represents the principal actors in the sector.

RA Irwin & Company said its mattress ticking operations continued to perform strongly in what was a year of change for the Craigavon supplier.

BFM says U.K. furniture retailers should prepare for further price rises after its members were hit by a slew of rising input costs amid an already inflationary environment.

The number of furniture and flooring industry companies filing for insolvency continued to normalise in the first quarter, up sharply on last year but below historic trends.

Curve Craft, a custom manufacturer of curved doors and cabinetry used in the installation of high-end kitchens, is expanding into new East Midlands premises.

Tempur Sealy International will delay the launch of a new programme of products designed to bring the Tempur brand to a wider customer base because of the economic fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

FIRA International, the furniture test house and services provider, says it has gained accreditation to the Irish Government's equivalent to the U.K. fire regs in a move it hopes will make exports easier for British manufacturers.

The mattress making and components arms of Leeds beds group Harrison Spinks found big growth last year, citing the impact of product development through the pandemic.

Portugal's Aquinos Group, one of Europe's largest sofa and bed manufacturers, has completed the takeover of the bedding division of Belgian foam conglomerate Recticel.

Case goods manufacturing and wholesale giant Samson Holdings reversed early pandemic losses to return to profit last year, driven by lower costs and success in its largest market.

Red Tractor, the U.K.'s biggest farm and food assurance scheme with 50,000 British farmers accredited to its standards, has returned to TV advertising, providing an expected boost to suppliers such as bed maker Hypnos.

Northwest flooring manufacturer Penthouse Carpets said it achieved a "remarkable performance" in 2020/21 despite a challenging second half to its financial year beset by issues outside its control.

Leaders, colleagues and family members at upholstered furniture maker Whitemeadow have raised money for The Furniture Makers' Company's Step2It campaign after completing a charity abseil.

West Midlands furniture wholesaler ASR Interiors has successfully won the first of two legal challenges against companies it alleged had copied its dining ranges.

Experienced manufacturing executive Richard Carr has become managing director at West Yorkshire contract furniture manufacturer Craftwork Upholstery after he led a management buy-in (MBI).

Letters promising further price rises have landed in British furniture makers' inboxes in recent days just as official figures indicated the worst may have passed for raw material price inflation.

Cumbria-based Sealy U.K. last week officially opened its new spring plant at Aspatria, a facility it says will allow the bed maker to manufacture spring units unique to the company.

Organisers of The Furniture Awards have revealed the shortlist of 16 potential winners across four categories ahead of The January Furniture Show, this year taking place April 24–27, 2022 at the NEC.

Longtime supply partners Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare (Drive) and GNG Group have worked together to send a consignment of beds and mattresses to support victims of the war in Ukraine.

West Yorkshire furniture maker Sherborne Upholstery said demand was high throughout the past year as it found profit growth against softer comparatives and supply chain challenges.

The chief executive officer of global upholstered furniture maker Man Wah Holdings has left the company and will be replaced by its majority shareholder and founder.

Revenue jumped by almost a third for bedroom cabinet maker and retailer Hammonds Furniture last year with adjusted profits almost three-times higher as it managed its growth effectively.

Brintons is facing a potentially expensive demand from a former landlord but the international carpet maker is not unduly concerned about its financial impact.

Premium wood flooring and wall cladding company Havwoods has opened the first of what it hopes will be a slew of new retail showrooms planned for 2022.

U.K. importers brought in more living, dining and bedroom wood cabinet furniture than ever before in January as shipments rose from source nations near and far.

A longtime business leader at OEM and branded mattress maker The Foam Company (TFC) along with other key officials at the business have all made rapid returns to the sector.

Wider margin and higher sales helped upholstery vertical Sofa.com record highest-ever profits last year as it put behind it a long-running series of trading losses.

Furniture manufacturer Shackletons Group has become the latest corporate member of The Furniture Makers' Company (TFMC), the City of London livery company and charity to the furnishings sector.

Italian sofa maker Nicoletti Home says meeting customers' delivery expectations was among the three principal factors that helped it achieve high U.K. and worldwide growth last year.

Revenue declined at carpet maker Brintons last year but EBITDA and its net margin improved and the international manufacturer said business momentum is accelerating.

BFM Fabric Show organiser British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) says it is committed to re-investing in the event for next year after last week's return for the exhibition met with a positive response.

Leeds manufacturer Harrison Spinks has launched a new programme of mattresses designed exclusively for the non-U.K. European market.

Dreams is partnering Special Olympics GB, adding to the retailer's existing and now renewed tie-ups with the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association.

Upholstered furniture imports into the U.K. advanced 76 percent year-on-year in January and at an even faster pace compared with pre-Covid trading.

January carpet imports into the U.K. jumped almost a third at the beginning of the year on the back of strong figures from the Netherlands, Belgium and India.

West Yorkshire mattress and foam products manufacturer GNG Group has acquired certain assets of Abingdon based The Foam Company out of administration.

Buoyant Upholstery will make further environmental, social and governance (ESG) improvements this year as the Lancashire sofa maker looks to continue to lead in the furniture manufacturing sector.

Furniture manufacturers' turnover was higher on a year-on-year basis for an eleventh straight month in January, but it was also the weakest growth recorded since March last year.

Strong order growth since April last year has put the privately-owned group behind West Midlands furniture manufacturer Boss Design on the path back to profit.

Furniture supplier Global Home Group has appointed highly-experienced industry executive Julian Cox as commercial director, working across both its Global and Corndell business units in the U.K.

Diversified mattress and foam products manufacturer GNG Group has appointed Neil Kenderdine as operations manager. He will head up the expansion and operations of its medical and consumer mattress division.

Bedroom and home office furniture vertical Sharps booked a big increase in profits in the period leading up to its sale from one private equity group to another.

Danish ready-to-assemble furniture manufacturer Tvilum has closed the U.K. sales office of its compatriot Steens business and has put new procedures in place for customers.

Asset realisation specialists marketing The Foam Company cited rising raw material costs combined with the loss of its largest client as factors that prompted the hoped-for sale of the Oxfordshire mattress manufacturer.

Furniture and bed industry colleagues, friends and family raised £3,200 for industry charity The Furniture Makers' Company at the fifth annual Yorkshire Curry Night.

Modern upholstery manufacturer Michael Tyler Furniture has promoted its production director ahead of the planned retirement of its longtime managing director and former co-owner.

The upholstery group behind the Alexander & James, Ashley Manor, AMX Design and Alstons businesses found big revenue gains last year but rising costs weighed on profits.

Upholstery company Arlo & Jacob is launching Arlo & Design, a newly refurbished studio and designer fabric upholstery service based at its Fulham showroom.

Timothy Oulton, the founder and chief executive officer of the Halo and Timothy Oulton furniture and interiors design, manufacturing, wholesale and retail group, has died.

The Carpet Foundation will launch a national consumer advertising campaign on Monday March 7 with 1.5 million advertisements to appear across a 10-week period spread through the year.

Oxfordshire OEM and branded mattress manufacturer placed into the hands of restructuring advisors.

Flokk Group has doubled the size of its U.K. operations after agreeing to buy West Yorkshire furniture manufacturer Connection Seating from its private shareholders.

Harrison Spinks has partnered with a Liverpool based not-for-profit social enterprise to tackle furniture poverty, donating more than 100 mattresses to support those in need in the local community.

One of the U.K.'s largest suppliers to the floorcoverings sector has written to customers outlining planned price increases across more than a dozen items ranging from underlays to adhesives.

One third of the total number of active U.K. mattress manufacturing companies have been formed since the beginning of the spring 2020 lockdown, and 59 percent of those are based in West Yorkshire.

Norwegian upholstery producer Ekornes, owner of the Stressless and IMG brands, made gains worldwide last year including a double-digit uplift in delivered revenue across the U.K. and Ireland.

The BFM Fabric Show London event has attracted almost a third more exhibitors than previous editions after an increase in supplier interest ahead of its return next week.

Adjusted profits at Belgian foam conglomerate Recticel more than doubled last year while its CEO says the business will continue to adapt pricing where necessary.

European carpet, rugs and smooth floorcoverings manufacturer Balta booked higher profits in 2021, a year that saw it decide to sell more than half of its business.

Comfortex, a maker of finished and semi-finished products across the mattress, upholstery and healthcare markets, remained profitable last year despite input cost pressures.

Bedding conglomerate Hilding Anders' latest venture into the U.K. beds market is gathering pace with its sixth showroom—all in southern England—now open.

Profits at the U.K. arm of foam pourer Recticel jumped in the period taking in the early months of the pandemic, just-filed accounts show.

The chairman and CEO of Dreams owner Tempur Sealy International (TSI) says the U.K. bed retailer strongly grew like-for-likes in the final three months of 2021 and has outlined group-wide store growth plans.

A circa £8 million carpet producer is to make a seven-figure manufacturing investment upgrading plant and machinery.

Millbrook Beds built enjoyed double-digit sales growth in 2020/21 as it widened its independent retail customer base and continued to support the NHS' pandemic efforts.

East Midlands textiles manufacturer and distributor VM Fabrics has been placed into administration and ceased trading following the death of its co-owner and md last year.

The U.K.'s largest privately-owned upholstered furniture manufacturer has promoted its head of group I.T. to a newly-created role encompassing a wider remit.

Mammoth is to build on an existing partnership with Airsprung that will see the latter assume responsibility for manufacturing and distribution across the former's national and independent brick-and-mortar retail accounts. Benefits will include shorter lead times, it said.

Input cost inflation for U.K. furniture manufacturers last month eased to its lowest level since July 2021, but remains at a historically high level.

Paul Little has become deputy managing director at Airsprung Beds, the value beds division of the Wiltshire based Airsprung furniture group.

Kitchen giant Howden Joinery Group (Howdens) has acquired Sheridan Fabrications, a circa £30 million maker and supplier of high-end solid surface worktops.

Family-owned bed maker Harrison Spinks has donated 40 single mattresses to Zarach, a Leeds charity that helps children living in poverty.

The value of living, dining and bedroom wood furniture shipments into the U.K. declined for a third straight month in December, paring back full year growth in imports.

Mattress imports into the U.K. set a new record high after climbing for the eighth year in a row in 2021, with December figures confirming a recovery in momentum.

John Cotton Group has become a corporate member of The Furniture Makers' Company (TFMC), the dedicated furnishing industry charity and City of London livery company.

Upholstery company Arlo & Jacob is independent again after Mark and Julie Smith re-acquired the business from sofa group TCM Living (TCML), parent to Ashley Manor, Alstons, AMX Design and Alexander & James.

Direct-to-consumer upholstery brand Snug achieved a more than four-fold rise in sales last year as it benefitted from a mix of high demand and good product availability.

Shipping problems and higher costs failed to quell demand for overseas-made upholstery through 2021 as imports reached their highest-ever level over a full year.

The giants of mainland European floorcoverings production endured a fourth straight decline in UK. carpet exports to finish 2021 on a sour note.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has defended its decision to keep the £13 million in fines handed to KPMG following its conduct in the sale of Silentnight more than a decade ago amid increasing pressure to share the funds.

Full year furniture makers' combined turnover failed to recover all the revenue lost to lockdowns as supply chain challenges hindered producers' efforts to meet demand.

Funds managed out of Alabama in the U.S. now own more than 10 percent of flooring supplier Victoria after doubling the size of their investment this week.

The group behind the Komfi brand is to quadruple mattress manufacturing capacity with a new West Yorkshire factory and warehouse unit that is due to be operational within weeks.

Textile manufacturer Ulster Weavers has revealed a first-ever home furnishings collection as the 140-year-old company repositions as a contemporary homeware brand targeting millenials.

Privately-owned heritage manufacturer Ercol Furniture (ercol) has promoted finance director David Finch to managing director with immediate effect.

The British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) is to organise a series of regional industry events where it hopes the furniture community will be able to network and share best practice.

Upholstery producer and distributor La-Z-Boy U.K. has become a Business Club Plus member, a form of sponsorship, at Burnley Football Club.

Spinks has secured grant funding to support a push into the automotive sector for its spring technology in a move it says could accelerate a shift away from the use of foam in automotive seating.

Ticking supplier BekaertDeslee says it has become the leading mattress fabric supplier in North America after it completed the takeover of Canada-based Maxime Knitting.

Longtime Silentnight owner H.I.G Capital sold Britain's largest bed manufacturer to a different fund under common control last year as part of a corporate reorganisation that saw it concurrently refinance its debts.

U.K. upholstery market leader DFS has agreed a long lease on a large speculatively-build warehouse unit to the west of London.

Britain's largest bed manufacturer Silentnight has revealed the financial impact of the ending of its longstanding licensing arrangement with the Sealy brand.

Uptake of Level 2 Furniture Standard Apprenticeships has snowballed amid worker shortages according to the Furniture and Interiors Education, Skills and Training Alliance (FIESTA).

Neville Johnson returned to profit in 2020/21 as the pandemic hastened digital adoption and cut the upmarket cabinet maker and retailer's marketing costs.

A rug and mat supplier which has historically listed retailers including Dunelm and John Lewis among its stockist base landed a net margin north of 20 percent as it traded strongly through the first year of the pandemic.

Colefax Group, owner of multiple high-end furnishing fabric brands and prestige Devon sofa maker Kingcome, booked profits up by more than a third on higher sales in the six months to October 31.

Diversified Yorkshire cabinet furniture maker and sheet materials supplier Decorative Panels doubled profits in 2020/21 on wider margins. Group sales were flat.

The Government agency responsible for ensuring the designs framework enables rights holders to protect designs and enforce their rights has launched a call for views ahead of a review.

Cabinet furniture manufacturer Qualita has taken over production and distribution rights for Winsor Furniture's bestselling Stockholm range.

The company behind Far East upholstery giant Kuka Home says profits doubled in a year bookended by planned manufacturing investments totalling the equivalent of more than £400 million.

The National Bed Federation (NBF) has relaunched its Introduction to Beds course, a fast-track learning module targeting new industry entrants or those looking to enhance or refresh their knowledge of the sector.

South Wales sofa maker Ashwood Designs booked record sales last year amid investment in additional manufacturing capacity and frame production.

Proposte, the northern Italian textiles exhibition popular with sofa makers and other buyers of furnishings fabrics, has rescheduled its spring 2022 edition by a few weeks.

Upholstery retail and wholesale brand The Lounge Co has opened a second standalone showroom in London as it looks to boost its business in the capital.

Colour Marketing Services (CMS), which supplies a diversified range of sampling services and products to the furniture, flooring and interiors sectors, has appointed Caroline Adams as sales and marketing director. It has also moved into larger manufacturing premises.

Furniture and furnishings test house FIRA International has rescheduled its planned winter Open Day events to the spring, citing visitor and staff wellbeing.

Consumer price inflation for furniture reached record levels for the fourth straight month in December according to figures released Wednesday morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Upholstered furniture giant Man Wah Holdings has made its second major land acquisition announcement inside a week, this time for a vast plot of land in Mexico on which it plans to build more factories.

U.K. retailers and wholesalers imported more upholstered furniture into the country in November than in any other single month in history, new official data shows.

Italian upholstered furniture conglomerate Natuzzi has appointed Giuseppe Cacciapaglia as replacement for Vittorio Notarpietro pending a search for a new permanent chief financial officer.

Man Wah Holdings, the Hong Kong listed upholstery producer, is to build a new factory in Wuhan, China that will becomes its manufacturing base in the centre of the country.

U.K. furniture manufacturers' combined turnover climbed for the ninth month straight in November, new figures released Friday morning show.

A corporate reorganisation encompassing Karndean's global interests has revealed the floorcoverings supplier to be far larger than previous disclosures had indicated, and value the group north of £400 million.

The chairman of the Furniture Industry Research Association says the not-for-profit organisation expanded its membership base last year, giving the trade a bigger voice in shaping its own destiny.

Strong post-lockdown demand and unwinding its large order backlog last year put Tempur U.K. on track to recover sales lost to the early months of the pandemic.

The chairman of Ercol Furniture (ercol), which on Wednesday night featured on the BBC's Inside The Factory programme, says the manufacturer has recovered all the sales lost to the early period of the pandemic and continued to find bottom line gains.

Hydeline Furniture, the Buckinghamshire upholstery producer and distributor, has appointed Jonathan Burrage as its new managing director, succeeding Harvey Roberts in the role.

Paul Myerscough has been promoted to managing director at North Wales upholstery manufacturer Westbridge Furniture, a major supplier to national, DTC and independent retailers.

Kent bed maker Sleepeezee has taken centre state in a mini-documentary as part of a new TV campaign from the joint Natwest and ITV Backing Business Initiative.

The National Bed Federation (NBF) is calling on bed manufacturers and retailers to support its annual National Bed Month awareness campaign, and is providing a range of multi-media tools to enable them to do so.

Legislators have criticised a leading accountancy body after it confirmed the £13 million fine handed to KPMG for its conduct in the sale of Silentnight a decade ago will not be used to compensate pensioners impacted by its insolvent restructure.

Furniture, flooring and furnishings insolvencies jumped both sequentially and on an annual basis in the final quarter as state support measures such as the furlough scheme were brought to an end.

West Midlands upholstery manufacturer ACL 2002 built on a return to profit last year but says it is facing intense cost pressures and labour shortages because of Covid-19.

Liquidators finalising the affairs of a mattress company that filed for bankruptcy late 2020 owing millions to creditors say a number of matters warrant further investigation.

Rise-and-recline upholstery producer Celebrity Motion Furniture says it is optimistic it will clear the remainder of its CVA debt in the next year, saying the business has continued to prosper since its restructure.

Recticel shareholders have green-lighted the disposal of the company's mattress division to Aquinos, the Portuguese upholstery and bedding manufacturing conglomerate.

Kidderminster carpet maker Brockway swung back to profit as lower costs outweighed the impact of a decline in turnover ahead of a new managing director joining in the autumn.

Natuzzi has announced the resignation of chief financial officer Vittorio Notarpietro after 20 years service with the Italian upholstery maker and retailer across two separate spells.

Yorkshire mattress maker Highgrove Beds said the global increase in raw material costs eroded gross margin last year but it still posted class-leading profits and further built its cash pile.

Southern Italian upholstery manufacturer Incanto group will next month reintroduce its upmarket Incanto Italia brand to the U.K. and Irish markets after a multi-year absence.

The CEO of Tempur Sealy International's longtime Sealy Australia, Asia-Pacific and now U.K. joint venture partner is one of two new senior independent board members at the world's biggest bedding company.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the U.K.'s antitrust watchdog, has has provisionally found that Dar Lighting has broken competition law by preventing retailers from offering discounts online.

Moffett and Sons, the company behind the diversified upholstery, bed and cabinet manufacturer and wholesaler Balmoral Furniture, says it is on target to return to growth in 2021/22 after seeing sales and profits fall in the past year.

SATRA, the research and testing organisation, has appointed Tristine Hargreaves to lead its furniture and flooring section as divisional manager. It also announced a new tie-up to provide services to the National Bed Federation (NBF).

Wolf Components, the South Yorkshire pocket spring maker started three years ago by two former Leggett & Platt executives, almost doubled sales in the past year and says it is on target to deliver again in 2021/22.

A lack of skilled workers has forced furniture production wages higher, according to the British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM), the industry trade association.

Upholstery and beds company HSL has strengthened its retail presence in the North West of England, with a new unit opening Thursday to the north of Manchester.

Foam and industrials group Greiner is for now pressing ahead with plans to acquire what will remain of Recticel even though the Belgian company has agreed deals to dispose of two sizeable chunks of its business.

North West upholstery and curtain fabrics wholesaler Fryett's widened gross margin in 2020/21 as it increased its market share in the supply of cut length products.

The combined profits of nine of the world's largest shipping lines have increased eleven-fold in 2021 so far as demand and prices for ocean freight have surged as the pandemic has progressed.

Furniture company Fritz Hansen has acquired Skagerak Denmark in a deal that takes the design group into the outdoor furniture market for the first time.

The price of raw materials and inputs used in the production of furniture rose to another record level in November according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The effect of enforced factory shutdowns across Vietnam finally outweighed high U.K. demand for its goods in October as the value of wood furniture imports fell for the first time this year.

Foam and sprung mattress imports fell for the fourth straight month on an annual basis at the start of the final quarter of 2021, according to HM Revenue & Customs figures.



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