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.

Upholstery market leader DFS will have transformed well over half of its store estate by this time next year with plans to continue remodelling showrooms through 2022 and beyond.

Supply chain challenges in the six months to end January hit ScS' profits but the sofas and carpets retailer hopes to claw that back in the second half as it unwinds its big order book.

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.

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.

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.

Upholstery and flooring retailer ScS is to close its Greenock store later this spring after it decided not to renew the lease on the property.

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.

Profits declined at sofa market leader DFS Group in the six months to Boxing Day on lower delivered revenue, operational cost headwinds and the falling away of some Covid-support measures.

DFS has begun a consultation with employees regarding the closure of its loss-making Netherlands operation, saying the planned exit would allow it to focus on higher returning activities.

Upholstered furniture specialist Sofology is putting the finishing touches to its seventh and final new store of its 2021/22 financial year.

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.

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.

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.

Upholstered furniture manufacturer Ekornes has ceased distribution to Russia and Belarus in solidarity with Ukraine while IKEA has closed all 17 of its stores in what is its 10th largest global market.

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.

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.

Australian furniture maker King has formally announced its launch in the U.K. with the opening of its first King Living showroom here, on Tottenham Court Road in London.

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.

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

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 expansion of sofa market leader DFS into other home categories will see it partner Eve Sleep (eve) to sell mattresses and bed frames, initially online.

Revenue soared to record levels at furniture manufacturing and wholesale group Actona last year as it bounced back from a blip during the early months of the pandemic.

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.

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.

Sofa market leader DFS has launched DFS Vegan, a programme of upholstery that is both 100 percent animal free and approved by PETA, the charity dedicated to establishing and protecting the rights of all animals.

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.

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.

Privately-owned upholstery retailer Sofas & Stuff will take its store network to 20 nationwide with its latest opening, primed to open next month.

Direct-to-consumer and wholesale upholstery brand Swyft Home has signed a lease on a new and larger distribution centre facility.

Half-year revenue at ecommerce-led home and garden products retailer and wholesaler The Garden Trading Company trended up in mid single digits in the first half, according to its new owner.

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

Upholstery brand Swyft Home has more than doubled its footprint in John Lewis stores nationwide after the department store chain introduced new displays last week.

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

Upholstery and carpets retailer ScS said it has traded well through the important winter sale period and is working with its supply chain to mitigate challenges that have pushed out lead times.

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

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

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.

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.

Furniture conglomerate Lars Larsen Group booked net income of 5.14 billion Danish kroner (£581m) last year as it benefitted from both organic growth and acquisitions powering top line growth.

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.

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.

Invite-only trade exhibition BFM Fabric Show London 2022 will take place at a new venue, the ILEC Conference Centre near Earls Court, when it returns this spring.

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.

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

Upholstery group DFS has named the new managing director for its Sofology retail chain, succeeding the brand's CEO Sally Hopson, who left after retiring last year.

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

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.

Furniture and homeware company Swoon has become the latest third-party brand to have its products offered on the platform of DFS, the U.K.'s upholstery market leader.

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.

ScS, the national upholstery and flooring retailer, has relocated its Doncaster store to a different retail park in the South Yorkshire town.

Large upholstery retail warehouse Vine Mill Furniture is clearing stock ahead of its planned closure with owners instead to focus on the group's wholesale operations supplying other companies.

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

Omnichannel furniture and homeware retailer Loaf plans to expand its store footprint into Scotland for the first time with the opening of a ninth showroom next year.

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.

International furniture brand Timothy Oulton has in the past few days expanded its London store footprint with the opening of two further showrooms while its eponymous owner is now majority shareholder in Andrew Martin International, the high-end retail and wholesale company.

Upholstery retailer Sofology has revealed two further new store locations for its 2022 pipeline as it continues to reconfigure its national network.

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.

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.

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 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).

Upholstered furniture import growth slowed at the beginning of the final quarter despite continued robust figures from both China and Poland, the U.K.'s largest trading partners.

Halo Creative & Design, parent to premium pitched furniture brand Timothy Oulton, has acquired a country house hotel comprising a 17th century manor after securing new finance worth tens of millions of pounds.

British furniture manufacturers' combined turnover rose on an annual basis for an eleventh month straight in October, but fell against pre-Covid levels.

Profits and cash climbed for the group behind adjustable beds and riser recline chair brand Willowbrook in 2020/21 ahead of its disposal to a venture capital and private equity group.

Recticel has entered into a binding agreement to sell its Engineered Foam unit to Carpenter Company after shareholders yesterday backed the disposal of the division for €656 million.

Adjustable furniture and mobility products retailer CareCo has acquired a warehouse near Leeds that will support its showroom rollout as it builds a national presence.

The company behind entry-level sofa maker Wyvern Furniture leaves creditors with little prospect of a return after it was placed into administration and ceased trading earlier this autumn.

Emerging upholstery company Swyft Home has secured a seven-figure supply chain finance deal designed to support business-to-business growth with third-party retailers.

Upholstery giant Man Wah is to acquire a 55 percent stake in a Far East sofa maker that was once one of the largest in the region supplying U.K. furniture retailers.

Airsprung Group was cash generative and boosted profitability in 2020/21 on the successful execution of a limited restructuring programme designed to "better align the needs of the business to the new reality."

Italian upholstery giant Natuzzi said it continued to enjoy strong demand in the third quarter but supply challenges presented cost and operational headwinds. Strategic outsourcing is one of three strands to address those.

National upholstery retailer Sofology has launched a new programme of sofas and chairs in collaboration with architect and TV presenter George Clarke.

Upholstery and flooring retailer ScS said autumn order intake declined against tough comps while supply chain issues and changing consumer priorities are impacting demand. It has agreed deals with new U.K. suppliers to cut lead times.

Sofa.com plans to maintain a physical store presence in the Harrogate area irrespective of whether proposals by Marks and Spencer (M&S) to re-occupy the upholstery vertical's existing store are approved.

Britain's Buoyant Upholstery has been voted one of 11 pan-European winners of a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) 2021 Furniture Award, which celebrates the producers of sustainable furniture.

Retail giant Next continued to build headcount at its upholstery manufacturing unit in the past year, but output was lower on factory shutdowns. A write-down of assets hit profitability.

Mandated store closures gifted sales to ecommerce retailers through the early months of the pandemic but the momentum has slowed in 2021 as U.K. shoppers returned to brick-and-mortar retail environments.

Natuzzi Editions will open its largest U.K. store to date when it heads to Bristol next month. It is one of three imminent new showrooms for the Italian upholstery brand, including a first in Dublin, Ireland.

The achievements of leaders at emerging and established home furnishings businesses were recognised at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, whose 2021 winners were announced Monday night.

Recticel has cranked up the pressure on shareholders to back the sale of its engineered foams business to Carpenter Co, saying the plan has the backing of independent advisory firms.

A €370 million turnover upholstery and bed manufacturing group has agreed to buy Recticel's Bedding division, which makes finished mattresses and bed frames primarily sold into mainland European markets.

Upholstered furniture and beds retailer Willow and Hall ended a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) ahead of plan after creditors agreed to a revised repayment proposal.

Sofa import growth weakened in September but still grew on an annual basis for an eighth consecutive month on the back of increases from the U.K.'s two largest trading partners.

Delivered sales continued to climb at the same rate in the third quarter as they did in the second in the U.K. and Ireland for Ekornes, owner of upholstery brands Stressless and IMG.

Sofa market leader DFS has added Good Housekeeping to its roster of brand partners as it looks to drive average order value and conversion across its core business.

The upholstery group behind the Alstons, Ashley Manor, AMX Design and Alexander & James brands continued to make top line gains in the three months to end September, but the inflationary cost environment hit profits.

The group behind the Parker Knoll, G Plan, Duresta, Collins and Hayes and The Lounge Co upholstery brands is opening a new factory in Worcestershire as it looks to build capacity and future proof its requirements.

Profits at Man Wah Holdings, the recliner and upholstery giant with factories across the Far East and Eastern Europe, climbed almost a third in the six months to end September as sales jumped to record highs.

The value of furniture made in U.K. factories in September was over £27 million higher than any other month in history according to data released Thursday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Upholstery producers are reporting further input price pressures for foam after converters and other suppliers of semi-finished products were hit with increases on polyurethane block supplies.

Gatemore Capital Partners, which describes itself as an activist investor that looks to create rather than just identify value, is said to be building a stake in DFS, Britain's largest upholstery retailer.

Preston sofa cover and reupholstery company Plumbs has introduced a new ecommerce brand offering finished removable cover sofas, armchairs and accessories.

A simple majority is all that is required for shareholders to approve the sale of Recticel's Engineered Foam unit to U.S. giant Carpenter.

There is less than a month to go until Recticel shareholders will get to vote on whether to sell the group's Engineered Foams business, which includes its comfort foam operations, to Carpenter, the U.S. conglomerate.

The price of key ingredients used in the flexible foam recipe have fallen in recent weeks, fuelling hopes among sofa and mattress makers that they may see their own costs ease as a consequence.

Upholstery retailer Sofas & Stuff will open its fourth new store this year and 19th overall when it opens in a former Laura Ashley unit before 2021 is out.

A leather, wood and fabric restoration product manufacturer that lists DFS, Harrods and John Lewis among its client roster has reduced its use of virgin plastic by 80 percent as part of an eco-drive to minimise its plastic packaging footprint.

Sanderson Design Group (SDG) has appointed former John Lewis Partnership chief financial officer Patrick Lewis to its board as one of two new non-executive hires.

Foam and fibre conversion business Breasley, a key supplier to U.K. furniture makers, has been formally renamed as Peak Converters to better reflect its 36-year manufacturing history.

Foam company Recticel has again advised shareholders not to sell their shares under the offer from Austrian rival Greiner as management look to enact their own plan to divest parts of the group elsewhere.

Buoyant Upholstery has becomes the first company in the furniture sector to join the Slave-Free Alliance, the social enterprise launched by global anti-slavery charity Hope for Justice with the aim of preventing worker exploitation in global supply chains.

Upholstered furniture retailer Sofa Club, which sells online and through lounges in major English shopping centres, will launch its first physical presence in the Midlands next week.

The British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) has appointed an association leadership specialist as its new managing director while current incumbent Nick Garratt is to become its chairman.

The proposed takeover of the comfort foam business of Recticel by its industry peer Carpenter raised eyebrows across many U.K. furniture industry boardrooms, right across the supply chain from manufacturers to retailers.

Furniture wholesale giant Actona Group is to expand the scope of its global upholstery operations after agreeing the takeover of private equity backed Danish sofa maker Theca. More deals for other companies will follow, it said.

La-Z-Boy U.K. has acquired North West sofa maker Furnico in a deal that gives the U.S. headquartered upholstery conglomerate manufacturing capability within Europe.

Inflation figures released Wednesday made for grim reading. Consumers are paying over 10 percent more to buy furniture than they were this time last year, while manufacturers' input costs are increasing at twice that level.

Upholstered furniture shipments continued to rise strongly at the height of summer despite lapping robust figures recorded in the aftermath of the first Covid lockdown.

Revenue fell at all four of West Midlands and Essex upholstery group TCM Living's business units last year but three of them still managed to gain market share from their competitors.

New figures from upholstery group TCM Living show its two largest retail customers—both major furniture chains—were responsible for 61.4 percent of its £100 million plus turnover through 2020.

Venture capital and private equity group LDC says it has made a growth investment in mobility products group Kingswood, the owner of the Willowbrook adjustable beds and riser recline chair brand.

Plumbs slipped to an overall loss last year but the sofa covers and reupholstery business said it enjoyed a very profitable fourth quarter after benefitting from pent-up demand post lockdown.

British furniture manufacturers' combined turnover rose by a quarter against strong comparatives at the height of summer as the industry battled to meet surging demand.

Carpenter Co, the U.S. headquartered industrial conglomerate, has made a binding offer for Recticel's Engineered Foam division, which includes its comfort foam business serving U.K. upholstery and bedding customers.

The next phase in an intellectual property disagreement between two sofa companies, one in the U.K. and another in Ireland, is scheduled to take place this week.

Home, gift and furniture wholesaler SIL generated cash and returned to profit last year as lower costs negated the impact of a fall in turnover.

Customers pivoting away from the web and back to stores along with the collapse of Greensill Capital exacerbated an already perilous situation at Kidderminster sofa maker Wyvern Furniture.

The company behind Kidderminster sofa maker Wyvern Furniture has ceased trading and been placed into administration. All of its employees have been made redundant.

The principal U.K. arms of Carpenter and Vita, two of the big three comfort foam suppliers to Britain's bed and sofa manufacturing sectors, saw output and earnings fall amid the early months of the pandemic.

Direct-to-consumer brand Swyft Home is to launch into the non-upholstered living room furniture category with its first cabinet products.

Adjusted profits were up by half at ScS through 2020/21 as the upholstery and flooring retailer began unwinding its big order book resulting in a leap in delivered sales.

Management actions buttressed liquidity and profits at national furniture retailer HSL in 2020 as its customer base was impacted by Covid-19 to a greater extent than other demographics.

Existing local managers will oversee the business of iconic sofa brand Tetrad after the departure of its longtime md and former owner Janus Cooper, its parent company Belfield has said.

Walking away from tens of millions of pounds worth of business with IKEA was a bold move but Westbridge is finding new custom elsewhere, with both emerging and longstanding customers.

Belfield Group's upholstery businesses were more impacted by lockdown periods last year as its just-divested mattress unit delivered higher revenue amid the backdrop of the pandemic.

The group behind the Adjustamatic brand returned to profit and generated cash last year as lower costs helped mitigate the impact of a decline in delivered sales.

Market leader DFS is expanding the number of upholstery ranges it carries in its stores, paving a path for it to onboard new suppliers to the sofa chain.

Vita Group has acquired Belfield's Usleep business unit from NorthEdge Capital in a deal that makes the diversified foam conglomerate one of the country's largest manufacturers of finished mattresses.

Sofa giant Natuzzi continues to write new orders faster than it can manufacture existing ones according to its incoming CEO, who says the global supplier is prioritising ways to cut lead times.

Sofa Workshop by Timothy Oulton has been granted planning permission to remodel the interior of the listed former Lombok furniture store in central London.

The CEO of DFS says pushing further into the online bed market is the early focus of a wider plan to diversify the group's revenue base beyond the upholstery category.



Stay informed. Subscriptions start from less than £2 per week:



Already a subscriber?    Sign In