- Details
- INTERNATIONAL
Mobilux, parent company to French furniture chain BUT, has agreed to acquire furniture and electricals retailer Conforama France from Steinhoff International Holdings.
- Details
- FLOORCOVERINGS
Sales and underlying profits fell for Yorkshire rug distributor Melrose Interiors last year but a gain on the sale of property meant net income still climbed.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Department store retailer John Lewis & Partners says one-sixth of its retail portfolio will remain permanently closed, putting the jobs of 1,300 people at risk.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
British upholstery production dropped to its weakest level since 2014 last year as volumes fell almost double-digit on the back of weaker demand.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Another chunk of Italy's storied furniture industry is American-owned after one of the world's biggest manufacturers added a €90 million maker of furniture under prestige lifestyle labels to its roster of subsidiaries.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
A double-digit gain in average unit prices lifted the value of U.K. sprung mattress production last year, countering a fall in the quantity of goods sold.
- Details
- OPINION & ANALYSIS
There cannot be many furniture or flooring companies in Britain that have not availed of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) in some form or other.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
The company behind the multinational Light & Living brand paid £800,000 to acquire the business and assets of Gloucestershire home accents wholesaler Parlane International, administrator Mazars has revealed.
- Details
- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The Furniture Industry Research Association has created a toolkit designed to support its members in meeting the requirements of CE Marking Directives, including their often complex technical file aspects.
- Details
- FLOORCOVERINGS
Designer Contracts, a major floorcoverings and furnishings supplier to the new-build sector, has bolstered its workforce with 25 new recruits across its national network.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Revenue climbed at Coach House last year with the furniture and home accents wholesaler's profits up sharply as it finalised an earlier-reported settlement with the tax authorities.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The commercial director of national furniture retailer Furniture Village says the business had been "blown away" by the success of its new customer appointment system.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Crate and Barrel, the U.S. furniture retailer which also ships to U.K. consumers, has named the successor to Neela Montgomery following her decision to step down as CEO.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Direct-to-consumer mattress brand Emma is looking to put the squeeze on competitors after it cut the price of its best-selling model. It follows bumper sales growth in the first half of 2020 that saw U.K. revenue hit €44.3 million.
- Details
- FLOORCOVERINGS
After confirming a plan to move its yarn-spinning operations to mainland Europe, Kidderminster based carpet maker Brintons is now proposing to further consolidate its British manufacturing operations.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
Wayne Hollis, md at rise and recline upholstery producer Celebrity Motion Furniture, says the long-term aim is to lead a management buyout (MBO) and has reaffirmed the company's intent to refocus as a single-brand business.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
One of the U.K.'s largest wholesalers of domestic cabinet furniture returned to the black last year after a rise in output and cost controls.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
Upholstery market leader DFS plans to move into a vacant unit adjacent to its existing Preston store in a move that will reduce its footprint in the city.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Designer furniture business Carl Hansen & Søn booked a big increase in profits as it built out revenue to record levels last year. The Danish company said it still hoped for a positive result this year, despite the pandemic.
- Details
- EVENTS
The next edition of international workplace furniture exhibition Orgatec is now more than two years away after organisers pulled this year' event.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Family-owned furniture retailer Cousins has purchased the flagship Shropshire store of Alan Ward and says it will additionally reopen at least one of its three other units across neighbouring counties.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
National retailer Bensons for Beds is expected to become the sole retail stockist of the historic Slumberland mattress brand following the prepack buyout by Alteri Investors last month.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The Sleep Council and The Sleep Charity are to merge with the National Bed Federation (NBF) becoming a founding supporter of the enlarged organisation.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Consumer confidence continued to recover in the second half of June according to polling company GfK, though sentiment remains heavily negative.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
Rise and recline chair maker Celebrity Motion Furniture has, as was widely expected, secured the backing of creditors for its company voluntary arrangement (CVA).
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Dewsbury mattress maker Dura Beds has temporarily closed its factory for a fortnight after a number of its employees contracted Covid-19.
- Details
- ECOMMERCE
Studio Retail, owner of the Studio and Ace mailorder and Internet department store brands, has named Paul Kendrick as successor to CEO Phil Maudsley, who leaves next year.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The balance sheet value of Oak Furnitureland suffered a negative swing in the tens of millions of pounds since the company last put numbers in the public domain, a new report shows.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The administrator that handled the prepack sale of Oak Furnitureland has written to unsecured creditors outlining the value of the deal and advising they will be unlikely to receive a significant return.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The prepack sale of Oak Furnitureland gives management at the retailer time to renegotiate with landlords, many of which will be doing so for the second time inside a year.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Qualifying manufacturing businesses under three years old will be able to join the National Bed Federation (NBF) after it launched a new class of membership.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Retailers are being urged to become champions of British-made beds by the National Beds Federation (NBF), which has launched a new scheme to promote their benefits.
- Details
- EVENTS
Organisers of the home and gift show Autumn Fair have cancelled the 2020 edition because of the pandemic and will deliver virtual content instead.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
The prospect of Natuzzi's shares being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has diminished after the Italian sofa maker regained compliance with listing rules.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The value of the original deal that took Bensons for Beds and Harveys along with group sofa and bed factories into the hands of Alteri Investors and away from Steinhoff International Holdings can now be revealed for the first time.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
A Staffordshire cushion manufacturer with 50 employees and partnerships with prestige fabrics brands has folded as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Retailers' rent payments remain scarce following the latest Quarter Day dateline for some of Britain's major retail landlords, who have named their price for rent renegotiations.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Two of Britain's highest profile department store businesses put employees on alert yesterday, warning of job cuts ahead and probable store closures.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
A high-end East Midlands fitted furniture manufacturer says its balance sheet remains robust despite a six-week factory shutdown and it reporting a loss last year.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Furniture chain Harveys was placed into administration through PwC yesterday but alarm bells were already ringing for the retailer's suppliers last week.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
General merchandise retailer Argos, one of the U.K.'s biggest vendors of entry-level furniture and mattresses, enjoyed double-digit growth during the lockdown despite the closure of the bulk of its retail estate and no two-man deliveries.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The Alteri Investors led prepack buyout that rescues Bensons for Beds does not includes its manufacturing operations in South Wales and the West of England, including its Relyon plant.
- Details
- REGIONAL
Privately-owned South East retailer Sussex Beds opened its long-planned tenth store last weekend after its launch had been delayed because of the pandemic.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Product sales have fallen by more than a third since February 1, high-end interior furnishings group Walker Greenbank said yesterday.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
John Lewis of Hungerford, the manufacturer and retailer of prestige fitted furniture sold via its own showroom network, has refinanced its debts.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Bensons for Beds and Harveys are no longer sister retail chains after owner Alteri Investors completed a buyout of the former that leaves the latter facing an uncertain future.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
240 jobs across Swedish kitchens conglomerate Nobia's U.K. retail and supply network are under threat as part of a wider group reorganisation. Peter Kane, the longtime head of retail chain Magnet, is also stepping down.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
French cabinet maker's London based subsidiary secures company voluntary arrangement (CVA) after only non-connected creditor declines to vote, objecting to amount ascribed to outstanding debt.
- Details
- INTERNATIONAL
The sale of the €100 million turnover Habitat furniture retail chain outside Britain and Ireland has moved a step closer after its French rights holder entered exclusive negotiations with a prospective buyer.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The reopening of furniture stores in Ireland put the nation's retailers back on the road to recovery in May with data for June likely to show a sharp rise on an annual basis.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Oliver Bonas, the national furniture, gift and lifestyle retailer, has boosted liquidity after agreeing new borrowing via the state-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Neptune, the upholstery, furniture and home furnishings vertical, will pay £17,350 to the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust after its failure to register as a packaging producer prompted enforcement action from the Environment Agency.
- Details
- EVENTS
Interior design show Decorex says its November event will transition to an all-virtual format instead of being held in person at Olympia this year.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Privately-owned Furniture Village has been named retail Family Business of the Year in a nationally-recognised annual awards programme.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
First quarter revenue declined more than a fifth for Italian sofa giant Natuzzi with almost all its markets worldwide impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
The return to market of cabinet furniture brand Willis & Gambier will gather momentum with already-previewed product lines to be available ahead of the start of the golden quarter.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
National bed chain Bensons for Beds is preparing to open the remaining stores across its retail estate, having opened under half until now.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Furniture and electricals retailer Harvey Norman has timetabled the next addition to its thirteen-store network in Ireland with a long-planned unit in the west of the country.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Duvalay, the Gomersal based mattress manufacturer, has won Yorkshire Family Business of the Year in the People's Choice section of the Family Business United awards for 2020.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Morrisons, the supermarket retailer, will open the doors to its new-concept home and clothing store in North Derbyshire later this morning (June 29).
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The new shape of the reborn Oak Furnitureland team has begun to emerge with its new owner drafting in a leading restructuring expert alongside the retailer's incumbent chief executive.
- Details
- FLOORCOVERINGS
Flooring distributor and manufacturer Victoria has taken steps to tie-in the future of senior managers across the group with the launch of a new long-term management incentive plan.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Revenue jumped double-digit for a key soft furnishings supplier to Dunelm as it supported the out-of-town home retailer's growth plans on the way to completing ten straight years of top line improvement.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) have endorsed Barker and Stonehouse's 'Let's Get Going Britain' campaign, an initiative designed to galvanise support for homegrown furniture makers.
- Details
- ECOMMERCE
The reintroduction of the Home Essentials brand in April has enabled cross-selling opportunities, says ecommerce and mail-order retailer N Brown Group, with it hoping to attract customers from its other brands.
- Details
- FLOORCOVERINGS
Flooring franchise chain United Carpets Group says it is in advanced talks to secure additional funding but says it will have enough liquidity to see it through "this extraordinary period."
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
The shutdown of the leisure and hospitality industry will have a major impact on revenue says one of the sector's largest suppliers of furniture and custom-made furnishings. But lower sales didn't stop it growing profits last year.
- Details
- FLOORCOVERINGS
Victoria, the diversified floorcoverings distributor and manufacturer, says U.K. and European carpet sales are rallying now lockdowns have been eased across the continent.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
Nicoletti Home says there will be no summer cutoff for orders this year while the southern Italian sofa maker is to bring new products planned for the spring Salone del Mobile show to the U.K. next month for an exclusive event for its retail partners.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
Upholstery vertical Sofa.com has permanently closed one of the first stores it opened after it began a national rollout of shops five years ago.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Co-op Group deputy CEO Pippa Wicks has been hired to run department store chain John Lewis & Partners, the retailer has announced.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Consumer confidence for major purchases continue to claw back earlier negativity at the start of June as shoppers returned to stores as the lockdown was eased.
- Details
- CASE GOODS
Higher costs meant kitchen maker Burbidge recorded a bigger deficit in the year to September 30, 2019, despite higher output and wider gross margin.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Members of the National Bed Federation (NBF) have elected David Moffitt as the next president with the trade association, as expected, also announcing its 2020 Bed Show will now not take place.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Work to complete the new state-of-the-art Lucas Furniture store in Buckinghamshire continues at pace with it targeting a summer 2020 opening.
- Details
- OPINION & ANALYSIS
Any major new store development offers an opportunity for fresh thinking and for reimagining what is possible from a modern-day furniture store.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
One of the pioneers of British flatpack upholstery production and retail has completed an insolvent buyout following an earlier company voluntary arrangement (CVA).
- Details
- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Phil Reynolds, one of Europe's foremost experts on furniture regulation, standards and testing, has left his roles at FIRA International and the Furniture Industry Research Association.
- Details
- FLOORCOVERINGS
The closure of an online contemporary rugs retail business has left creditors including HM Revenue & Customs with a hole in their finances.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The complex work involved in reshaping the successful and desirable parts of what was Steinhoff's U.K. furniture and bedding retail businesses is progressing now the lockdown has been eased.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Britain's furniture factories helped grease the wheels of the manufacturing economy in April despite lockdown, as companies assembled and supplied essential products.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
Dan Oscroft has been promoted to sales director at upholstered furniture manufacturer Whitemeadow following the decision of longtime incumbent Paul Wesson to retire.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The owner of British kitchen companies Mark Wilkinson and Smallbone of Devizes has added prestige kitchen brand Poggenpohl to its roster of high-end businesses.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Long before Covid-19 entered the vernacular, another form of virus had a negative effect on one major general merchandise wholesaler's revenue in the 2018–19 financial year.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The multimillion pound sale of Cousins' Manchester superstore, revealed earlier this year, safeguards the future of the independent retail business and also bolsters its war chest to consider expansion.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
The long-planned closure of Brintons' yarn-spinning manufacturing facility in Telford was confirmed late last week, impacting more than 70 employees.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
May saw another huge chunk of furniture retail sales lost as companies relied almost exclusively on ecommerce. Barely a hundred shops across the country had reopened by the end of the month.
- Details
- OPINION & ANALYSIS
The release of official retail sales figures for May uncover the extent to which furniture retailers have missed out during lockdown but are also revelatory for the impact of ecommerce.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Lee Longland & Co, the privately-owned furniture retailer with stores across the Midlands, has been placed into administration through Duff & Phelps. It continues to trade and says it remains "very much open for business."
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
The Thai majority shareholder of four of Britain's largest upholstery businesses has further integrated and reorganised its sofa interests as it works towards a planned U.K. stock market listing.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The owner of heritage furniture brand Heal's reorganised its structure last year in a move that means the retail trading arm is no longer responsible for tens of millions of pounds of historic liabilities. It comes amid speculation the business may be sold.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
GNG Group has assembled a new team of sales agents as it prepares to unveil a vacuum-packed mattress line under its Komfi brand. It follows the earlier appointment of Stuart Hibbert as sales director for its Consumer Products Division.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Scotland's largest privately-owned furniture retailers have this week reopened their stores with new safety measures in place.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Insurers paid out for both lost stock and the gross profit from sales furniture retailer Heal's was forced to forfeit as a result of the fire that ravaged its national distribution centre just over a year ago.
- Details
- EVENTS
Organisers have pushed back the relaunch of Design London, the rebranded event until now known as 100% Design, to September of next year.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
New senior internal sales appointments at cabinet furniture brand Kettle Interiors.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Consumer furniture price inflation eased to a four-month low in May as some retailers across the country began reopening their stores.
- Details
- REGIONAL
The owner of four-store furniture retailer Alan Ward, one of the largest independent retailers in the country, has told employees that its stores will not reopen following the lockdown.
- Details
- REGIONAL
Industry insiders are hopeful that Alan Ward's flagship Shrewsbury store will remain a landmark furniture site despite the planned closure of the four-store retailer's shops.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Ecommerce sales have skyrocketed for Tempur Sealy International in the second quarter while the multinational bedding business says the early signs from third-party stockists reopening is encouraging.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Beds conglomerate Hilding Anders ill-fated ownership of Feather & Black may be over but its U.K. adventure is not, following the opening of its first Carpe Diem Beds showroom in London.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The new head of mattress brand Emma's British and Irish business says its message cut through with consumers in lockdown partly because of the absence of rivals' advertising.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Duflex Foam, the mattress manufacturing and foam division of upholstery, soft furnishings and beds group Belfield, has changed its name.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
Two of Britain's heritage upholstery brands, including Wade Upholstery, could return to fight new battles despite the collapse of their former owner.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Revenue advanced for third-party logistics company Wincanton in the year to March 31, helped by the addition of new multi-year contracts in the home furnishings retail sector.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
The not-for-profit organisation administering the issue of grant funding for projects that provide innovative ways for textile waste to be recycled or re-used has streamlined the application process.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
In the past three months, we've heard many four-letter words used to describe the situation at Oak Furnitureland. None of them were "rich" or "list."
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Shipments of sofas and mattresses arriving at U.K. ports halved in April as the two categories continue to lag compared with imports of living, dining and bedroom cabinet.
- Details
- OPINION & ANALYSIS
Yesterday saw the reopening of non-essential retail in England and in the coming days and weeks all the shops that plan to trade again will likely be doing so. But an opportunity — and millions of pounds of income — will have been lost, and for no good reason.
- Details
- FLOORCOVERINGS
Containers arriving from the Far East prevented the total collapse in the value of carpets and rugs passing the U.K. border in April, according to new Government figures.
- Details
- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The Furniture Industry Research Association, the membership organisation, has published its latest Standards Summary, including details on three new standards and an appraisal on other topics affecting industry stakeholders.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Hardwood furniture and upholstery retailer Oak Furnitureland is to be bought by global investment manager Davidson Kempner Capital Management via a prepack administration process.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
Paul Islip, joint managing director and co-founder of Westbridge Furniture, has left after 16 years with the North Wales upholstery manufacturer.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
One of the major obstacles preventing a clean carve-up of what was Steinhoff's furniture and beds retail division is self-evident in the makeup of its estate.
- Details
- OPINION & ANALYSIS
Creditors are expected to approve the long-planned company voluntary arrangement (CVA) at Celebrity Motion Furniture by the end of the month, giving the rise and recline company an exit from administration.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Leeds bed maker Harrison Spinks has launched a line of quick-ship off-the-shelf mattresses for the independents sector, the first time it has offered next-day delivery.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Another of IKEA's small-format pilot stores will not reopen following the coronavirus pandemic, with it announcing the permanent shutdown of its Westfield Stratford City store.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
NHS doctor and TV celebrity Dr Ranj Singh is the first sleep ambassador for national retailer Furniture Village. He will head up its new advertising campaign, which goes live this weekend.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
While major groups and independents have reopened stores across England, retailers further north in Scotland have remained almost universally closed on devolved Government guidance. That is no longer the case.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
A reborn Beales department store business will return this summer backed by property entrepreneur Andrew Perloff, owner of beds and upholstery group Airsprung and furniture chain AHF, and run by its former CEO.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Furniture and electricals retailer Harvey Norman shrugged off the impact of store closures in Ireland as sales growth accelerated in the period taking in the lockdown after a big shift online.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Furniture and flooring chain AHF has signed a lease to open a new store at Fosse Park, Leicester, as the retailer rebuilds its national footprint.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Variety goods retailer B&M expects to scale up its programme of furniture and homewares, already a multimillion pound category for the chain.
- Details
- OPINION & ANALYSIS
The entry into the U.K. of RH, the high-end furniture and lifestyle retailer formerly known as Restoration Hardware, is a drum we have been banging for some time, first reporting its plans back in November 2017.
- Details
- ECONOMY
The retail and wholesale sector has furloughed more employees than any other U.K. industry since the Government launched the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The U.K. arrival of U.S. high-end furniture and lifestyle retailer RH, formerly Restoration Hardware, continues to loom into view though its London gallery could be the second of its English properties to open.
- Details
- ECOMMERCE
Trading in the early weeks after lockdown has given ecommerce giant Very Group — one of the country's largest retailers of furniture — hope of arresting an earlier home category sales slide over its full financial year.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
The pandemic will poke a hole in the profits of major soft furnishings supplier SMD Group in 2020 but will not lead to it recording a deficit, the company said.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The U.K. exit of Casper Sleep will come earlier than forecast while the mattress company's departure from European shores has attracted the interest of lawyers specialised in class action lawsuits.
- Details
- FLOORCOVERINGS
Ecommerce floorcoverings retailer U.K. Flooring Direct bounced back into the black in its latest financial period after a leap in pro-rata demand.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
IKEA says its Bromley planning studio, one of several pilot formats being run by the home and garden retailer across Britain, will not reopen.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
A shift in consumer behaviour during lockdown has prompted Portmeirion, the tableware, dining, gifts and home fragrances manufacturer, to look to boost its ecommerce business.
- Details
- REGIONAL
The managing director of Stocktons, one of the country's largest retailers of modern furniture, says it is considering all available avenues as it progresses long-established plans for its Manchester store.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Blue Group, the business formed when Steinhoff divested its U.K. furniture and bed operations, has confirmed the departure of Paul Little from its bed manufacturing unit.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The U.S. parent company of Leesa Sleep is the largest creditor of the now-defunct British arm of the direct-to-consumer mattress operation, whose U.K. exit we first revealed early May.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
A third of mattresses and headboards randomly tested by The National Bed Federation (NBF) either flunked flammability requirements or were borderline failures — a similar outcome to when the trade association carried out the same exercise last year.
- Details
- REGIONAL
Durham Bed Centre, a chain of inexpensive mattress stores based largely in the North East, is to add two new units as it expands beyond its heartlands.
- Details
- INTERNATIONAL
Furniture retailer JYSK says it wants to drive environmental change throughout the business, and has hired a dedicated sustainability manager for the first time in its history.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Blue Group, the owner of furniture retail chain Harveys, has reacted to trade claims regarding the future shape of its Harveys' store network and updated on the emergence of the group's retail estate out of lockdown.
- Details
- REGIONAL
The company behind East of England furniture and homeware retailer Aldiss said it entered its 2019–20 year with a bigger order book, putting it on track to grow for a third straight year before the pandemic struck.
- Details
- FLOORCOVERINGS
National flooring retailer Tapi Carpets agreed millions of pounds in new borrowing as part of an earlier-signposted funding round that saw shareholders subscribe for new equity.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Direct-to-consumer mattress brand Simba Sleep said it sold more online in May in the U.K. than in any other month in its history.
- Details
- FLOORCOVERINGS
Floorcoverings supplier Designer Contracts has relocated to a new head office in Chesterfield, a building four times the size of its predecessor.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Burnley manufacturer Sweet Dreams (Nelson) has appointed Jon Prince as its new sales agent for South West England and South Wales.
- Details
- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The British Institute of Kitchen, Bedroom and Bathroom Installation (BiKBBI) has become the latest trade association to join the Furniture and Interiors Education, Skills and Training Alliance (Fiesta).
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
The future of HTL International, the Far East producer responsible for manufacturing one in every 150 sofas estimated to be sold in Britain each year, has moved a step closer to a positive resolution.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
The managing director of sofa maker Buoyant Upholstery has praised retailers for helping money flow through the supply chain as the Lancashire company prepares to resume production.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Direct-to-consumer mattress brand Emma has appointed a new country lead for the U.K. and Ireland, with the previous incumbent given a new brief to drive its business in Asia.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The reopening of some furniture stores contributed to a third straight improvement in consumer confidence for big-ticket goods, but the score remains at a historically low level.
- Details
- REGIONAL
A furniture retailer forced to close one of its four Kent stores after the local council bought it for redevelopment has found a new site in Ashford and will then add a fifth showroom in the county.
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