Big Furniture Group Magazine May 2024

Editorial

Dan Squires

Managing Editor

dan@bigfurnituregroup.com 07531 854718 | 01223 298489

Advertising Nick Mizin

Sales Manager

nick@bigfurnituregroup.com

0207 096 1010

Publisher Stephen Smith

Production Juan Morante GraphiC Design

www.bigfurnituregroup.com

EDITOR´S NOTE

BigFurnitureGroupLtd

UK registered company number 05484239

2 Jordan Street, Knott Mill, Manchester, England, M15 4PY

Print: Buxton Press

ISSN No: 2753-3387

Copyright © Big Furniture Group 2022 Issue No: 21

No part of this publication may be reproduced without the specific prior written consent of the publisher. Big Furniture Group Ltd accepts no responsibility for variations in colour reproduction and cannot be liable for the safe custody or return of any solicited or unsolicited material. We are committed to producing a true, factual, fair and unbiased publication through the editorial content within and takes appropriate measures to do so. Big Furniture Group Ltd reserves the right to edit any content other than advertisements, with the editor’s decision being final. All material submitted for inclusion in Big Furniture Group is done so entirely at the owner’s risk. Advertiser information is accepted in good faith and Big Furniture Group accepts no responsibility in in adverts appearing in the magazine, and do not necessarily reflect the publisher’s views. Contributors are advised to keep copies of all material submitted.

Dan Squires Managing Editor

Welcome to May’s Big Furniture Group Magazine ”

This month, yet another bumper edition, marks a major milestone for our Cover Star, DUXIANA, as the brand continues to expand in the UK and presents a preview of its new products at the upcoming Spring Furniture & Beds Show. We visited their new store in Stamford to find out more while also sitting down with Kevin Slade, Director of Growth at DUXIANA, in our latest Big Interview. He talks about how his role has developed since joining DUX, future plans and why the customer experience is vital for retailers. Our attention also turns to the aforementioned show where we feature what to expect to see from a number of exhibitors presenting new products and services, while we also preview the Long Point show too, with a handy map of Long Eaton.

In terms of investments, we spoke to Peter Harding, MD at Fairway Furniture, who shared a deeper insight into the ongoing refurbishment at their flagship Plymouth store, while Nicolle Hockin, MD at Devonshire Living, reflected on how the last 12 months have been at the business, future plans and top performing products. We spoke with Louis Mitchell, Director at The M6 Bed Warehouse, who talked about the expansion of the business, and Stephen Goknel, Founder of bedding brand Luff Sleep, on how the Bamboo Pillow is an industry game-changer.

There’s an insight into how to implement a furniture ERP & EPOS system in three steps, as well as top platforms to use when considering payment and bookkeeping solutions. Furthermore, Stravito talks about the growing popularity of Generative AI in the furniture industry, while in other areas of tech, Nathan Morgan, at Koble Designs, shares an insight into smart furniture, Pathfinder debunks the myths on CAD/CAM technology and VetiGraph outlines why precision is key when it comes to cutting upholstery fabric. In keeping with sofas, Sweet Dreams unveils the next generation in upholstery and ScS talks trends.

Meanwhile, TRL Furniture has expanded with the appointment of five new agents, while our Meet the Agent features Nadine Shadwell who shares her insight and why POS is paramount. As for other regulars, Green Retail highlights the latest updates from Linthorpe Beds and DFS, while Sarah Bianchi, CEO, at Arighi Bianchi, talks celebrating their 170th anniversary year in our Retail Focus feature. The Bed Expert and Letter’s from China and Vietnam also return with more insights, while the team behind the MFS and JFS explore just why trade shows have long been pivotal platforms.

We also introduce McGimpsey, a perfect transport partner, while DispatchTrack explores complexities of furniture delivery and Gallery Direct returns with another product insight, this time focussing on dining in style. Hypnos is creating a British Wool Legacy, Furniture & Choice reveals fashionable furniture, NOVA talks outdoor furniture, Door4 looks at performance-powered brand marketing and to wrap things up, Furniture Sales Solutions shares a tale of desperation, disinterest, frustration and hope.

That’s enough from me, so enjoy our latest magazine. Oh, and if you have any news you want to shout about or if you’re keen to get involved in our Retail Focus and Big Interview features, drop me an email on dan@bigfurnituregroup.com. We’d love to share your story.

CONTENTS

16. Big on Social

32. Retail Focus: Arighi Bianchi

36. How to implement a furniture ERP & EPOS system in three steps

40. Purecare Point of Difference

42. Spring Furniture & Beds Show

46. Hypnos: Creating a British Wool Legacy

50. Switch and Integrate with FurniturePay

52. Encouraging Signs at Devonshire

54. Managing the Complexities of Furniture Delivery

56. Designing the Outdoor Furniture of Tomorrow 58. The Bamboo Pillow

with FurnitureBooks

66. Fairway’s flagship refurb

68. Debunking the myths on CAD/CAM technology

70. Your fabric cutting optimised

72. What’s fashionable in furniture?

74. Why AI?

76. Introducing Koble Designs

78. Green Retail

80. The Next Generation in Upholstery

82. ScS talks home trends

84. Long Point

88. Siren Signals Expansion

90. Meet the Agent

92. Letter from Vietnam

96. A story of flair and personal touch

98. Harrison Spinks publishes sustainability report

100. To Print or Not to Print

102. History, Legacy and why Trade Shows are still a Must

104. Performance-powered brand marketing

106. Second-gen expands with second store

108. Big Question

110. Letter from China

112. Registration for IFHS 2024 is now open

114. New Products

118. Jobs

120. Introducing McGimpsey

122. Last Word with Furniture Sales Solutions

DIRECTOR OF GROWTH AT DUXIANA, talks about how his role has developed since joining DUX, future plans and why the customer experience is vital for retailers.

INSIDE DUXIANA’S STAMFORD STORE

Paul Allchin, owner of Belvedere Interiors, talks about his expansion through the opening of a standalone mono-brand DUXIANA store.

RETAIL FOCUS

Sarah Bianchi, CEO, at Arighi Bianchi, talks about recent investments and celebrating their 170th anniversary year.

HOW TO IMPLEMENT A FURNITURE ERP & EPOS SYSTEM IN THREE STEPS

David Hewitt, Head of Global Support & Implementation for RetailSystem, talks about your business needs to join the retail revolution.

NEWS

Independent sofa retailer opens new Chesterfield store

Independent upholstery retailer KC Sofas has announced the opening of its new store in Chesterfield.

Situated on Chatsworth Road, the new store launch has coincided with the relocation of its Sheffield store on Barlborough Links where the new space offers an extended showroom footprint.

KC Sofas, which also operates from six other stores in Castleford, Lincoln, Doncaster, Barnsley and Worksop, said that the opening day was a “big success”.

Jamie Charnock, the current founder of KC Sofas, commented: “We are overjoyed to share the fantastic news of our opening day at our new location on Chatsworth Road in Chesterfield! The day was filled with excitement, warmth, and an overwhelming sense of community as we welcomed old friends and new faces into our brand new store.

“The move from our old outlet store to this bustling high street has been an incredible journey, and seeing it come to fruition on our opening day was truly rewarding. Our team worked tirelessly

to ensure that every detail was perfect, from the layout of our showroom to the warm welcome extended to each visitor.

“One of the highlights of our new store is the expansive range of sofas and chairs on display. We take great pride in offering a diverse selection of styles, colours, and materials to suit every taste and preference. From sleek modern designs to timeless classics, there’s something for everyone at our showroom.

“The response from our customers on opening day was overwhelmingly positive, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the support and enthusiasm shown by the community. Seeing smiles on the faces of satisfied customers as they explored our showroom filled our hearts with joy and reinforced our belief in the importance of what we do.”

KC Sofas will also be opening a showroom in Sheffield this summer, followed by plans to open a new store in Market Wheaton, West Yorkshire by the end of 2024.

Help four furnishing industry professionals walk across Wales

Four furnishing industry professionals are preparing to walk across Wales in aid of Myeloma UK. The team consists of Sas Haines, Paul Howe, Callum Day and Emma Hughes, with their aim to raise awareness and funds for Myeloma. Paul and Callum will be doing this in memory of their Dads and Emma will be doing this in support of her Dad who is a Myeloma patient, while Sas is joining them as their friend.

Each year in the UK, approximately 5,900 people are diagnosed with myeloma, also known as multiple myeloma, a blood cancer arising from plasma cells. At any one time there are around 24,000 people living with myeloma in the UK.

The challenge, the Rotary Across Wales Walk will take place on Saturday, 22 June 2024. The team will start at 2am in Machynlleth, the historic capital of Wales and home to Owain Glyndŵr.

The route itself is 46 miles, taking some 120,000 steps and an elevation of 2210 meters, along Glyndŵr’s Way, private farm land, public footpaths and the Montgomery canal before finishing in the beautiful border town of Montgomery. They hope to complete it before sunset, luckily it will be days after summer solstice!

The team are currently in training, if you see one of them and their car is parked at the far end of your showroom carpark, you’ll know it’s because they’re spending ‘Time on Feet’. If they run out of milk at home in the evenings, they’re walking to the local shop leaving the car on the driveway, and now the evenings are getting longer, they’re ditching the tv remote in favour of trainers and taking a walk around the block.

The team has set themselves a fundraising target of £5,000 and have set up a JustGiving page, Team Myeloma is fundraising for Myeloma UK (justgiving.com). If you would like to give a donation to the challenge, visit the page here. https://rb.gy/brt1ag

“Much-loved and respected” Mike Broughton sadly passes away

Furniture retailer Furniture Village has announced the sad passing of Chief Information Officer, Mike Broughton.

In a statement on social media, Furniture Village said: “It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of our muchloved and respected Chief Information Officer, Mike Broughton. Mike passed away peacefully on Friday 5th April surrounded by his family.

“As many of you will know, Mike was a larger-than-life character who brought a wealth of experience, talent and good humour to our Board. He was an inspirational leader and mentor who always made time for his colleagues and encouraged everyone to fulfil their potential with his endless capacity for warmth, empathy and positivity. More than anything, he was a true gentleman.

“He leaves behind a lasting legacy and will be hugely missed by all his FV Family. Our heartfelt condolences go to the Broughton family at this very sad time.”

IKEA UK and Ireland continues its fulfilment transformation

IKEA Ireland is opening its state-of-theart distribution centre in Rathcoole, Co. Dublin, marking a significant milestone in the company’s expansion within Ireland.

This new facility, employing over 200 people, follows investments in six plan and order points, upgrades to

the Ballymun store, and an innovative collaboration with Tesco Ireland on affordable collection service, all to bring IKEA closer to customers across the Republic of Ireland.

The new distribution centre will result in IKEA’s business in Ireland having one of the shortest delivery times in Europe. Before now, IKEA deliveries to Irish consumers required dispatch from the UK. With the inauguration of this new multi-million-euro facility in Ireland, delivery times will reduce to just three days. This strategic move not only brings IKEA products closer to its Irish customers but also significantly improves product availability throughout Ireland.

The vast distribution centre is over 27,000 square metres, has a storage capacity of 20,000 cubic metres –equal to over 258,000 flatpack BILLY bookcases or double the size of Croke Park pitch – and is capable of housing up to 9,000 different product lines, spanning across almost every product in the IKEA range.

IKEA expects the distribution centre to be making more than 300,000 deliveries in the first year of operation, with that figure almost doubling to nearly 600,000 within five years. Eventually the plan is to be able to deliver up to three million items a year from the centre.

“The opening of Ireland’s first IKEA distribution centre will greatly benefit our customers through faster and more reliable deliveries,” said Jakob Bertilsson, Country Customer Fulfilment Manager, IKEA Ireland and UK.

“It marks a key step in our ambitious expansion plans across Ireland. We remain committed to – and are continually investing in – the future of our physical store in Dublin, but we want people to enjoy the IKEA experience no matter where they choose to engage with us, whether through our full-size store, plan and order points, or online. This new distribution centre will greatly enable this, by increasing availability of our products and reducing lead times,” he added

Ergonomic furniture experts launch new website

Family-owned ergonomic furniture experts, Back in Action, has announced the launch of its new website. Featuring a revised interface and larger image gallery, additional video content and explanatory information, the modernised site offers a cleaner and more responsive design with improved functionality to streamline navigation through the range of products.

Already Back in Action, which also operates from four stores in London, Marlow, Bristol and Amersham, has noticed a greater overall user experience and engagement per session with the new website is already up 15% year-on-year.

Lucinda Newbound, Partner & Senior Ergonomic Adviser, commented: “Our priority as a business is helping our customers, however our previous website was not easiest to navigate and so we knew we needed to bring it up to date with our mission and we couldn’t be happier with the results. We have already received very positive feedback from customers following the website update.

“As a team, we spent a lot of time researching what we wanted from the website, and identifying areas that needed improvement to benefit the user experience and so it’s rewarding to see and hear how the new site is improving customer experience.”

The free toolkit that keeps on giving

Sam King, founder of From Fear To Mindful, continues the conversation on his free toolkit and why furniture retailers need to download it.

After just entering its second year of trading, Sam King’s free toolkit to help boost sales and profits for furniture and bed retailers is continuing to gain pace. “This year has started really well,” said Sam. “By helping as many furniture store owners as possible strengthen their relationships with their clients, we can help more business owners not only earn more money but take a more relaxed and stable approach to their business. Who wants Yo-Yo results when you can have sustainable and predictable profits all year round?”

Over the next year, Sam added: “Our aim by January 2025 is to be helping 40 furniture store owners well on their way to adding an extra One Million GBP in revenue above current pace. The feedback from retailers is great. Many furniture store owners have been in the furniture selling space for years.

It’s not like they’re new to the game so the vast majority have got great experience in sales.

“How we help though is by leveraging the skills that they already have and fine tune them with certain scripts (answers to objections, what to say and when to say it) which ultimately swings the likelihood of not just a prospect making a purchase, but turning them into a lifelong client that actively refers their friends and family to them.”

The free toolkit is where the journey starts. And if applied correctly, the gains can be “huge”, says Sam. “The first major win of people downloading the toolkit is that if they apply it, they’ll see a huge increase in their Close Rate and Average Order Value. If applied properly, furniture retailers will increase 20%, easily. This is the short-sighted view though. The long game is that they’ll have clients for life and within two years, their footfall will be doubled, minimum.

“Relationships are important with their clients; relationships are also important within the business community. Once businesses come together to create Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances, this is where businesses grow exponentially. You only need a handful of trusted business people together looking out for each other and great things happen.

“My coach has a ‘Dolphin’ analogy. Dolphins swim in a pod and protect and lookout for one another. When a shark comes to attack one dolphin, the rest of the dolphins attack leaving it helpless and motionless. And what happens to a shark when it can’t swim? It suffocates and dies. It sounds harsh but that’s nature... and business!”

On relationships, Sam says these are “crucial” to the success of anything. How his toolkit helps goes beyond the actionable pointers, but to ongoing training to maximise the clients desired result. “Somebody said something a few years ago that ‘You may be able to

sell ice to eskimo’s, but you’ll only do it once’ and I loved that. Always think of the long game of sales and be strategic with your words and actions. This is what separates the 1%’ers from the others.”

The toolkit will help furniture store owners “out-smart, out-smart, out-think and out-earn their competition, and with a value of £297, offering for free helps retailers implement it straight away. “If they do, they will see an increase in turnover and client loyalty,” Sam continued. “The strategies are simple but the best and most successful methods usually are. I promise you that their competition will not be doing everything that the toolkit says. It only takes one thing that can make the difference.”

Download your 13 Tools to Double Your Sales with Half The Stress here: https://fromfeartomindful.com/freetoolkit-tbfg/

Our aim by January 2025 is to be helping 40 furniture store owners well on their way to adding an extra One Million GBP in revenue above current pace. ”

Free digital marketing event for Homes and Gardens retailers

Door4, a digital marketing agency which specialises in the homes and gardens sector, is promising to arm marketers with the insights that they need to improve the performance of their digital marketing campaigns – making ads work smarter, not harder.

A free in-person event will take place on Thursday 6th June from 9am at Brockholes Nature Reserve in Preston. Register here to reserve your place.

“From Insight to Impact: Campaign Planning for Home & Garden Marketing” is the next in a series of quarterly events hosted by Door4 which is designed to give marketeers and business owners in the homes and gardens sector crucial insights to improve the ROI on their marketing campaigns.

With a specific focus on campaign planning, the event will shine a light on how marketeers can adapt to changing consumer behaviours and preferences, specifically in the home and garden market. It will also give attendees with the tools that they need to elevate their visibility in a highly competitive online landscape; as well as tactics to enhance return on investment.

Sean Dwyer, director at Door4 who will be speaking at the event, says: “This event is not to be missed. We will be taking a deep dive into the nuts and bolts of campaign planning to give attendees valuable insights into crafting consistent marketing frameworks that deliver results time and time again. It is

no secret that the homes and gardens sector is predicted to experience slow growth this year, making it an absolute must to have a robust digital marketing strategy that will help businesses stand out in a crowded and highly competitive marketplace.

“Our events are fun and interactive – there will be lots of opportunity for participation and a great chance to network with your peers. The event kicks off at 9am with a free hot breakfast, the presentation will begin at 9:30am.”

For more information or to register, visit: https://door4.com/events/from-insightto-impact-campaign-planning-forhome-garden-marketing/

Bed manufacturer appoints new Sales Director

Beds and mattresses manufacturer Vogue Beds has announced the appointment of Robert King as its new Sales Director.

Rob joins Vogue with over 30 years of experience in the industry with extensive knowledge at a senior management level, leading a sales teams as National Sales Manager at Myers Beds and as Sales Director at Breasley.

Commenting on the appointment, Rob said: “I am excited to start working with the team at Vogue Beds. The company history, experience and commitment to continual improvement and sustainability, coupled with the wide range of products, including non-internet and white label options, make Vogue Beds a natural partner for all retailers.

“I look forward to working with the sales team and colleagues at our upcoming May open house ‘Vogue at Home’ and showing all our customers the benefits of Vogue Beds as that partner.”

Bensons For Beds appoints new Chief Commercial Officer

UK bed specialist Bensons for Beds has announced the appointment of Mark Slater as its new Chief Commercial Officer. The role will see him become part of the Executive team.

As the new Chief Commercial Officer, Slater will be responsible for the business’ commercial, marketing, digital and services teams, alongside product innovation and new business development with a key focus on growing the brands’ sales and overall market share.

Nick Collard, CEO at Bensons for Beds, says: “Following our return to profitability, this appointment is a critical role for Bensons as we begin to accelerate our work to create a more distinctive, compelling, and sector leading offer for our customers.”

Mark Slater, Chief Commercial Officer at Bensons for Beds, said: “The turnaround that Nick and the team have done with the business thus far, in the midst of a highly volatile consumer market, has been extremely impressive. Bensons’ expertise and manufacturing capabilities present a huge opportunity for the business. I’m delighted to be part of the team driving this forward.”

BigBites

Independent retailer expands

Independent carpet, sofa and beds

retailer Carpet World has announced the opening of its new store in Barrow. Situated at Walney Road, the retailer has relocated from its former site at Ashburner Way to a larger premises. The new store is able to house a wider range with both the store and warehouse all under one roof. This includes an expansion of its sofa ranges on display.

Founder of independent retires

Independent carpet business Bristol Carpets has announced the retirement of founder and director David Gibbs. The business, which has been established since 1960 and is based on Chapel Lane in Fishponds, is hold a special ‘retirement sale’ to mark the occasion. David Gibbs, who is 85 years old, has run the business for 64 years and is now handing over the company to his son John, daughter Debra, and grandson Jake – who are all currently involved in the business.

Dunelm delivers resilient Q3

Home furnishings retailer Dunelm has reported a growth in third quarter sales despite ongoing challenging conditions. According to its latest trading update for the 13-week period ended 30 March 2024, total sales increased by 3% to £435m. Dunelm said that trading conditions have “continued to be volatile” with March in particular seeing softer levels of demand.

Carpet business opens in Accrington

Independent carpet business Mobile Carpets and Flooring Services has announced the opening of its first showroom. Situated in on Blackburn Road in Accrington, the new store offers a range of vinyl flooring, carpets, laminate flooring and artificial grass. Co-founded by two brothers, Sadaq

and Hawaar Khan, the pair have been operating a mobile carpet supply business since September last year.

Furniture brand sales slip; profit returns

Furniture brand Swoon has reported a decline in sales but a return to profit. According to its latest filed accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023, total sales fell 4.2% to £13.6m from £14.2m in 2022. This marked a second year of declining sales, adding to its drop of 21% from £17.9m in 2021. Pre-tax profit resulted at £188,000, improving from a loss of £2m recorded in the previous year.

Carpet manufacturer appoints new CEO

Carpet manufacturer Cormar Carpet Company has announced the appointment of Paul Barratt as its new CEO to drive the next stage of growth for the Lancashire based business. Paul brings with him a wealth of experience having worked in the flooring industry for over 25 years, initially with Bonar Floors and more recently Karndean Designflooring.

Sleepeezee donates £32k to BHF

Luxury mattress manufacturer

Sleepeezee has announced a charitable contribution of £32,000 to the British Heart Foundation, stemming from the proceeds of their Travelodge Dreamer mattress sales in 2023. For each Travelodge Dreamer mattress sold, Sleepeezee has pledged to donate £20 to the British Heart Foundation, making a significant commitment to advancing cardiovascular health research and awareness.

John Doe of Diss to host Charity Golf Day

Norfolk-based independent furniture retailer John Doe of Diss has announced its upcoming charity golf day in aid of industry charity, The

Furniture Makers’ Company. The 18hole competition, which is the second that the retailer has organised, is taking place on Friday 21 June 2024 at Diss Golf Club. The charity golf day invites participants to enter teams of four, with singles and doubles also warmly welcomed. Competitors will be categorised into Retailer, Supplier, and Guest, with exciting prizes for both individuals and teams, including nearest pins, longest drives, and various other competitions.

Blinds business secures future

Blinds and curtains business Castle Blinds has secured new ownership to save the company from closure. Based in Chaddesden, the company has been taken over by Myles Hayhurst, an employee of the business for the past three years, after its owners decided to put it up for sale. Upon securing the takeover, all nine staff have been retained, as well as the legacy of the company, which has been established for 26 years.

Irish furniture retailer opens new Cavan store

Irish furniture retailer EZ Living Furniture has announced the opening of a new store in Cavan. Situated at Cavan Retail Park on Dublin Road, Killynebber, the new store marks its 20th location. The new store also follows recent openings in Carlow at Carlow Retail Park and in Athlone, located at Daneswell Business Park, Monksland.

Flooring distributor sold to Scottish counterpart

Nottingham floor covering distributor T&R Floor Covering Distributors Limited has been sold to TradeChoice Carpet & Flooring. The deal will see TradeChoice accelerate growth plans within the Midlands and provide more efficient transport and storage options for the wider company.

ON

BIG SOCIAL May

24!

EZ Living Furniture

New Store Announcement! We are delighted to announce that our brand new Cavan Store is now open for business! Located in Unit 7 in the Cavan Retail Park. A big thank you to everyone who made this possible and here’s to many more milestones ahead for EZ Living Furniture!

Fishpools

Thank you to our wonderful customers and staff who helped celebrate our 125th Birthday in store. We’re immensely proud of our heritage along with our excellent reputation. Here’s to another 125 years…

A look at what’s been going on over social media channels. Share your news with us and email

dan@bigfurnituregroup.com

Prestige Beds

To Celebrate #WorldHeritageDay and our 65th Anniversary at Prestige Beds we’re diving deep into our photo archives to share how our stores looked at the beginning. Did you know our journey began next to the historic Alexandra cinema in Eanam, Blackburn, back in 1959? That iconic spot, one of England’s earliest cinemas, became our bustling warehouse. Imagine the stories those walls could tell! Flash forward to 1974, we opened our doors in the charming Grade 2 listed building in Padiham. After four decades of cherished memories, we made the big move to Burnley in 2014. In 1991, we took another significant step from Eanam to our current headquarters and showroom in a 19th century former textile mill, Alma Mill, on Hart Street in Blackburn. Have you visited these historical locations? Share your memories with us!

Alstons

We take pride in recognising the accomplishments of our team members. It brings us great pleasure to mark Duncan Jackson’s 25-year milestone with Alstons. We extend our gratitude to Duncan for his unwavering dedication and diligent efforts throughout the years. Congratulations!.

Willshee’s Waste & Recycling

Thriving East Midlands furniture retailer Toons has appointed Willshee’s as its waste and recycling provider. Craig Sharp (pictured middle) and Nathan Kinson (pictured right) of Toons will be working with our Craig Willshee (pictured left) and team to improve the company’s carbon footprint and bring commercial efficiencies.

Haskins

As a company we are always investing. New technology - our sales assistants now use tablets so they can be more personable with our customer’s. No more desks! Employee training - Adam Hankinson is booked for training in a few weeks. Showroom updates - we have a new Tempur Studio, new Hypnos beds and have been decorating around the store. Plus, we have another new lorry. Retail is hard but we are moving forward and ensuring we are fully prepared for what trials this year will throw our way!

BIG INTER VIEW FEATURES

WITH KEVIN SLADE

Kevin Slade, Director of Growth at DUXIANA, talks about how his role has developed since joining DUX, future plans and why the customer experience is vital for retailers.

Let’s start with you. Can you share a bit about yourself and your background?

I actually started out in construction some 25 years ago and then have been involved in retail over the last 20 years, particular creating customer experience and high-end retail. In my history, I’ve worked with Harrods, Selfridges, WHSmith, Furniture Village, John Lewis, as well as a number of other brands too. The last 10 years has been more about building brands in retail or hospitality and I came into DUX almost five years ago as their Head of Next Gen and ‘Next Gen’ was about taking the company into the next generation. This had two literal meanings, one being to help with the transition from the third generation to the fourth generation, and the second part was to help the CEO bring the company forward. Next Gen was anything that was forward-thinking or forward-facing for the business

and included things like a new global website, new marketing strategies, new corporate strategies and new retail concepts.

What is your current job role and key responsibilities?

I’m the Director of Growth for DUX and DUXIANA and that is all about growing the brand and business. I’ve spent the last three years with my team building all the foundations, as highlighted above, and we’re now delivering that, so our focus has shifted to growth.

What do you love about your job?

I love that I work with a forwardthinking business and a very dynamic brand. Being fourth-generation family owned, there’s no board to go to, which means if we have an idea, we’re all communicating together quickly to make a decision. The brand is ready

to take the next step forward and I consider them as a ‘sleeping lion’, it’s a big brand that has been around nearly 100 years and we’re in 35 countries around the world and has an amazing heritage. I get a lot of freedom and flexibility to grow and my mantra when I first came in was to take the business from where we are now to doubling, and even trebling, the business. It’s great to be part of that journey and having a voice that is heard at ‘board level’, while making a difference every day, is brilliant for me.

What time is your alarm clock set for?

I work internationally, so my day can start from as early as 5am and not finish until 1am the following day. I travel almost every other week; I took more than 80 flights last year! Time zones are whenever they need to be really, so there’s no official alarm for me.

Why did you choose to work in the furnishing industry?

I didn’t choose to work in the industry as much as I did for this brand. I have a background in consumer electronics, hospitality and a number of different industries, and I came across this brand that was looking for someone to take it forward, which happened to be in the furnishing industry.

Who do you most admire in the industry and why?

Sounds cheesy, but the Ljung family. Every generation of DUX has pioneered something. Our founding father Efraim created the DUX Bed and unique spring system, his son Erik pioneered the furniture growth and the collaboration with Bruno Mathsson. Claes has then pioneered the DUXIANA retail concept as well as the Pascal spring system and now Henrik is pioneering the digitalisation of the business and further growth. As a family, they really inspire me and the fact that each one is leaving their mark on the company history and their own legacy is truly inspiring. The word ‘DUX’ in Latin means ‘leader’, so their mantra is to ‘always lead, never follow’.

Have there been any special moments during your career?

I would have to say it’s while I have been with DUX. The partnership I have built with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is one that most people think I did on purpose (as I’m a lifelong fan), but actually to come across a brand that takes what we do so seriously and saw the benefits of it, as well as sharing the same vision and ethos on rest and recovery, to then build that relationship to what we have has been something very special.

What is your favourite item of furniture you own and why?

My DUXIANA Super Spider chair in sheepskin. It’s the most comfortable place I like to be and I often joke it’s the place I’d like to die!

What do you think is trending within the industry at present?

I do see that people are being more wholesome with sustainability rather than ‘green washing’ and as a brand we are making great strides in our own efforts. It’s not just about using sustainable materials, but also what ends up in landfill. With our new collection, our component-based design, which has always been a philosophy at DUX, we’ve now dialled it to the maximum, as it really is a bed for life as you can change components during its life, meaning it will never end up on landfill.

What would you change in the industry?

For someone who hasn’t been in the industry for very long, I do think it is an archaic thinking environment. I do think there are quite a lot of old-fashioned ways of working, and some retailers carry on doing what they have always done. But the consumer wants more now. I absolutely love retail. I don’t think bricks and mortar will ever die, however, what will die is ‘boring’ retail. We have to give the consumer a reason not to click online and come and experience it. If there is a reason in store, a customer journey that is encouraging people in, people will come. Personally, I would still rather go into a store than buy online and with furniture and beds, the consumer really needs to experience the products and journey. They want to understand everything now, it’s not just about displaying a line of product and that’s it.

Can you share an insight into your future plans?

My title gives it away really as we are focussed on growth. It’s a two-pronged approach for us. It’s improving what we have as we operate in over 300 stores across 35 countries, while also we’re aiming to grow where we are not, so markets like the UK, France, Spain and Italy are a major driving force right now, but we’re doing it in a strict and stringent way. We are only looking for

partners that will fit with the brand and understand what we are trying to achieve. Back to boring retail, we don’t want to put a bed on a shop floor, we want to create a customer experience. We sell physical comfort, so we want to create a retail environment of comfort too – nice smells, soft rugs, good lighting, those elements. Our growth strategy has been in place for the last 18 months and we’ve already opened eight to 10 new locations across Europe and we have the same on the horizon.

What do you enjoy most outside of work / free time?

I don’t get much time, but when I do, I like to spend it at my own home. I travel so much, so there’s nothing better than sitting at home with my wife and little dog with a nice glass of wine to relax and unwind. Oh, and the occasional Spurs game of course!

What might someone not know about you?

I have a real passion for baking! I’m a self-professed pretty good baker and I make some fantastic cakes. I’ve done giant Jaffa cakes, three-tier cakes, you name it!

If you had a different career, what would it be?

There is nothing. I absolutely love what I do!

Finally, if you were an item of furniture, what would it be and why?

The DUXIANA Super Spider again. It feels like a big hug of a chair and I’m built for hugging!

5 FUN QS:

If you could hack into any one computer, whose computer would you choose and why?

Steve Jobs – to see what was never released.

What fact amazes you every time you think of it?

Two things – the number of bottles of diet coke sold in day and also the Michael Jordan and Nike collaboration, with Nike’s expectations vs what was delivered ever since.

What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?

I’ve been known to just jump on flights away with no notice!

What is the most important object you own and why?

Probably my mobile phone – due to the international demands of my job, it’s never more than arms reach away, unfortunately!

What did you think was cool when you were young but isn’t cool now?

I was a big jungle music fan and now when I try and educate my son and listen back, I do question myself as to why!

I don’t think bricks and mortar will ever die, however, what will die is ‘boring’ retail. ”

www.duxiana.co.uk

Dine in Style

Dining tables are more than just functional pieces of furniture, they’re often the centrepiece of a dining room or kitchen.

Gallery Direct offer an extensive choice with a range of sizes, shapes, styles, materials and finishes, along with matching or complementary chairs and benches, to suit different needs and interiors.

With its unusual compact shape, the Hatfield Small Dining Table is ideal for small spaces. It offers a retro feel with a contemporary touch. The beautifully shaped top is perfectly complemented by the elegant legs. It features oak veneers and rubberwood with a smoked oak finish. The table is also available in a natural finish. The Hatfield collection also offers square, round and rectangular dining tables, along with matching chairs.

For those requiring a larger table, the Chisbury is available in two sizes. These lovely dining pieces feature a solid acacia top with a live edge, paired with a black metal ‘U’ shaped underframe which gives a modern semi-industrial look, ideal for any eclectic interior. It looks perfect paired with the matching bench.

Extending dining tables offer added flexibility, and Gallery offer a selection including the Artisan Round Extending Table. This stunning piece will make a classy addition to any dining room, and with its extending top it is both beautiful and practical. The legs feature hand-crafted bobbing detail which is created by turning the wood on a lathe, a task carried out by the finest craftsmen. The table is made

using beautiful oak solids and veneers, with a very subtle lime wash tone to the finish which is soft and mellow. The Artisan collection also includes a rectangular extending dining table and a dining bench and chairs, as well as other matching pieces.

Another collection that offers an extending table is Craft. This large practical table is available in a natural or a smoked finish. It offers elegant design, with its simple top and beautifully shaped underframe, and features the finest oak and structural oak veneers. The collection includes dining benches and chairs, three other sizes of dining tables, and a wide range of other matching pieces.

But this is only a tiny taster of Gallery’s dining collection, their range is large and varied, from traditional to contemporary, chic to farmhouse-style, featuring a variety of materials, including marble, both real and faux, an example being Lusso, glass, metal and of course wood. To view their entire catalogue, visit their website.

www.gallerydirect.co.uk - 01795 439159

sales@gallerydirect.co.uk

Craft Extending Dining Table, Bench & Chairs Natural

Hatfield Small Dining Table & Chairs Smoked

Artisan Round Extending Dining Table & Chairs

Chisbury Dining Table & Bench with Holm Chairs

Paul Allchin, owner of Belvedere Interiors, talks about his expansion through the opening of a standalone mono-brand DUXIANA store.

Swedish bed and furniture manufacturer DUXIANA has been building something special here in the UK of late. From brand building to partnership forming, DUXIANA is firmly establishing itself as a key player in the luxury market. Adding to this growth strategy, the brand has recently opened a new store, its first outside London, marking another significant chapter, not only in its UK operation, but also its global story.

DUXIANA has been busy identifying key retail partnerships and locations in the UK as part of this strategy, with Stamford providing the perfect platform for its second store. Situated on Ironmonger Street, just off the Stamford High Street, the picturesque setting marries seamlessly with the brands atheistic and ethos.

So, when Big Furniture Group’s editor was invited to see the finishing touches put in place and experience the store first-hand, it was an opportunity not to be missed. Like its London showroom on George Street, the Stamford store features popular models from the DUXIANA range, including furniture and bedding, alongside The DUX Bed.

Paul Allchin, owner of the store, explained just how the partnership blossomed and why the sole focus being on DUXIANA was a no-brainer. “I first became aware of DUXIANA many years ago and have always been fascinated by the brand. I reached out to see if they wanted to take some space in a retail premises. We then met up and it snow-balled from there and here we are with the store in Stamford.

“We first met last summer and I found the shop shortly after and we decided to run with it entirely as a DUX branded shop. Kevin Slade (Director of Growth at DUXIANA) and his team have been fantastic and I’ve followed their lead with the layout and store design. It’s been an incredible journey so far and the transformation of this empty shell to what it is now is nothing short of fantastic.”

The store opens with visually stunning signage, furniture products and a dressed-up DUX Bed in a spacious layout. The little points of detail, like the homewares, slippers and DUX branded mugs displayed a warm feeling, with the core bed display running midway through the store. “This allows the customer to walk through as a journey, learn and experience the DUX brand in full,” says Paul.

“The consultation section also allows for a relaxed setting to do business. It often takes around two hours from walking through the door to the end purchase for a typical buying journey to complete. It’s all about the experience and this store delivers that in abundance.”

DUXIANA, a fourth-generation business, opened the store on 23 April 2024 and will hold an official launch party soon to celebrate the milestone. “We’re excited to see how our new Stamford store performs, which is part of plans for a wider UK rollout,” Kevin Slade, Director of Growth at DUXIANA, said.

“We are now actively looking for 6-10 retail partners across the UK that are in line with our strategy of offering a premium unique product via a premium customer experience. Our partnership with Paul in Stamford has been a big success in putting our vision into reality and we look forward to what comes next - hopefully lots of customers through the door!”

As Kevin indicates, the brand is looking to maintain its growth trajectory and sees retail partnerships fundamental to their strategy. Plus, it works both ways, as the benefits for the retailer to get involved offer huge potential. For Paul, working with DUXIANA has been “on another level”. “I’m all about luxury brands and DUXIANA is a luxury brand at the top of its game. I’ve been involved with other bed brands before, but DUXIANA are on another level in

It’s been an incredible journey so far and the transformation of this empty shell to what it is now is nothing short of fantastic.Paul Allchin ”

We are now actively looking for 6-10 retail partners across the UK that are in line with our strategy of offering a premium unique product via a premium customer experience. - Kevin Slade

terms of quality and the complete customer experience.

“I know Stamford well and I know the demographic of shoppers,” Paul continues. “The location itself is a beautiful part of the UK and DUX fits in perfectly with their brand ethos and luxury offering. My plan is to really cement this store in Stamford and build the business. I would like to expand further with other DUXIANA stores, and eager to work with them to fulfill this. We are both ambitious for the UK market and Stamford plays a key strategic part in the next phase of DUX’s growth.”

On the products themselves, Paul has long been in admiration of the craftmanship and uniqueness that embodies DUXIANA. “If you buy a DUX bed, it’s multi-generational. You can get components repaired and replaced over time, adding to the longevity, and they offer tremendous amounts of versatility to suit any needs or changing needs during ownership.

“Their bedding and pillows are on equal quality too. The technology behind the pillow is phenomenal –I’ve never seen a pillow quite like it and they are fantastic. The bedding and pillows also provide a great sales opportunity for the store too as everything is in one place for customer. They are ideally located in our consultation section, at the back of the store, where customers can easily absorb the benefits of the entire DUX offering.”

If you’re interested in forging a strategic partnership and becoming part of the DUX story, don’t hesitate to respond to their call to action, as Kevin boldly states: “DUXIANA WANTS YOU!”

FEATURES

Retail Focus with Arighi Bianchi

Sarah Bianchi, CEO, at Arighi Bianchi, talks about recent investments and celebrating their 170th anniversary year.

Meet Sarah

My role is focused on the high level strategic direction and leadership of Arighi Bianchi to ensure the ongoing success of the company.

Recent investments?

Continuous investment is vital in ensuring that Arighi Bianchi maintains its advantage and remains successful for generations to come. As such we have invested heavily across the business – from strategy and branding through to store updates and a new website.

2024 marks our 170th anniversary and our focus is firmly set on how we can evolve our business in line with consumer trends. To secure the success of the business for years to come, we have invested in a new growth strategy which will see us evolve our offering to become a destination, offering shoppers experiences that complement our interior collections. The strategy is focused on driving both store and ecommerce growth, with a brand building, customer experience focused approach. This will be underpinned as ever by product quality and service excellence.

As part of this strategy, we have launched an exciting, destination-led campaign for 2024 called ‘Postcards from’. This will see us combine new accessories collections and brands with in-store events and food and drink takeovers. This first destination to launch is LA and we are offering people the chance to win a luxury £5,000 holiday to Los Angeles as part of the campaign.

In store we’ve invested in new and refurbished showroom spaces, a new accessories department and a new-look Caffè AB, complete with a delicious new menu. Whilst earlier this year we re-launched our website

arighibianchi.co.uk, enhancing the aesthetic and the user experience, whilst also welcoming a growing number of new brands including Assouline, Paul Smith and independent Los Angeles based scent brand PF Candle Co.

In line with our 170th year celebrations we have also invested in the Arighi Bianchi brand to ensure it stands the test of time. We unveiled a new visual identity in 2023. This rebrand was 12 months in the making, celebrating our heritage, with a refined colour palette and logo featuring our iconic Silk Road store.

Our very first lifestyle publication also launched this year. Our Giornale (newspaper in Italian), which features interiors, luxury lifestyle, travel, food and drink, and beauty is another investment in brand, which sees us evolve our offer to maintain our position as a leader in all things luxury.

Future plans?

In 2024 we’ll continue with our ambitious plans for the Arighi Bianchi brand, leveraging our position as a much-loved interiors brand, to evolve into a trusted lifestyle brand. This will be brought to life via seamless instore and online experiences, new products and partnerships with national brands from across the lifestyle spectrum, including fashion, food and drink, wellbeing, tech and more.

With 2024 being our 170th anniversary year, we’ve got lots planned throughout the year. We’re particularly looking forward to our “birthday” party in June, which will be a celebration of our independent, family-run business and hopefully a big community event for Cheshire and the surrounding areas, with all our past, present and future customers welcome.

What is your mission?

Our mission is to deliver a shopping experience that can’t be found elsewhere. For me, this involves the combination of perfectly curated products and brands, 5-star service which offers warmth, friendliness and expertise, and the additional Arighi Bianchi magic we’re known and loved for. Ultimately, we want to help people create homes they love living in, find pieces they treasure and have a brilliant time doing so.

On sustainability, what is your business doing on this topic?

Sustainability is very important to us and we continue to learn and evolve our sustainability practices. In addition to funding EV charging points in the car park, we’ve been working hard to reduce waste and plastic usage and driving efficiencies with investments including LED light upgrades. At Caffè AB we work with very local suppliers, which ensures the highest quality

of ingredients whilst supporting the local economy. We also work closely with suppliers to ensure that they share our sustainability ambitions too and we believe in sharing best practice as an industry so that we can collectively do our bit.

How has recent business been? What trends are you noticing?

We’re realistic about current market conditions and we know that for many customers, the current economic situation is having a significant impact on their spending choices, in addition to growing shifts towards buying experiences over products.

Consumers are taking additional consideration when purchasing big ticket items and we’re seeing many customers spend more time researching products, materials and sustainability credentials, so they can be certain they’ve chosen well.

What would you change in the industry?

I think the industry has traditionally been a little insular and often looked inwards when it comes to things like innovation. That’s why at Arighi Bianchi, we’ve looked outside of the sector, to take inspiration and learnings not from our competitors, but from leading global lifestyle brands, in order to understand how to achieve lasting success.

What challenges do you currently face and how are you overcoming these?

In a competitive market, where consumers have a wealth of choice, particularly online, it is easy to focus on things like price in a bid to remain competitive. But with the Arighi Bianchi model being very different to that of our competitors (for example we employ all our logistics staff in house, when many similar retailers outsource them), we have to be much more innovative in our strategic thinking.

That’s why our approach has always been to deliver a unique a retail experience, underpinned by service, quality and of course the excitement around not knowing what you might discover.

I feel that Arighi Bianchi has evolved with the times whilst remaining true to its values of service, quality and doing the right thing for customers and community. These come through at every customer touchpoint – and our training and management coaching ensures this spans the shop floor to our online enquiry service, helping us maintain our 5 star Trustpilot rating.

Do you have any staff you would like to pay special thanks or recognition to and why?

I’m incredibly grateful for every single member of staff at Arighi Bianchi. Our 125-strong company-wide team is a genuine extension of our family and every month, when we celebrate work anniversaries in our company newsletter, I’m blown away by the tenure of some of our colleagues. We have one colleague who will celebrate 50 years with

us in 2025. That commitment to Arighi Bianchi is never lost on me and we’re honoured to have been people’s chosen place of work for generations.

Why do you think customers choose your business?

Years of customer feedback and our ongoing relationships with our loyal and returning customers tell us that customers love Arighi Bianchi because there’s nothing quite like it and we’re fortunate that customers travel from across the UK to visit the store. We know they value our commitment to delivering consistent customer service and how we’ll always try to go above and beyond.

I personally think we there’s an underlying bravery and desire to do things differently. After all, we’ve lived through centuries of war, recessions and suchlike, there’s nothing we can’t get past and as a result we’re adaptive and bold, from our iconic store frontage through to every marketing campaign (we famously turn our store into the North West’s tallest advent calendar at Christmas!). This helps to deliver the Arighi Bianchi experience, which is simply like no other and I think customers really do appreciate this excitement, with the warmth and familiarity that a family-run business brings.

2024 marks our 170th anniversary and our focus is firmly set on how we can evolve our business in line with consumer trends.

How to implement a furniture ERP & EPOS system in three steps

The importance of streamlining operations is paramount for furniture and bed retailers. Utilising powerful software systems, combined with electronic point of sale, not only achieves this, but also drives growth.

David Hewitt, Head of Global Support & Implementation for RetailSystem – an award-winning, industry leading furniture & bed retailers combined ERP & EPOS solution, talks about the three steps of implementation and why your business needs to join the retail revolution.

Back in 2004, when dial-up technology was commonplace, RetailSystem was designed as a genuine end-to-end cloud software solution for furniture and bed retailers. Today, our leadership team has grown into a large group of diverse individuals, combining 100 years of furniture and bed retail experience and 50 years implementing RetailSystem for retailers around the world.

Our commitment to ongoing development ensures that we have the very best staff all over the world, and at every level of operation. Our motivation and mission have remained the same, which is simply to help our clients run their furniture and bed businesses.

”

“Developed specifically for furniture and bed retailers, RetailSystem is built to improve your retail operations and processes. Whether you are a single or multi store retailer, we can help you manage your business more efficiently through our software solution.”

David Hewitt

What is ERP & EPOS Implementation?

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) software are becoming vital tools, revolutionising the way businesses operate and serve their customers. A fully implemented EPOS system means your retail business is working on the same single database as your ERP, ensuring information including transactions, business processes, data management, reporting, security, and other integration options are always in sync and working together. It’s a digital dream that transforms a business into the modern world.

The Furniture and Bed Retail Industry Experts

Designed to grow and scale, RetailSystem works for furniture and bed retailers of any size, from single location to multi-store operations. We know a thing or two about furniture and bed retail, that’s why our software is specifically designed for our

industry and fine-tuned to the way your store operates. The features on our system have been developed to help grow your business, with the benefit of integrating multiple stores into one with our retail software solution.

From our award-winning POS solution, our WebSystem (Shopify integration), our DigitalWarehouse, our FurnitureBooks (QuickBooks integration), our FurniturePay merchant services solution or our fabulous new FurnitureKiosk solution, the RetailSystem ecosystem really does have it all. Our team has a wealth of knowledge including first had experience of using RetailSystem in Realtime on the shop floor, back office and warehouse. This ensures efficient implementation through REAL industry know-how.

At RetailSystem, we have developed three simple steps to ERP & EPOS software implementation.

Step One Time for Transition

Following a review with our sales team sharing insights into your business and how we can provide the right solution, we then start the transition process through a handover meeting from sales to the RetailSystem on-boarding team making sure your expectations are aligned.

Through your dedicated Project Manager, a plan will be implemented to achieve seamless transition. This plan, tailored to your unique business, has been developed by RetailSystem using proven processes and practices through the successful implementation of over 1,500 retailers in the furniture and bed industry.

Change is Power

As the ‘Best Software Supplier to the Furniture and Bed Industry’ for well over a decade having won multiple awards over consecutive years, we take pride in delivering an award-winning service to over 1,500 retailers. Our cloud-based solution to retailing software was the first to reach our clients’ stores, so you can guarantee we’ll always keep up with technology at no extra cost to you. Part of this transition is embracing the change that comes with technology. We help minimise any disruption and maximise system potential.

Our team have all been part of furniture retail. So, whether you are calling us for a demo, some extra training or to develop a new solution, you’ll get a consistently high quality of service. You will also work with our technical team during the transition and installation process as they are experts in system setup that will further support the seamless implementation process.

Step Two Time to Transform

The next step in our implementation journey is to transform your system through the changes identified that best meet your business requirements. Our experienced team at RetailSystem focusses on a collaborative style so we work with you at every stage of the transformation. From tech-savvy, to content creatives, we provide unrivalled expertise to facilitate our shared goal. A key area of this is our unmatched training and support.

RetailSystem Set Up & Training

Training is essential when maximising the potential of any ERP & EPOS system. RetailSystem takes this seriously and provides free initial training through the RetailSystem Training Centre as well as free ongoing support. With so many benefits of our

solution, we make it our mission to make it work the best it can for you. Areas include:

Accounting access crucial financial data and reports in one click, and keep a handle on overdue accounts, debtors and creditors.

Warehousing control your delivery function dynamically, with a real-time view of delivery slots, areas, postcodes, carriers and deliveries.

Customer Service keep your customers in the picture with online order tracking, text alerts and complaint handling.

Sales Floor use hand-held devices to check stock and process orders direct from the sales floor.

Sales Analysis create accurate reports when you need them so you can make better, informed decisions.

Buying and Stock Control generate purchase orders automatically to replenish stock when an item is sold.

Ecommerce take a fully-integrated WebSystem approach that gives customers a seamless experience across online and offline channels.

Yes we can train you in every area that completely transforms your business so you can optimise all operations.

Technical Time

When migrating from a previous provider to RetailSystem,

extracting and importing accurate historical data is critical to the success in the process. We manage this for you through a structured conversion, implementing a strategy to test and validate data to ensure a smooth and seamless transition that provides minimum disruption for your customers. As part of this procedure, we conduct weekly status and progress checks to keep you informed of completed tasks, current and future actions, and any potential changes that may arise as the project moves forward. Throughout the entire implementation, all technical elements are rigorously tested and checked to maintain system performance, while support is always on hand to help further.

Step Three

Time to Launch

It’s almost that time. Time to launch! But before the go-live day, we make sure everything is working as it should with one final test. Maintaining our collaborative style, we test each RetailSystem function and help address anything that needs adjusting. Then we’re ready to launch. But the support doesn’t stop there.

On the day of launch, and after being armed with all the knowledge ready to be put into practice, RetailSystem becomes your complete live solution. The dream now becomes reality. And when the excitement of turning the pilot into full on flight-mode, RetailSystem is here to support you. This includes on-site and virtual support whenever you need it and at no extra cost. When day one comes to end, you can rest assured in the knowledge that RetailSystem’s support will always be there.

Celebration Time

“In the end, our goal is to help your team sell more furniture and beds by implementing the industries number one ERP & EPOS… RetailSystem.”

David Hewitt, Head of Global Support & Implementation.

And on that note, our implementation journey has come to end. Actually, it hasn’t because we’re always going to be there for you as we look forward to a long-term successful partnership. RetailSystem is always busy developing and improving too, so while you celebrate your company milestone, we’ll be right behind you, spearheading success for your furniture or bed retail business, allowing you to operate more efficiently and profitably. Congratulations on bringing your business into the digital world through RetailSystem.

FEATURES

Purecare Point of Difference

US bedding brand Purecare shares an insight into the key features that make the mattress protector stand out against others in the market.

as a stronger skirt elastic. We also offer up to a 12-year anti-stain clean and replace mattress guarantee too, giving peace of mind to our customers.

“Additional mattress protectors also incorporate the use of high-quality fibres such as CELLIANT Recovery, which uses the world’s most advanced infrared fibres to support restorative sleep and stimulate faster recovery.

“These are just a handful of examples of our innovation behind our wellness products. It’s also one of the main reasons why today we are recognised as one of the largest and leading experts in this category within the US market.”

”Our ranges include an improved membrane with a certified virus barrier.

The Purecare brand is continuing to grow its UK and European presence since officially launching in both markets at the start of the year. Following successful trade shows, Purecare is set to keep the momentum going at this month’s Spring Furniture & Beds Show, which takes place from 21-22 May at NAEC, Stoneleigh Park, organised by Minerva Furniture Group.

On show will be an expansive range of mattress protectors and encasements, aimed to enhance every individual’s unique sleep experience. Purecare ranges specialise in five-sided protection and six-sided encasements, which are bed bug proof with their flagship OmniGuard ranges.

Johan Bosman, Senior Vice President of Global Business Development, shared some of the key points of difference Purecare has to offer on all protectors. “Our mattress protectors are extremely high in quality and help to provide a much cleaner sleep.

“Our ranges include an improved membrane with a certified virus barrier and are treated in Silver Chloride (AgCl), which creates an anti-microbial barrier creating a more hygienic sleep surface.

“Furthermore, they include double seamed stitching around the barrier to offer strong protection, while incorporating higher grade fabrics used on the sleep surface as well

Purecare, which started in 2008, has also strengthened their wellness credentials through its partnership with Dr. Andrew Weil, a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine, who helps to uncover universal connections between the mind and body that can enhance the overall collective sleep wellness experience.

“This partnership further enhanced our understanding and development of our core wellness products which has already shown to be a great success,” Johan added. “As we’ve grown from strength to strength in the US, we’ve long recognised that the UK & European market’s consumer trends mirror the growth in demand for wellness products.

“Since our launch earlier this year, Purecare is already becoming a recognised brand in the mattress protection space and we’re excited to build on this early growth. If you want to partner with a leading wellness specialist in mattress protection, pillows and premium bedding, that will help increase your sales and profit within this category, please do contact us and get involved.”

www.purecare.com

FEATURES

Spring Furniture & Bed Show

A look at what to expect to see at the Spring Furniture & Bed Show.

The Spring Furniture & Bed Show, housed in two dedicated exhibition halls, takes place on 21st and 22nd May 2023 at the NAEC in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire CV8 2LZ, and is open to all furniture buyers. Attendees can look forward to viewing products from an extensive range of major British and overseas suppliers of Upholstery, Cabinet’s, Bedroom Cabinet’s and Beds. The Show also features the best Accessory suppliers to the UK market.

Devonshire Living will be exhibiting at this year’s event, showcasing an array of products including their recently launched Wiltshire Collections in pale white-washed oak and painted (in nine colours), ‘take-away’ marble/metal/wood occasional selection and new dining chairs alongside their eagerly anticipated Bergen range. “It will be a vibrant stand, unveiling creative designs, superb quality and a very warm welcome,” Devonshire said. “Please pop along to Stand 25 in Hall 2.”

Confirming their status as an approved supplier for the Minerva group, IMG, part of the Ekornes group, are “delighted” to be back and to build upon a successful start to 2024. Showcasing latest models and new colours from the brands collection of modern recliners and motorised lift and rise, which are designed with a Scandinavian aesthetic and made to order at its state-of-the-art Ekornes factory in Lithuania.

Indus Valley eagerly anticipates unveiling a captivating array of new dining and occasional products at the show, while Maxfurn are “very excited” to be showing for the first time in the UK. On show will include ranges of dining furniture with coordinating upholstery in contemporary designs. “We look forward to welcoming you on Stand 52.” Baker Furniture, owner of the license for G-Plan Cabinet, looks to continue its momentum following the launch of the Winchester and Marlow ranges in January this year. “Winchester Dining by G-Plan Cabinet is a modern understated collection made using beautiful light oak with a meticulous level of craftsmanship,” the company said. “Marlow Dining by G-Plan is a beautiful statement design with a mid-century feel.” This is also complemented by a contemporary take on the G-Plan Fresco chair.

The Jay Blades X G Plan collection really pushes the boundaries of classic furniture design, incorporating bold and bright flares with immaculate details. Each piece from this collection has been curated by Jay Blades with each individual piece of furniture is a work of art. Celebrity will be showcasing their latest Hollingwell range, a modern high back all action suite. Offering a stylish look, the range features their innovative powered headrest and lumbar support options for all three chair sizes and powered settees.

As for long-established Italian sofa manufacturer, Tancredi Salotti, they are exhibiting to Minvera members for the first time after eight years in the UK. With over 75 models in the range, Tancredi Salotti have a complete selection of fixed and motion sofas available in fabric and leather along with a UK quick delivery stock of sofa beds. Violino have been supplying the UK reliably for in excess of 25 years and are “delighted” to be exhibiting again. At the show they will launch their ‘V Sofa’ stock programme where they will have a number of recliner models held in stock in the UK for quick delivery.

Also on show is software specialist RetailSystem, an award-winning, industry leading furniture and bed retailers combined ERP & EPOS solution. Want to learn more? Visit the RetailSystem team

We

have all the leading global Furniture suppliers presenting their new product ranges

”

in Hall 2 on Stand 6 to find out why your business needs to join the retail revolution and how easy it is to get started. In keeping with tech-solutions, FurniturePay provides furniture and bed retailers a secure and safe payment solution. Launched back in 2015, their experienced team will guide you through the simple process of obtaining security, safety and savings in Hall 1 on Stand 60.

From software to sleep protection, Purecare is continuing to grow its UK and European presence since officially launching in both markets at the start of the year. On show will be an expansive range of mattress protectors and encasements, aimed to enhance every individual’s unique sleep experience. Purecare ranges specialise in five-sided protection and six-sided encasements, which are bed bug proof with their flagship OmniGuard ranges.

Staying with a bed focus, luxury mattress manufacturer Sleepeezee will be displaying some of its latest and best-selling products. This includes their 100-year anniversary innovation, the Centurial Collection, which is made using the finest 100% natural fillings including multiple layers of British wool, soft alpaca wool and Talalay latex. Alongside Centurial, Sleepeezee will also display two recently launched collections, Memory Ultimate and a dedicated adjustable collection named In Motion. Amy Curtis, Head of Marketing at Sleepeezee comments: “We’re celebrating our 100th anniversary this year and so we have lots of wonderful events planned and exclusive promotions on offer to thank our retail partners for their continued support.”

Amelia by Jay Blades and G-Plan

Indus Valley

Elevate Ultra Franklin by Sealy

Hollingwell by Celebrity

IMG

Adjust-A-Bed

With a reputation for developing cutting-edge products, Sealy’s latest offers and product innovations include its award-winning Sealy Posturepedic range and crowd-pleasing Sealy Classic range, plus stylish headboards to match. As for Adjust-a-Bed, they will be launching several new initiatives at the show, including a brand-new collection of “Lifestyle” Adjustable Beds, as well as brand new in-store Point of Sale. British wool certified to the Responsible Wool Standard is unique to Hypnos mattresses and features in their new Legacy collection and dedicated ranges for customers, which will be on display during the show.

Meanwhile, award-winning German bedroom manufacturer, Wiemann, are showcasing six of its finest and most popular ranges, including its just-launched Lagos hinged range. Established favourites Miami, Split and Tampa will also be on display. Our final look is with DUXIANA, with the Swedish luxury bed and furniture manufacturer displaying some of its popular models as well as something brand new the company has been working on.

Jim Orr, Minerva’s Group Chief Executive, commented: “We have all the leading global Furniture suppliers presenting their new product ranges. In addition to new products, several of our exhibiting suppliers are holding exciting Seminar Sessions over the two days of the Show. All visitors to the Show will enjoy free parking, free entrance and a complimentary lunch. We look forward to welcoming buyers from all UK furniture and home businesses.”

To register for your complimentary entrance pass, visit: www.springfurnitureshow.co.uk

Tancredi Salotti

Lagos by Wiemann

Winchester by G-Plan Cabinet

Violino

Wiltshire by Devonshire Living Lazio Eettafel by Maxfurn

FEATURES

Hypnos: Creating a British Wool Legacy

In its 120th legacy year, and 95th as a Royal Warrant Holder, Hypnos is keen to celebrate its valuable relationships with its retail and hospitality customers, suppliers and strategic partners.

Hypnos has been working with strategic partners the Woolkeepers since 2018, to champion traceable wool with provenance from British farms, paying a fair price directly to farmers, and investing in better animal welfare standards and encouraging better land management.

“Hypnos mattresses have been free from foam for over a decade,” says David Baldry, Group Managing Director of Hypnos. “We firmly believe that natural chemical free fibres offer comfortable, healthy and sustainable fillings for mattresses, that’s better for peoples sleep and wellbeing and that of the natural world. Indeed, our brand’s strategic approach is built around delivering this vision and strong strategic partnerships are key to this sustainable approach.”

Hypnos has committed to responsibly sourcing materials; it was the first brand to partner with Red Tractor Farming Standards in 2018 to actively promote to UK consumers that its wool was 100% British farmed and traceable. Today, Hypnos buys over 1000 tonnes of wool for its beds from a community of farmers across the country and its support and enthusiasm has enabled its farmers to transition to the globally recognised Responsible Wool Standard which is already well known in apparel as a recognisable quality assurance mark.

“Wool is naturally occurring and our climate enables us to grow some of the best wool for cushioning and upholstery,” David added. “By introducing and buying British wool certified to the Responsible Wool Standard, our consumers, retail and hospitality partners in the UK and abroad, can be confident that our wool quality and farming standards are robust.

With a comprehensive collection of mattresses that feature RWS wool and other award-winning plant-based fibres, Hypnos offers products that addresses comfort, quality, longevity and the environmental concerns that influence consumer purchasing decisions today.

“I am personally proud of the legacy we are building with our wool partners to improve standards and support the sustainability of their individual businesses. Ultimately our commitment ensures we have a clean fibre, free from impurities, that is carefully selected to meet our product specifications,” says James Keen CEO at Hypnos.

“British wool certified to the Responsible Wool Standard is unique to Hypnos mattresses and features in our new Legacy collection and dedicated ranges for customers.” David comments; “the team are looking forward to the Spring Furniture Show on the 21st and 22nd May to introduce retailers to our comprehensive range.”

“We have witnessed firsthand the journey of our wool from farm to our handcrafted mattresses, and it is audited at every stage ensuring it meets rigorous independent standards. As a supplier to some of the most prestigious hotels and households around the world, Hypnos is dedicated to proudly handcrafting luxurious mattresses and beds where every element exceeds the expectations.” www.hypnosbeds.com/uk

David Baldry with farmer Mary Steel on a recent farm visit

Kilwinnet farm flock, Scotland

FurniturePay is fully integrated with your RetailSystem EPoS, meaning seamless, quick and efficient payment processing.

Switch & Integrate with FurniturePay

Gary Hall, Sales Manager at FurniturePay, talks about why integrating the FurniturePay payment platform into your business can be a game changer and money saver.

What’s new for FurniturePay?

Here at FurniturePay we are constantly striving to make your card transactions as secure and safe as they can be, this, after all, is our core ethos. We achieve this by fully integrating your POS devices into the RetailSystem EPOS. “Nothing new there”, I hear you say, well, technology moves forward at a rapid pace, and we must keep up. We are currently working on integrating new devices, such as the PAX A920 pro, and the latest versions of the Ingenico Move 5000. No easy task I assure you, but our team of developers are busy perfecting this, so watch this space for more news on that coming soon!

How do we Save you Money?

We are also working with several acquirers, which gives us much more wiggle room when it comes to saving you £££s on your transaction fees. It’s a super bonus of using FurniturePay. We work with trusted acquirers, such as Barclaycard, Elavon, Worldpay, and AIB. The best part is, we do all the legwork for you. We will negotiate your rates and make the application for you, as well as ensuring that the POS devices are delivered right to your store. We also ensure that FurniturePay is fully integrated with your RetailSystem EPoS, meaning seamless, quick and efficient payment processing, which then drops straight into your daily balancing within your system.

How does my Journey with FurniturePay begin?

That’s simple, just get in touch with us for a brief chat or request a call from us. Alternatively, you can simply email us too. Once you’ve been in touch, we will ask you to send us your most recent card transactions statement for your business, and we will calculate any potential savings we can make for you on your existing rates. Once you are happy to proceed, we will begin the application for you (certain documents are required for this), and once approved we will notify you and you’ll be sent the agreement. We will then order whatever number of POS devices you require and have them delivered to you direct. We make the transition to FurniturePay as smooth as possible for you so you have a fully integrated system and savings.

Do I need to be a RetailSystem customer to take advantage of Savings on my fees?

The simple answer is NO! We can calculate any potential savings for you based on your most recent card services statement and process the application just the same. The only disadvantage is that we will be unable to integrate your devices. But we are always happy to give you a completely free Zoom demo of the RetailSystem EPOS too, there’s never any harm in taking a look at what we can do for your business. Simply let us know you would like a demo, and we will arrange for our EPOS team to give you a call. To find out more, contact us directly on 0207 096 0191.

Encouraging Signs at Devonshire

Nicolle Hockin, Managing Director at Devonshire Living, shares an insight into how the last 12 months have been at the business, future plans and top performing products, as well as an emphasis on sustainability.

Since Managing Director, Nicolle Hockin, took control of Devonshire Living in 2019, just as Covid-19 began to spread worldwide, the business, like many, has had to adapt to numerous challenges. Spearheaded by Nicolle’s strategy to continue to invest in the business has provided Devonshire a solid platform to grow, with the year ahead showing “encouraging” signs.

Reflecting on the past year, Nicolle said: “It’s certainly been another unpredictable year, but then every year since Covid has had new challenges to overcome so it feels normal now to think, ‘what’s the world going to throw at us next?’.

“In particular these last 12 months we’ve had shipping and exchange rate fluctuations once again, the cost-of-living increase (and whispers of ‘recession’, which never helps sales), operational increases (not helped by the 10% living wage rise in April), and the Red Sea crisis (have you noticed that everything seems to be a ‘crisis’ lately?).

“Unfortunately, due to these and other factors we have lost a handful of our top retailers in the last year, which did put a big dent in our annual turnover figures; but we’re slowly replacing that lost revenue with new customers coming on board. On a positive note, our remaining accounts on the whole are showing encouraging growth, especially with the new ranges we launched in 2023 and early 2024.”

More on the success of new products later, as another area the business has heavily invested in is within its sales and marketing. In April last year, Devonshire appointed Anthony Lewer and Mike Brown as Area Sales Managers, who have both done an “excellent job of bolstering our customer service support on the ground, attracting and opening new accounts, and giving key insights in to the direction we are moving in”, as Nicolle says.

“We’ve also spent a lot of time on product development, with a plan that now takes us well in to 2026. We’ve always had a turbulent relationship with the furniture shows, but after joining AIS back in October we committed to INDX in January and received a superb reaction, and will also be exhibiting at the Minerva Spring Show in May (Hall 2, Stand 25, if you’re visiting).”

To help bolster marketing, Devonshire has implemented new CGI imagery through a partnership with Chilli Pepper Designs, where they worked on new ranges and also replaced dated images on older collections. Alongside this, Devonshire is slowly adding more lifestyle shots in to their portfolio, to aid with online sales and catch the consumer’s attention.

Another area of key investment planned for 2024 is focusing on sustainability and how the company can become a more eco-friendly business. As Nicolle continued, they have “barely touched the surface” but have some exciting initiatives moving forward. “Sustainability is an area that is becoming much more of a consideration for customers and producers alike. Later this year we will be working with an environmental specialist on identifying all our carbon-producing processes and working on a plan to reduce and eliminate wherever possible.

“We are also working on our packaging makeup and waste management, to reduce the amount of plastic we are bringing in to the country and how it is discarded. We are also looking at our timber sourcing and how we can encourage the use of more sustainable practices and recycled materials in our products.”

In terms of products, Nicolle shared some success stories they are seeing, which are not the most typical when thinking of Devonshire. “We’re on an ambitious growth trajectory at the moment and it really centres on new furniture ranges outside the realms of what people think of as ‘typical Devonshire’ product. The traditional woods and styles have always done well

Coronation Congregation Chairs

for us and of course we will continue to update and improve them, and we also have some gaps in our offering that we have projects ongoing to fill.

“But largely at the moment we’re having a lot of fun playing with new styles and materials based around more modern trends, such as our marble occasional collection launching later in the Spring. Those who visited us at INDX in January will have seen the new range Wiltshire in Oak (Dining) and Painted (Bedroom) and that has gone down a storm - most of our retailers reported repeat orders the day after it hit the floor. At the show we also unveiled a new oak range which, after a few tweaks based on recurring feedback, will be available in the Summer. As for what else is in the pipeline, you’ll have to watch this space, I can’t give away all my secrets.”

Nicolle added that the traditional legacy ranges, which have been around for over 20 years and have a large number of pieces in the range, consistently perform well due to quick lead times and stock availability. “We believe these are doing well because they are low maintenance, good quality, built to last, and there is nothing ‘offensive’ about the design – it’s a lower consideration purchase compared to something unique that might not fit your style in a couple years’ time. Our product is by no means the cheapest on the market, but when times are tough for consumers, our research shows that they are willing to spend that little bit extra with the confidence that the piece is made well and will last them for many years.”

Devonshire’s research also points to a reduced demand for buying full room sets, with consumers focusing on individual purchases. “They will buy a coffee table here, a sideboard a few months later, a nest later on again – and they don’t necessarily need to match. Small takeaway items are moving much more quickly than larger investment pieces, likely because they are not so heavy on the purse strings.

“We are also seeing that the historical ‘high sales’ winter and ‘low sales’ summer periods are evening out. For example, the majority of our customers had a somewhat disappointing January, but a better performing March. You would think that when cash was tight consumers would stick to sales periods, however it seems that retailers are increasing their number of sales throughout the year and spreading their transactions that way.”

Following a positive start to 2024, Nicolle added: “A big thanks to all our old and new customers for continuing to support us, and the excellent reaction we’ve had to our newest projects. The business has gone through a lot of changes in the last few years since I became Managing Director, and the response we’ve received as a team in all areas has been overwhelmingly positive. We’re excited for the next 12 months and beyond.”

We’ve also spent a lot of time on product development, with a plan that now takes us well in to 2026.

Managing the Complexities of Furniture Delivery

David Lewis, Sales Director at DispatchTrack, explores the specific complexities faced by furniture retailers and provides recommendations for effective management strategies.

The last mile is more complex than ever, touching a large number of roles and functions across a given organisation, especially when managing big and bulky items such as furniture. Despite the challenges posed by the size and complexity of the items being delivered, customers demand nothing short of exceptional service.

Managing Multiple Types of Delivery

Furniture delivery has multiple types of delivery options, each requiring different on-site times and skill sets that need to be considered when scheduling deliveries. Delivery types range from doorstep and room of choice to assembly and installation. Even if ‘just’ dropping the item at the doorstep the bulky and fragile nature of furniture often requires specialised packing, equipment and handling techniques to safely load, unload, and manoeuvre them. When delivering to a room of choice or if assembling or installing items, further complexities are involved. Implementing a system that sends a pre-delivery survey to identify any potential delivery challenges and factors them into delivery schedules will prove invaluable for managing all the types of furniture delivery.

Managing Customer Expectations

Meeting customers’ expectations for furniture delivery requires careful planning, effective communication, and a commitment to providing excellent customer service.

Customer Choice

Offering customers the ability to choose their delivery slot will increase the likelihood they will be in, avoiding costly failed deliveries. Whether providing the customer with the choice to self-schedule at the point of ordering, at a later date, or select from a number of slots is likely to depend on the sophistication of internal systems. When offering customers the option to self-schedule, the challenge then becomes how to maximise capacity utilisation and minimise environmental impact. This is where technology, particularly route optimisation software, becomes invaluable. By considering various parameters and customer preferences, such software calculates the most efficient routes, ensuring optimal capacity utilisation while minimising environmental impact.

Customer Communication

After confirming a delivery slot, it’s crucial to provide customers with accurate and timely updates on their exact delivery time, along with real-time alerts should there be delays (such as traffic congestion or severe weather). This ensures successful firsttime deliveries and helps avoid costly rescheduling. Striking the right balance in the amount of customer communication is essential; too many messages can overwhelm customers, while too few may result in missed communications and subsequent delivery issues. Introducing two-way communication, allowing customers to message drivers or dispatchers, is often beneficial but requires careful planning to avoid system overload.

Managing After-Sales Service

Empowering drivers with the technology to capture photos and videos of items and the ability to communicate with after-sales teams in real-time means any issues can be addressed promptly. Capturing the precise condition and location of the furniture before departure is crucial for determining when any damage was sustained, enabling

the fast resolution to any damage complaints.

Managing Sustainability

Whether driven by government policies like Scope 3, increasing customer demand, or a company’s internal initiatives, prioritising sustainability is no longer optional. Furniture retailers must actively seek ways to enhance their sustainability efforts.

Emissions and Pollution

The last mile is a large contributor to a company’s carbon footprint as (fossil fuel) delivery vehicles produce carbon emissions. With alternative delivery methods such as drones and electric bicycles not an option for furniture, route optimisation software can help optimise routes to minimise miles driven and therefore emissions.

Packaging

Implementing sustainable packaging solutions, such as recyclable or biodegradable materials, can help reduce packaging waste used for lastmile delivery.

Reverse Logistics

Managing returns and product exchanges in the last mile poses sustainability challenges, as it often involves additional transportation and packaging. Consolidating returns and recycling materials into daily delivery schedules can help minimise environmental impact.

Electric Vehicles

Exploring alternatives to fossil fuel vehicles can reduce carbon emissions of delivery operations. Although it’s not quite as simple as switching to electric vehicles with special consideration for battery life and charging needing to be factored into delivery schedules.

Overall, managing furniture delivery requires careful planning, attention to detail, and effective customer communication to overcome the various complexities involved and provide a seamless experience for customers. Implementing appropriate technology can substantially alleviate the challenges inherent in furniture delivery.

FEATURES

Designing the Outdoor Furniture of Tomorrow

Nova Outdoor Living has recently rebranded and with this has come a totally new ethos, new leadership, new strategy and new product design

The brand has completely overhauled its product catalogue and plans to offer customers all new designs for 2025.

To achieve this, they have had in-house product designer Charlie Pritchard working around the clock to take NOVA’s concepts and turn them into a stylish reality. Working hand-in-hand with NOVA’s chosen factory partners in the Far East, the NOVA team has made over 100 new products ready to be sold to customers and displayed in their Experience Centre that opens in June.

When asked what his favourite part about designing a product was, Charlie said: “I love bringing concepts to life and getting down with the engineering and functionality of the product from a consumer’s perspective.”

He added: “The hardest but most fulfilling part is coming up with the ideas that are beautiful in design but realistically fit within the market that the consumer will feel comfortable adding it to their garden.”

In order to design what NOVA pledges are the best and most allencompassing collections on the market, Charlie spends a lot of his time travelling the world, to places such as Germany, Italy, Holland, China and the USA to experience the latest trends in materials, colours and styles. He returns with plenty of concept ideas which he sketches out in several rounds of edits before 3D printing each design to further understand how each aspect comes together.

The rest of Europe is several years ahead of the UK in terms of garden furniture design, and some of these stunning designs would be too ‘“out there” for UK consumers at present. NOVA says it is a challenge to toe the line of being cutting edge enough to put them at the forefront of the market and still making UK consumers comfortable with their choice, but a challenge they embrace.

“Seeing my sketches become a reality is a surreal experience, one I’m not sure I’ll ever get bored of.” Charlie concluded.

It’s never been more important to get it right. ”

Coming up with a new collection involves researching the outdoor market as a whole to recognise key trends. NOVA then identifies where they wish to penetrate the market on pricepoint and design to fit within this bracket. Creating customer profiles allows Nova to have a customer in their mind’s eye that they are designing for and evolve it from a single sketch to a whole family of products.

With the garden furniture industry seeing the COVID-19 effect come to an end, NOVA says designing fresh new takes on the classics is more important than ever before.

“It’s never been more important to get it right,” added a NOVA spokesperson. “Understanding consumer desires, trends and designs that fit with our ethos of the importance of making family memories outdoors, is the only way we can stay true to our core values and bring consumers designs good enough to add them to their garden.”

NOVA vows to continue developing its designs for years to come, with this initial wave of new products the first in a long list of ideas that plan to set NOVA apart.

NOVA is opening its experience centre in June where all of these products will be available to view. To reserve your slot and be one of the first people to view these exciting new collections, email the NOVA service team on trade@novaoutdoorliving.co.uk today or scan the QR code below.

The Bamboo Pillow

Stephen Goknel, Founder of bedding brand Luff Sleep, shares an insight into the Bamboo Pillow and how it has become a fundamental pillar of the company’s ethos as well as an industry game-changer.

When you think of bamboo, if like me, the first trigger that springs to mind is a panda chomping away at the plant for their nutritional needs. What hasn’t entered the mind are the potential sleep and wellness benefits it can provide to our species. For Stephen, however, the benefits of bamboo resonated quickly and he found a way to incorporate this into Luff Sleep ranges.

“Bamboo is a magical plant that populates tropical and subtropical areas around the world,” Stephen said. “Used mainly for building materials and medicinal purposes, bamboo has many uses as it contains an abundance of benefits itself.

“There are a lot of uses for bamboo. This eco-friendly versatile grass (yes grass) in modern history is primarily used as a building material. The strength to weight ratio of bamboo makes it a great building material which it has been used for hundreds of years.

“Recently there has been a surge in bamboo home goods, like bamboo toothbrushes for example. These alternatives to plastic toothbrushes are biodegradable and sustainable, so it’s no wonder people are flocking to them. Another huge use is in bedroom products. Pillowcases, duvet covers and even towels are now being made

out of the super grass. In fact, bamboo fibres are placed above cotton on the comfortability scale.”

Before exploring the product further, it’s worth absorbing some of the key facts about bamboo. Did you know that bamboo plants are also great contributors of oxygen to the atmosphere, producing 35% more oxygen than the standard tree volume? Bamboo forests also work as CO2 sinks, effectively trapping the CO2 inside the plant and not releasing it at any point of its life cycle.

Bamboo grows at a very quick rate. Some species of bamboo can grow 36” in just 24 hours and bamboo has the ability to regrow when cut. It also requires no pesticides or fertilisers as the plant creates bamboo kun, an antimicrobial agent that wards away insects and other plants from interfering with its growth. It’s naturally anti-bacterial and hypoallergenic too, as Stephen continues: “The bamboo kun stays with the plant when transformed into other forms. This makes the finished bamboo material anti-bacterial and also odour resistant. It’s perfect for items such as pillowcases and mattress toppers.”

And that’s where Luff Sleep comes in. Designed from its base in Hertfordshire, the aim was for when consumers experience a Luff product, they feel a sense of comfort, relaxation, improved health, luxury, and a touch of pride.

What sets their products apart? You guessed it, a love for bamboo. “Not all bamboo is created equal so all of our products contain, or are made from, our own uniquely weaved organic bamboo,” Stephen revealed.

“Our silky Nanoweave® bamboo fabric envelops you in a cocoon of comfort and provides a sustainable alternative to what’s on the market. Nanoweave® Bamboo is naturally anti-bacterial and anti-allergy so your skin will enjoy the benefits. Preventing dust mites, wrinkles and frizz. Promoting better moisture retention and a softer complexion, we aim to help consumers wake up glowing.”

Pillowcases, duvet covers and even towels are now being made out of the super grass.

”

That’s not all either. Alongside the benefits of bamboo, Luff has developed their exclusive Cloudtec® memory foam technology, which “gently cradles your body for personalised support and unparalleled comfort,” Stephen added. “CloudTec® is the next generation of memory foam and is designed to be perfect for pillows and mattress toppers. It is called CloudTec® because of the cloud-like experience that it gives when sleeping on it.

“We have continuously worked to better CloudTec® and our latest version is superior in comfort and supportiveness. CloudTec® started initially as a super supportive product that helps with sleep posture but sometimes customers found that firmer than expected and not always as comfortable as what they had before. Although a firm pillow is often healthier, we strived to create a combination of both healthy support and relaxing comfort which led us to what we have now.”

Today, Luff proudly stands tall in over 50 retail outlets in the UK and is on the path to further grow, both the business and the story of bamboo. “Bamboo is proving to be an area of great interest, as these bamboo forests can be grown a lot quicker to help the adverse problems growing in the world,” Stephen added. “By using bamboo as an alternative for other materials we can start to pave the way to reduce the rate forests are being cut down and help towards a sustainable future.”

TheBed Expert

Vic Smith, owner of independent beds retailer Vic Smith

Beds,

talks about what options are available when dealing with a question from a customer that purchased elsewhere.

No matter what we sell, we all have competitors. Despite what we would like to believe, people have done and will do, go elsewhere. We don’t often get a chance to find out why either. It could be something as silly as your product being slightly over their budget, or one of the staff having a bad day, projecting that onto the customer. But sometimes to add insult to injury, you’ll get someone come in, they have bought the product elsewhere, it’s gone wrong in some way with delivery, or they have a problem with the product afterwards, and want your advice as to what they should do.

Now here lies the dilemma – if like what we do in our advertising, which quotes as us being the experts,

technically they are correct in coming to us for advice. But we are human, can’t deny it doesn’t rankle that they didn’t value the expert advice in the first place to trust us with their money and then come back to us as second fiddle.

So, how do you deal with it? There are three ways in my opinion that this scenario can go. The first is the most obvious one and send them away telling them that they should have bought from you in the first place, and issue x, y or z wouldn’t have happened. But the danger zone with that, is that experience remains their last potential memory of dealing with you.

The other two scenarios can go one of two ways – you can give them the advice of how best to deal with their problem, and hopefully, they are either able to cancel their mistake (of course not buying from us is always a mistake – again often used in our advertising!) and place the order with you. This results in their recommendations to friends and family being that they should come to us. Or the last way is that you give them the advice, the order remains with the original place, but there is a hope that actually they do regret their choice, and their answer to friends and family would be to come to you in the first place.

Like everything in life, it’s a gamble – but bills don’t get paid if you don’t sell or turn things around.

Now the big question is – do you ask why they didn’t buy the product from you in the first place? We would –because all feedback, or to politely put it, constructive criticism is necessary. Just because you don’t want to hear something, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. And you must be open minded enough to take it on board. We all need to grow and evolve in our businesses, and dare I say it, that would be one of the best forms of training. Because we don’t all know everything about our business model – our customers are not the same as they were 30 years ago. They have more choice, more ways to hunt things down. And as I said at the start, we don’t often get a chance to find out why we weren’t necessarily ‘the go to’ this time.

If you get a chance to turn a negative into a positive –grab it!

Do you ask why they didn’t buy the product from you in the first place? We would. ”

www.vicsmithbeds.co.uk

May means Mattress

The National Bed Federation (NBF) is calling on the bed trade to support its May awareness campaign, ‘May

Be Time for a New Mattress’, aimed at equipping consumers with signs that indicate they should replace their mattresses.

The NBF has provided a free marketing toolkit for retailers featuring the official logo and engaging social media infographics, available to download on the NBF website: https://www.bedfed.org.uk/ resources/marketing-support/.

The campaign, which is more streamlined than its National Bed Month counterpart, will run across the NBF’s consumer-facing Bed Advice UK social media. Consumers will be guided to Bed Advice UK’s Bed MOT tool and comprehensive Bed Buyers’ Guide, which include information on the importance of purchasing from approved NBF member manufacturers. Both resources are available at www.bedadvice. co.uk.

Simon Williams, head of marketing and membership at the NBF, emphasised the importance of industry participation in this campaign, particularly during traditionally quieter selling periods. “We urge the bed industry to rally behind this campaign, which not only provides essential education for consumers regarding the health benefits of sleeping on a comfortable and supportive mattress but also presents a fantastic opportunity for retailers to elevate their marketing efforts and drive valuable bed sales.”

We urge the bed industry to rally behind this campaign. ”

www.bedfed.org.uk - www.bedadvice.co.uk www.bedfed.org.uk/resources/marketing-support

Accounting and Bookkeeping made easy with FurnitureBooks

Maria Ayley, Implementation Manager at FurnitureBooks, talks about how RetailSystem integrates directly with QuickBooks online.

To get straight to the point, the RetailSystem integration is instant and seamless, managing, in real time, all customer transactions and payments, as well as providing a full customer ledger on FurnitureBooks. The integration also creates entries just as they would be if entered manually, no shortcuts, uploading or downloading. “This means a huge time saving for our users, and vastly increased levels of accuracy as no re-keying into the accounts system is necessary,” explains Maria.

In fact, there are so many benefits, including the transfer of financial information between the RetailSystem EPOS and FurnitureBooks – all done seamlessly, saving in accounting and bookkeeping functions, and of course effort and time.

Powered by QuickBooks Online, the world’s number one online account software, which is used by 4.3 million global subscribers, the FurnitureBooks tool helps track VAT automatically, as well as income and profit through plenty of reports. Furthermore, it allows users to run their business anytime, anywhere and on any device.

This integration is a huge timesaver for our clients, and removes the ‘mystery’ around the recording of the necessary accounting transactions, many of which are created automatically. ”

Making it easier to maintain financial control than ever before with real-time financial data and reports, the RetailSystem integration provides that and more. “Payments taken from customers are also passed into FurnitureBooks from RetailSystem, and configured to match with the way the retailer receives them into their bank account,” Maria said, continuing: “Again, this allows proper reconciliation of customers’ monies as they are received, and highlights any discrepancies between entries in RetailSystem, and actual bankings.

“Supplier invoices are entered onto RetailSystem, allowing correct validation of costings on purchase orders, which – again - pass in real time, so creditor payments can be efficiently handled, and duplications/mistakes avoided.”

FurnitureBooks allows the user to link to their bank/credit card and PayPal accounts, and then imports the transactions in real time – automatically, then looking to reconcile and match these, further boosting efficiency and the ability to identify anything not accounted for.

“Like RetailSystem, FurnitureBooks can be accessed from any device, anywhere, that has an internet connection,” Maria added. The VAT functionality is very simple and also intuitive to use too, as Maria explains: “Returns are submitted directly from the software and HMRC receipt is instantly provided. The VAT Audit checker allows the user to make spot checks within the return to be submitted on transactions that FurnitureBooks sees as possible issues or anomalies – such as duplications.

“FurnitureBooks is easy to use, and very intuitive, as well as being very forgiving when entries need to be changed or deleted, whilst capturing a full audit trail of every change or deletion that can be accessed and interrogated in the event of a query.

“All in all, this integration is a huge timesaver for our clients, and removes the ‘mystery’ around the recording of the necessary accounting transactions, many of which are created automatically. This allows the business owner to keep control of their finances and cashflow, whilst also allowing their professional adviser ongoing access to be able to advise them as needed.”

www.retailsystem.com/uk/features/ accountsmodule-powered-byquickbooks/

FEATURES

Fairway’s flagship refurb

Peter Harding, Managing Director at Fairway Furniture, shares a deeper insight into the ongoing refurbishment at their flagship Plymouth store.

Earlier this year, South West independent furniture retailer Fairway Furniture announced a £1.5m internal refurbishment of their flagship Plymouth store, with the work commencing in April and expected to take around six months to complete.

This includes the removal of the entire existing interior and installation of a completely new store layout, enabling an even wider range of product to be displayed within a fresh, contemporary shop-fit design – in partnership with store and interior design specialists Spaceworks Interiors. This collaboration formed when they met at the Associated Independent Stores (AIS) annual conference some five years ago.

Planning the refurb has clearly been years in the making, as Peter explains: “We first started planning the refurbishment in mid-2019 when we began working with Kate Rowe at Spaceworks Interiors on researching and developing an initial design concept.

“I felt they were a good match to our requirements – more so than other suppliers – and ultimately, you don’t know whether you’ll get the inspirational design you desire unless you start a process. The brief I gave Kate was relatively loose, in the sense that by giving ‘free rein’, I hoped it would provide opportunity for more radical thinking. Our only real parameters were the physical restrictions of the existing building, a desire to better layout the existing departments and that there had to be a ‘wow’ factor.

“However, like many things in 2019, the

pandemic intervened and forced us to put back any thoughts of progressing the work. It was a further two years until we revisited the project, with Spaceworks carrying out a comprehensive research process through late 2021 and then putting forward a design proposal and budget costing in 2022. We then opted to defer progressing until mid2023, when the detailed work began.

“The scope of the work is essentially a full ‘ground up’ internal refurbishment. The store’s interior was last fully refurbished in 1995, though it has had updating work at regular intervals since. Therefore, this project will see the entire existing interior removed in four phases, allowing us to continue trading from 75% of the store’s space throughout the 23 weeks of work.

“The work will see hard flooring replace carpet, a totally new lighting scheme that will allow us to showcase products far better, new divider-delineated room display layouts, a beds & bedroom ‘store within a store’ concept and a new streamlined carpet and flooring department. The aim is to reinforce the store as Plymouth’s biggest and best, as well as making it a real destination for furniture buyers across a wide age range.”

The huge investment is testament to the retailer’s proactive approach at not standing still in such challenging times, with Peter stating that reinvesting in the location that has served the business well over the past four decades, is key to the continued and future growth of the company.

Wiemann

“The past four to five years have been among the most turbulent in big ticket retailing

of the past quarter of a century. The pandemic boom saw us deliver record sales levels as people upgraded their homes, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resultant energy price spikes and interest rate rises have significantly impacted consumers’ disposable income.

“However, in a competitive market, we want to secure our position and the need to update the Plymouth store’s interior was clear. Having traded successfully on the site for approaching 40 years, we’re excited to be making such a big investment, signalling that we see a strong future for the company trading in Plymouth and serving the surrounding area.”

The store project adds to Fairway’s other investments from the past few years, with the company committing to a net-zero target by 2030, as well as completing the roll-out of solar power generation at all retail sites, which has cut their electricity usage and made the company over 40% self-sufficient. Furthermore, their non-delivery vehicle fleet is also being electrified as and when vehicle replacement cycles are reached, backed by an investment in electric vehicle charging facilities at all sites, including its distribution centre.

“We are currently working on plans to enable customer charging using this infrastructure while shopping in store,” Peter said, continuing: “We are also planning to carry out a major external refresh of the Tavistock store during 2024, which will transform its appearance.”

The continued investments, which also include sales training via Furniture Sales Solutions, has seen the business finish its trading year at the end of January with double-digit sales growth, while the start of the 2024 has seen the business continue this “encouraging sales uptick”.

Keeping a close eye on consumer behaviour to boost performance too, Peter shared a number of shopping changes. “We have seen a noticeable rise in eclecticism, with consumers looking to add incrementally to their furniture. Outside of sofas, chairs and beds, other product sectors have become far more challenging – consumers value

We are also planning to carry out a major external refresh of the Tavistock store during 2024, which will transform its appearance.

Peter Harding

We feel very proud to be working with Fairway, have this opportunity and looking forward to delivering the project!

Kate Rowe, Co-Founder at Spaceworks

comfort far more than anything else, and with limited spending power they are focusing on those areas of the home that improve their relaxation and sleep time.

“Within product sectors, upholstery is seeing a big shift towards additional comfort features, such as adjustable lumbar and headrests on sofas. We’ve seen growth in sales of models with these features outstrip more conventional formats considerably over the past 12-18 months. In beds, there is a definite shift towards making bedrooms an oasis of calm and somewhere people like to spend time. Hotel style big headboards are very in vogue and in terms of sales by size, people are trading up to the largest bed they can fit in their bedroom.”

With work now fully underway in Plymouth, Peter expects completion by early September and says the company will hold a special relaunch event in the Autumn to celebrate the occasion. “We want to reintroduce the store to customers once the new store interior is finished, showcasing the new layout, enhanced shopping experience and the impact of our investment.”

www.fairwayfurniture.co.uk

Debunking the myths on CAD/CAM technology

Ryan Ball, Managing Director at South West Upholstery, shares an inside view of Pathfinder’s technology and how it has helped their business.

When the topic of automating cutting processes arises, the knee-jerk reactions often lean towards the assumption that it will displace existing employees and is only for large businesses. However, the technology isn’t designed for that purpose.

“We were really concerned how our staff would react to the Pathfinder solution and how hard it would be to integrate. We had no reason to be, it is easy to use and intuitive like a smartphone. The operators picked it up really quick,” said Ryan Ball, Managing Director at South West Upholstery.

Pathfinder’s automated solutions are crafted to elevate cutting quality to unparalleled levels, reducing time constraints, streamlining pattern matching, and curbing fabric wastage, particularly with high-value materials like leathers. Their aim is to eliminate bottlenecks in the cutting room, fostering a safer and more efficient working environment.

“As a manufacturer we have become more efficient and slicker, the digital patterns and CNC cutting give us maximise fabric yield every time and provide a high-quality pattern cutting which has further improved our finished product,” said Ryan. “We are already seeing significant savings from reductions in fabric waste and cutting time.”

Moreover, they serve as strategic tools for cost reduction and lay the groundwork for business growth and expansion, ensuring resilience in the face of challenges.

Ryan continued: “Our growth plan would not be possible without this investment, our growing order book meant we were hitting our boundaries and with skilled workers hard to find we knew we would soon not be able to meet demand. Pathfinder have allowed us to surpass this, giving us room for further growth. The ability to call on digital patterns at a whim combined with perfect digital cutting means we cannot go back to hand cutting.”

Whether you’re a small business or a corporate giant, our technology is tailored to empower you to improve and thrive, not hinder or restrict. No matter the complexity of your cutting room processes, we have the solution. Every innovation is informed by the invaluable feedback we receive from industry professionals and cutting room specialists.

“It was imperative to invest in a machine that could cut a variety of textiles,” Ryan added. “Others we had looked at were only able to cut one type of textile. It was refreshing to speak with Pathfinder as they were more interested in building a package tailored to our business needs than simply selling a machine. Pattern matching and leather cutting are time exhaustive by hand, now we can do that with our Pathfinder in a fraction of the time. Leather nesting is now hassle free, working around scars and faults is a non-issue as the software allows us to see what we are cutting before we cut.

“We have found the introduction and investment in Pathfinder to our business a pleasure from start to finish, but we aren’t finished and the ongoing support we receive from a global company feels very local and personal.”

Your fabric cutting optimised

In the upholstery industry, precision is key when it comes to cutting fabric and creating high-quality products.

Manual fabric cutting is time-consuming and labour-intensive, requiring skilled workers to measure, mark, and cut materials by hand. With the advancement of technology, CAD/CAM and AI have revolutionised the way upholstery manufacturers operate, offering numerous benefits to improve efficiency and productivity.

GraphCut CNC

The GraphCut range of CNC automated fabric cutters from VetiGraph offers high-tech and affordable cutting solutions for any size of business.

One of the major advantages of using CNC fabric cutting technology is the level of precision and accuracy it provides. The range of tools on GraphCut means that each piece is perfectly marked and cut with incredible detail and consistency and to exact specifications. This level of accuracy not only results in the production of high-quality products but also helps reduce material wastage, ultimately saving manufacturers time and money in the long run.

Bridging the skills gap in the industry

CNC fabric cutting machines help fill the gap that currently exists in the UK for skilled fabric cutters. As traditional methods of fabric cutting require a high level of expertise and experience, manufacturers struggle to find skilled workers. By implementing CNC automation, manufacturers can rely on digital cutting to accurately plan and cut fabrics. This not only addresses the shortage of skilled workers, but also allows manufacturers to scale up production capacity without sacrificing quality.

Pattern matching and leather cutting

Automated fabric cutting is routinely used for cutting leather and pattern matching, tasks that require a high degree of skill, precision and attention to detail. With leather, marking the flaws on the hides, nesting and cutting are intricate and time-consuming processes. Pattern matching is another critical aspect of the industry with the ability to accurately match patterns and align fabric pieces seen as essential for creating cohesive and visually appealing products. GraphCut can handle these processes

The GraphCut range of CNC automated fabric cutters from VetiGraph offers high-tech and affordable cutting solutions for any size of business.

seamlessly, eliminating human error and ensuring a flawless end result.

How CNC can drive more growth to your business

The adoption of CNC technology offers numerous benefits for the upholstery industry. From improving precision and efficiency to addressing the skills gap, CNC cutters have transformed the way manufacturers operate, allowing the manufacture of high-end products more efficiently whilst maintaining quality. By leveraging the capabilities of CNC cutting along with Artificial Intelligence, upholstery manufacturers can stay ahead of the competition and meet the demands of today’s fast-paced and evolving market.

If you have a CAD or CNC fabric cutting project, VetiGraph is here discuss this with you and demonstrate the GraphCut range of CNC cutters.

FEATURES

What’s fashionable in furniture?

Amthal Karim, Head of

Design

at Furniture And Choice (Furniturechoice. co.uk), shares her monthly overview of on-trend styles and interior looks currently inspiring furniture buyers.

With the influence of wellbeing-led design and a trend for everything biophilic in the interiors industry, it’s no surprise that people are craving cosiness, warmth and a cocoon-like feel in their homes.

Along with the popularity of curved shapes, we’ve noticed an increase in demand for warm, neutral colours for sofas as well as the latest beige and stone shades in dining tables.

Following the success of ivory bouclé in sofas and décor which was light, timeless and utterly chic, furniture colours are going over to the light side.

The inspiration for a cosy, classic design style seems to have evolved from the combination of a few popular interior trends. ‘Monochrome décor,’ ‘soft minimalism’ and ‘quiet luxury’ are definitely having a moment on social media.

This modern aesthetic is all about timeless warm neutrals, rich woods, and a clever combination of texture.

The colour palette for warm minimal is the most important part of the look. Interior design is moving away from cold whites and cool greys and is gravitating towards subtle, cosier tones of ivory, stone or dove which add softness and depth.

With dining furniture, warm tones are also at play with rich or dark woods coming back into fashion.

There has been an obvious shift away from grey sofas to lighter coloured seating that makes a space feel cosy and immediately more relaxing.

We’ve also noticed that suppliers are offering new colour choices in their list of neutrals. The charts have developed from white, cream and beige to a varied display of tones such as ivory, cream, ecru, dove, stone, taupe, greige, beige and mushroom.

These shades of upholstery add depth to a room with greige walls creating a feeling of layering because of the toneon-tone effect.

With dining furniture, warm tones are also at play with rich or dark woods coming back into fashion. The monochrome colour palette gives you the chance to add modern Art Deco touches with bold black or dark wood to offset the light, cream backdrop.

Also, the mix and match look for dining furniture is intentional to add interest to this aesthetic. It’s all about the interplay between light and dark tones and the introduction of texture.

After all, what is more timeless than a dramatic dining space styled with a black oak table and ivory bouclé chairs with black legs?

Why AI?

To set the scene, Stravito is a flexible and user-friendly insights platform designed to make an impact. The AI-powered awardwinning Swedish SaaS scale-up allows some of the world’s largest companies to easily store, discover, and integrate market and consumer insights. Such brands that have worked with Stravito include Burberry, HEINEKEN, Shell and Electrolux, while specifically in the furniture space, La-Z-Boy is on their roster of clients. But more on that later.

Backed by European investors, Stravito was founded in Sweden in 2017 by a team of entrepreneurs with decades of technology and research industry experience. Today, it is represented globally with bases in London, Stockholm, Amsterdam, and the United States. To date, Stravito has established an impressive global footprint, powering insights for global companies with employees in more than 100 countries around the world. Currently, approximately 40% of customers are based in the US, 55% in Europe, and 5% in Asia Pacific.

“Using the Stravito platform, global organisations put more insights into the hands of employees worldwide, so they can maximise the value of their market research and insights and make more informed business decisions,” says Thor Olof Philogène, CEO & co-founder of Stravito.

With a focus on furniture, Thor added that the company is on a mission to “simplify knowledge discovery and deliver software that ensures everyone in global and decentralised furnishing organisations can use market research and insights to better understand their consumers”, adding that industry research shows organisations that “leverage customer behavioural insights outperform peers by 85% in sales growth and more than 25% in gross margin”.

Stravito is creating an “internal Google for businesses”, a platform that helps large organisations create one central hub for all their research, insights, and analytics data, making it available for everyone in that organisation. “Unlike clunky legacy solutions, Stravito provides a brilliant search experience that combines AI with a user-friendly design to bring insights

Thor Olof Philogène, CEO & co-founder of Stravito, talks about the growing popularity of Generative AI and how the furniture industry is embracing this movement.

to the fingertips of teams around the world, with no convoluted manuals or training required,” Thor said.

“Similarly to apps such as Netflix and Spotify, Stravito also makes personalised content recommendations to each individual based on their market, industry, language, job title, behaviour, and other signals. This ensures key insights are delivered to the appropriate employees, at the appropriate time.

“For furniture industry brands, which may have offices globally and vast amounts of market research and insights reports to circulate and leverage, Stravito is an ideal choice due to its accuracy, seamless integration, and prioritisation of userexperience. Stravito saves employees thousands of hours

each year looking for information, eliminating redundant research projects and increasing knowledge sharing within the organisation.”

Most recently, Stravito ushered a new era of user-friendly knowledge management with its proprietary generative AI search engine – supercharging the search experience to provide users with quicker insights in a more engaging and inspiring way.

Why AI?

“Implementing generative AI solutions provides companies with incredible power and speed to sort large volumes of data, delivering a significant productivity boost, and promoting exploration and inspiration through a seamless interface,” Thor continued.

“But furniture businesses need to make sure they only work with trusted vendors for the AI solutions, and that the data that they use in an AI-enabled system is handled in a secure and compliant manner. For furniture companies who are reliant on market and consumer research to make business decisions, it’s pivotal that any tool they implement only uses vetted data to generate AI-enabled answers – unlike open AI apps that pull from the public domain.”

Using the Stravito platform, global organisations put more insights into the hands of employees. ”

As highlighted earlier, one such success story from the furnishing industry is Stravito’s work with upholstered furniture manufacturer La-Z-Boy. In 2021, the company launched Century Vision, its strategy for growth through to its centennial year in 2027. Establishing a consumer insights function, which did not exist before, was key to the strategy.

For La-Z-Boy, Stravito’s platform stood out to for a number of reasons but search was definitely a “leading decider”, as Megan Battig, Senior Consumer Insights Manager at La-ZBoy, said, adding: “When you start a search, you don’t have to worry about typing in the exact phrases or spelling. Stravito’s technology scans adjacent topics and pulls keywords from different articles to truly bring data to life.

“We created what’s known as our growth learning plan. The plan dives deep into who our consumer is, what they want, and how they shop. This large body of research would be filled with robust information that would help build empathy with our consumers and add richness to our strategic thinking.”

Stravito is able to pinpoint the exact section where keywords appear, which enables users to find relevant documents quickly too, while the socialisation of the platform was also key. “Right now, we’re looking at habit adoption: Are people signing in? Are they searching? We’re in those stages of exploring the tool and making it part of our day-to-day usage,” says Megan. “In the future, we will start measuring if and how teams are using insights to make decisions, really evaluating if we are making an impact within the organisation, and if our cross functional peers are using insights to make informed decisions.”

For other furniture businesses looking to adopt an AI strategy, Thor says Stravito has the solution and is easy to start the conversation. “Many, if not all, companies are exploring generative AI, and we’re seeing that many, especially large and global enterprises, are taking a cautious approach. Rather than diving into full-scale production right away, many companies start with small pilot projects involving generative AI.

“For us, when a new customer comes onboard, we have a dedicated Implementation and Customer Success team that will support the furniture business from setup to rollout and beyond, prioritising engagement and adoption of the platform. “We typically see setup times of 6-8 weeks as a benchmark but tailor this process in close collaboration with each client. We start by developing a step-by-step plan, based on your organisation’s unique needs, during which we’ll go from initial platform setup, and information transfer from your current solution, to initial team testing and launch and then to broader rollout across the organisation.”

Introducing Koble Designs

Nathan Morgan, Commercial Director at Koble Designs, shares an insight into the company and smart furniture technology.

Who are Koble Designs?

We are a furniture brand supplying smart furniture with integrated tech featuring modern, Scandi designs. We focus on home office furniture but have recently launched our brand-new range of gaming furniture. All our products are available through selected retailers or from our website; www.kobledesigns.com. Since the beginning of 2024 we’ve also supplied interior designers and office fit out companies with our growing range of sit stand desks.

What is smart furniture?

Smart by design - clever and discreet storage solutions.

Smart by technology – integrated tech; including multiple charging solutions, lighting & different sound connection options.

What products do you offer?

We have UK stock of height adjustable smart desks, static smart desks, home office chairs, gaming desks, gaming chairs and gaming media units.

What is your background?

Part of Justwise Group Ltd, our team have over 40 years of industry knowledge supplying furniture to national retailers in the UK and US. We put customer service, product quality and compliance at the forefront of what we stand for; essential when working with technical components.

What is your promise?

We are aware that smart furniture can be seen as complicated and potentially high risk. This is why we have invested in simple, easy to understand instruction guides backed up by our UK customer service team who are on hand via phone or email. All items are rigorously tested and come with a 2-year warranty. On the rare occasions things go wrong which can’t be resolved on a call, our team of mobile engineers are available to make home visits.

What is your mission?

We will continue to push the boundaries of what can be achieved in smart furniture, moving into new categories, and evolving our designs with the latest market trends. We are

investing in new tooling and R&D that will further differentiate us from our competition as well as ensuring the highest levels of quality and compliance.

Koble continues to build momentum and catch the eye of US retailers such as Costco and Best Buy, however expanding our retail partners here in the UK is also a key focus. If becoming a stockist or dropship partner could be of interest, please reach out to sales@kobledesigns.com to find out more about how we could work together.

www.kobledesigns.com

G reen Retail

In the next part of our ongoing sustainable series, we take a look at the latest updates from independent beds retailer Linthorpe Beds and upholstered furniture retailer DFS.

Linthorpe Beds

At Linthorpe Beds, the retailer is not just in the business of providing quality mattresses and beds; the company is also dedicated to fostering a sustainable future for generations to come and has cemented its commitment to a greener future. “Recognising the urgent need to mitigate our environmental footprint, we have implemented various measures to integrate sustainability into every aspect of our operations,” the company said.

“One significant initiative we’ve undertaken is the introduction of sustainable mattress ranges in our stores. Brands like Silentnight’s Plant Natural range and Harrison Spinks exemplify our commitment to offering products that prioritise both comfort and environmental consciousness. These mattresses are crafted with eco-friendly materials, ensuring a restful night’s sleep without compromising the health of our planet.”

In addition to offering sustainable products, Linthorpe Beds are also actively reducing its paper consumption. “By transitioning to digital confirmations for customer receipts, we significantly minimise paper usage throughout our stores,” the retailer added. “This simple yet impactful change not only reduces waste but also streamlines our operations, providing a seamless experience for our customers.

“Furthermore, we understand the importance of responsible disposal and recycling. As part of our service offerings, we facilitate the collection of old mattresses and bases from our customers. Instead of ending up in landfills, these items are sent for

recycling, where they can be repurposed into new materials or products. By diverting waste from landfills, we contribute to the conservation of natural resources and the reduction of environmental pollution.”

Internally, Linthorpe Beds is also diligent about managing its waste streams, continuing: “We actively collect and bail plastics and cardboard from deliveries, ensuring that these materials are properly sorted and prepared for recycling. By implementing efficient waste management practices, we minimise our ecological footprint and contribute to the circular economy.

“Moreover, our commitment to sustainability extends to the packaging of our products. The plastic packaging used for recycled mattresses is made from recycled materials, closing the loop on recycling, and reducing the demand for virgin plastic. Through this approach, we strive to minimise our environmental impact while providing our customers with sustainable solutions.

“Also, we have taken steps to optimise our energy usage by updating all our stores and warehouses to LED lighting. LED lighting is not only more energy-efficient but also has a longer lifespan, reducing the need for frequent replacements and minimising waste. By making this switch, we are not only reducing our carbon footprint but also cutting down on operational costs, creating a win-win situation for both the environment and our business.”

Linthorpe Beds says that sustainability “isn’t just a buzzword”; it’s a “guiding principle that informs everything we do”, adding: “From offering sustainable mattress options to reducing paper usage and promoting recycling, we are dedicated to making a positive difference for the planet and future generations.”

Our commitment to sustainability extends to the packaging of our products. The plastic packaging used for recycled mattresses is made from recycled materials, closing the loop on recycling, and reducing the demand for virgin plastic.- Linthorpe Beds

AI route planning tools as well as the investment in our teams with driver efficiency training have delivered great results and we are incrementally shifting our company cars and service vehicles to hybrid and electric models.– DFS

DFS

Detailed in the DFS’ most recent interim results for the 26-week period ended 24 December 2023, the retailer shared its ongoing progress with its own sustainable initiatives. “The Group is guided by our purpose to bring great design and comfort into every home in an affordable, responsible and sustainable manner,” DFS said. “We have developed policies and targets to help reduce our impact on the environment covering key elements of the materials that make up the sofas we sell, for example leather, textiles and timber along with targets covering inclusivity & diversity and our impact on local communities.”

Highlights from the first half of FY24 include meeting its 10% target of an absolute reduction in Scope 1 emissions measured against its 2018/19 baseline. “This has been achieved in part due to lower delivered volumes but also through various initiatives, such as moving to gas alternatives across our real estate and the consolidation of our delivery fleets into The Sofa Delivery Company,” the retailer said. “AI route planning tools as well as the investment in our teams with driver efficiency training have delivered great results and we are incrementally shifting our company cars and service vehicles to hybrid and electric models.

“We have also made a significant amount of progress in developing our carbon reduction roadmap and remain on track to submit our net zero strategy to the Science Based Targets Initiative for approval in June. Over the past six months, we have engaged our manufacturing partners and raw material suppliers in our roadmap planning and many have shared their commitment to our net zero ambition.”

DFS added that its colleagues remain “highly engaged”, and it has seen positive results from its colleague engagement survey, with the overall NPS engagement score increasing 14 points from March to September 2023. “We’ve also made good progress in developing our inclusive culture where everyone is welcome, adding further Colleague Networks, bringing our total to five across Gender, Sexuality, Religion, Race and Disability. Finally, our Workforce Disclosure Initiative score has also increased from 73% to 80%, well above the UK average of 71% and the consumer discretionary sector of 60%.”

www.linthorpebeds.co.uk - www.dfs.co.uk

The Next Generation in Upholstery FEATURES

Spring 2024 brings Sweet Dreams’ next generation of sofas.

Building on high quality value for money suites and sofa beds coupled with a speedy 20 day delivery time, Sweet Dreams plans to streamline the current range focusing on their best sellers whilst augmenting the range with some fresh new designs and on-point fabrics.

Sales Manager Nick Williams states: “We are finding that our quick delivery turnaround of 20 days for UK made upholstery and next day shipment of our stocked power recliners is a real benefit for our customers.” He added that “the retailers have no real need to stock product due to the speedy delivery.”

Sofa beds have been particularly successful over the winter period and to that end Sweet Dreams are increasing their range with new models and fabric refreshes across most of the models.

Spring will also see new floor model discount structures for retailers wishing to take advantage of the quick delivery service. Nick continues: “It’s all about partnering with the customer and investing in their floor space. The products look great on the shop floor and always sell through when seen by the end consumer.”

Quality has always been in the forefront of Sweet Dreams’ philosophy with a five year frame guarantee on all their UK made models and enhanced foam and fillings in all models, both the retailer and end consumer can have faith in a quality, well-made product.

Sweet Dreams’ imported power recliners are based on bestselling market lead shapes and fabrics and retailers can be safe in the knowledge that Sweet Dreams’ commitment to keeping stock ensures continuity of supply for the retailer.

Nick adds: “We are hoping to create some serious waves with product bundle promotions that will hit key price points and deliver some great margin for our customers. Watch this space for more info!”

Sweet Dreams can deliver to the retailers store or distribution centre or if required via two-man white glove home delivery service as required. Sweet Dreams covers the whole of mainland UK. For online sales the product packaging is second to none and ensures that the product is handled correctly from factory to the end destination.

We are finding that our quick delivery turnaround of 20 days for UK made upholstery and next day shipment of our stocked power recliners is a real benefit for our customers.

“We are well known for our quality beds but it’s certainly worth considering our sofas and sofa beds, 20 days from point of order to delivery for quality product is a huge benefit in the market today,” Nick said. “Check out our range on sweetdreamsuk.com/catalogue/upholstery/ , email info@sweetdreamsuk.com or contact your local agent.”

Belnheim Sofa Bed Venice

Pixton

FEATURES

ScS talks home trends

Victoria Foster, interior stylist at ScS, shares her thoughts on what trends are big in Spring 2024.

For many people spring represents a fresh start and new beginnings, and with UK Google searches for ‘interior trends’ up 20% compared to the last quarter, it appears consumers are keen to revive their interiors. “With 2024 forecasts predicting a year of quiet luxury, curves and the beige dominance being replaced by a spectrum of colours, springtime means embodying these trends in a playful and light way optimised for hosting, and soaking up the lighter nights.”

Muted Pastels

“The popularity of neutral colour palettes is nothing new, with whites and creams, tans and natural wood tones being a staple of Pinterest mood boards and interior influencer’s Instagram feeds for some time now. #NeutralHome has a cool 1.1m mentions on Instagram and we’re forecasting a ‘don’t fix what isn’t broken’ approach to this subdued interior trend as we head into spring. What is new however is that we will see more muted versions of a broader spectrum of colours. Think soft greens, blush pinks, and Cotswold blues.”

Nature Fusion

“Nature-inspired design is set to weave its way into the fabric of interior design, quite literally. This trend takes inspiration from natural landscapes, incorporating earthy tones, botanical motifs, and textured materials to create a harmonious and calming environment. Think of it as an ode to spring - blossoming within the confines of your home, the perfect way to forget the winter blues. The colour palette revolves around mossy greens, warm browns, and soothing blues, evoking the essence of forests, mountains, and oceans. Furniture with organic patterns and textures, such as rattan and reclaimed wood, will be in high demand.”

Revived Maximalism

“Maximalism is here to stay as we head into the warmer months with a focus on ‘bigger is better’. The interior design landscape is set to be dominated by what we’re calling the ‘Oversized Opulence’ trend, a celebration of larger-than-life furniture pieces. The colour palette for ‘Oversized Opulence’ leans towards rich, jewel tones. The oversized furniture pieces become focal points, commanding attention. Furniture in this trend is characterised by generous proportions—plush, oversized corner sofas, grand dining tables, and statementmaking light fittings. Beyond size, attention to detail is a key

feature, with intricate embellishments, tufted upholstery, and metallic accents adding an extra layer of sophistication.”

Orange

is the new beige

“We can expect to see warming orange tones dominate the interiors scene - think of this trend as an evolution of the neutrals and beige of the past few years, just with a more grown-up feel. Orange and green are complementary colours due to their positioning on the colour wheel, so consumers may consider pairing orange hues with house plants and earthy coloured furniture.”

Textures and Curved Edges

“This trend involves the use of fabric textures that are visibly soft, and the layering of these fabrics. The rounded shapes we’re seeing come through in not only furniture, but interior design in general. A rounded edge is much softer on the eye than a sharp, angular corner. Pebble shapes, scalloping and wavy lines have been rising in popularity over the last few years with the rounding off of sharp corners presenting itself particularly strong in sofa and seating shapes. We’ll see this trend manifest itself in other areas of the home; think curved, sculptural coffee tables, scalloped cushions and wavy lamp stems.”

www.scs.co.uk

FEATURES

LONG POINT

The Long Eaton Guild’s Long Point Exhibition takes place from 13-15 May 2024 and will showcase an array of new designs, covering a wide selection of upholstery, cabinets, bedroom furniture and accessories. Here’s a reminder at what’s on show.

Starting with new members, cabinet furniture supplier Fortune Woods is exhibiting for the first time and will be showcasing new collections in both cabinet and upholstery. Back in October last year, Fortune Woods opened its debut showroom in a converted mill opposite Harrington Mill, Long Eaton, with the business investing a six-figure sum in the location. The showroom displays Fortune Wood’s entire upholstery collection, new cabinet designs along with a huge selection of accessories, lighting and textiles from European partner Light & Living.

Another new company entering the Long Point fold is the first trade showing of the Legacy Collection, made by The Hastings Sofa Company. “This is a new and exciting range of sofas and chairs bringing a new, vibrant and stimulating change of direction to the upholstery market, the first in a very long time,” said Simon Orr, Sales Director, on the launch. “Come and see us at the West Gate Suites (just five minutes’ walk from Harrington Mills).”

Andrew Paul Furniture are also fresh members to the Long Eaton Guild. They said: “Presented are exciting modern designs with 60’s influences, 80’s designs with soft tonal fabrics and classic elegant traditional sofas with a modern twist.” Meanwhile, Siren Furniture is set to launch its largest-ever collection of new contemporary upholstery ranges exclusively at Long Point.

Ramaro, a family-owned Polish upholstery company, is targeting expansion in the UK and Irish markets with Tim Robinson Furniture Agencies, who were also recently appointed to work with Hartmann Möbelwerke. Hartmann has opened a permanent trade showroom in The Wade Building in Long Eaton. Couch & Co will be showcasing Jackie and Melody, while Violino will have 25 new ranges launching in their showroom, as well as sharing some space with Kesterport displaying its brand new ranges of dining and occasional furniture.

Award-winning German bedroom manufacturer, Wiemann, is showcasing six of its finest and most popular ranges, which includes VIP star Denver and ultra-versatile Monaco, as well as new-for-24 Lagos. As for Artistic Upholstery, their showstopper is the Art Deco style ‘Hector’ Sofa, while Duresta revealed they will be unveiling a “captivating new aesthetic”.

AMX Design are introducing various sofa collections which focuses on commercially designed innovation and motion, while Ashley Manor will unveil its newest line-up of handcrafted sofas and the debut of a new fabric collection.

The Long Eaton Guild have held trade exhibitions in the East Midlands for over 50 years, with its latest upcoming Long Point exhibition set to be another success, as Andrew J Mitchell, Chairman of the Long Eaton Guild and MD of guild member Artistic Upholstery, comments: “Long Point continues to be the UK’s most enjoyable and relaxed Furniture Exhibition. Our Spring show is the perfect event for retailers, manufacturers and suppliers to meet and discuss new collections.”

AMX

Couch&Co Jackie

DURESTA

Artistic

Bosco by Fortune Woods

Wiemann

www.longeatonguild.co.uk/longpoint

FEATURES

Housed in the iconic Harrington Mill, Siren Furniture is set to impress visitors to Spring Long Point as it unveils its largest-ever range of new designs and a dramatic showroom redesign.

Located on the 2nd floor of the Mill, the complete collection will be showcased within inspirational interior settings in Siren’s newly renovated showroom. Designed in conjunction with one of the industry’s most renowned award-winning creatives, Siren has transformed the space in its entirety, curating trend-led room sets each with a distinctive décor.

The latest collections represent a step-change in design and variety, including show wood models, contemporary curves and accent chairs, upholstered in fine fabrics, sumptuous leathers and tonal textures. All of these now come with a 25-year frame guarantee and are designed with comfort as standard, luxury to last.

These latest milestones mark a renewed direction for Siren. Signifying the bold ambition and dedication to drive the brand forward following the recent completion of a management takeover of the business.

Siren’s friendly team will be on hand throughout Long Point, welcoming visitors to experience their new showroom and designs.

The latest collections represent a step-change in design and variety. ”

ABOUT SIREN

Siren’s new management team has injected fresh energy and enthusiasm to develop and grow the business further, following the recent completion of the management takeover.

UPHOLSTERY & MORE

Siren offer a wide range of design-led contemporary and traditional designs, including modular groups, sofabeds and accent chairs, all available on a made-to-order basis. Using selected fabrics and leathers hand-picked from the finest mills across Europe, Siren also work closely with its key customers to design and develop specific looks and ranges, including to contract specification.

Quality is the primary focus for Siren, and all products are handmade to the highest standards in one of its trusted factories. The majority of which are family businesses and the relationships with them are long-standing. Every sofa, including components and fabrics, undergo strict performance testing to ensure the best quality and value for customers and the end consumer. This year, Siren has increased its frame guarantee from 10 years to 25 years, reinforcing its dedication to durability and customer satisfaction.

SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY

Siren is making conscious strides in working towards reducing its environmental impact. All in-house products are crafted in FSC-accredited timber sourced from responsibly managed forests. Notably, Siren has started to introduce recycled fillings and environmentally friendly foams as part of its journey toward greater sustainability.

If you would like to find out more information about the services and products that Siren offer, please do not hesitate to contact the team.

FEATURES

In the next instalment of our new series of interviews with agents across the furnishings industry, we spoke with who shares her insight and why POS is paramount.

Meet Nadine

Nadine Shadwell, owner of NLS Agencies, and represents Sweet Dreams and Shankar.

How long have you been an agent in the industry?

I have been an agent since October 2023 but I have been in the industry since 2015

What drew you into the life of an agent and what’s the day-to-day like?

After working as a furniture retailer for five years and spending two years as Sales Office Manager for a cabinet wholesaler/manufacturer during Covid, I thought that my experience and existing relationships would translate well into becoming an agent, giving me the ability to support wholesalers and retailers whilst understanding the challenges they face.

What is the best part of your role?

I very much enjoy the sales element of my role, however, the best part for me is building relationships with people and helping to find products that suit theirs/their customer’s needs.

What is the most difficult?

Supply chain issues and related delays are a problem that we come up against regularly leading to difficult conversations with customers and the loss of some orders.

Do you have any particular highlights so far?

I love trade shows so exhibiting at The NBF Bed Show last year and then JFS this year was fantastic for me. As was the recent INDX Beds & Bedroom Show too. I’m very much looking forward to future shows I have in the diary too.

What challenges do you think currently face agents in the furnishing industry?

The entire industry is seeing tough times currently and obviously this has a knock-on effect on us as agents when trying to reach targets set for us. Sometimes even if you have the right product in the right place the customer just doesn’t have space/funds to be able to commit.

What would you like to see change?

A lot of what is happening in our industry is directly related to the current state of the country. I think it would be nice if things started to settle so that we can get lead times and shipping costs down and release some of the pressure on the industry.

What would help agents more?

Information is key for our customers, the same as with any industry, so ensuring product information and related POS is accurate, up to date and easily accessible for agents, and in turn customers, helps the entire sales process flow more smoothly.

What would you say to someone considering becoming an agent?

Times are tough at the moment and being an agent isn’t easy. Being proactive is essential and for me the people and relationships have been key. A good network is also invaluable.

What is the most important attribute to have as an agent and why?

In my opinion, a passion for the industry is most important. To do the job well you have to want to learn about the companies you are trying to supply, their target market and the people behind them, not just the products you are attempting to sell them.

Can you share something that irritates you the most as an agent?

Variable speed limit motorways and road works are my biggest gripe! I love travelling to see customers, but our roads are a mess and make life as an agent more difficult.

Can you share an insight into your plans for the year ahead?

To continue to grow my industry knowledge and business relationship network, whilst providing a high level of support to the people and companies I work with.

What’s the next big thing you are seeing in the industry and why?

Sustainable, Eco Friendly, reclaimed and recycled products seem to be coming more to the forefront of customer requests as people are becoming more aware of pollution, waste and environmental damage.

Ensuring product information and related POS is accurate, up to date and easily accessible for agents, and in turn customers, helps the entire sales process flow more smoothly.

nlsagencies@gmail.com

07773307460

linkedin.com/in/nadine-s-74a4a4129/

FEATURES

Henrik Pontoppidan, Director of S2U Design, talks about the five key takeaways when mastering Vietnamese furniture sourcing.

Based on over a decade of engagement with Vietnamese furniture factories, navigating challenges and seizing opportunities, here are five key takeaways for anyone seeking success in sourcing furniture from the diverse, dynamic, and complex Vietnamese supply market.

1. Know Your Brief: A Foundation for Success

The journey to successful collaboration with Vietnamese manufacturers starts by understanding your product requirements. Sending only a picture to the chosen factory, a common but problematic approach, often leads to misunderstandings in proposals and quotations. To avoid this, provide a comprehensive brief with detailed sketches, dimensions, concept explanation, USPs, anticipated volume based on target prices, a defined timeframe, and precise specifications for materials and packaging. Include a realistic target price. This thorough brief expedites project fruition and establishes a foundation for a successful collaboration. Most Vietnamese manufacturers appreciate working with foreign buyers who clearly articulate their needs, reducing the factory’s burden of interpretation.

Rule number 1: Prepare well thought out briefs before asking for quotations.

2. The Right Factory – A Numbers Game, and Grafting is necessary

Selecting the right factory is crucial for project success, and it goes beyond finding a couple of options. The choice can make or break the product launch, and many issues I see foreign buyers having in factories, stem from not investing enough effort in the selection process.

The first step involves specifying criteria like capacity, strategy, technology, experience, specialization, and social responsibility. Next is the grafting process, and this is where most foreign buyers fall short: This process involves visiting as many seemingly qualifying factories as possible. While outsourcing this activity to a third party is common practice, your should bear in mind that the results depend on the skills and knowledge of the third-party staff and/or may be influenced by their personal relationships with those factories.

Every factory might reveal a gem. On visiting a poly rattan subcontractor to specify weave and colour of the material, I came across these beautiful outdoor chairs made of recycled plastic.

I strongly advise against outsourcing this critical activity. It’s best controlled within your organization to ensure optimal decisionmaking. As a bonus, ongoing factory visits can serve multiple purposes. Firstly, they motivate production partners, identify production issues before they become costly, and strengthen relationships, making manufacturers prioritize your project. Secondly, knowledge of factories that don’t qualify for a specific project can be invaluable for future endeavors, continually bolstering your organization’s capabilities. Thirdly, engaging in continuous factory visits helps you stay informed about emerging trends, competitor actions, and potential opportunities. If you visit Vietnamese factories on a few annual brief visits to the country, imagine the insights gained from these visits – now envision the immense knowledge enhancement if this were a consistent, ongoing activity within your organisation.

Rule number 2: You cannot visit factories too much. Every visit generates knowledge and strengthen your competitive advantage through knowledge.

3. Design for Cost – Based on a Western design approach. Recognise the drawbacks of relying solely on Vietnamese factory designs, often led by fresh engineering graduates lacking critical thinking and creativity. In a recent project for a US wholesaler, for a sourcing project, I was asked not to create technical designs – because ‘the factories know better’. After 6 weeks of all manufacturers struggling to meet ambitious requirements, I

found myself ending up working hard to redesign all 40 SKUs. The result was that all factories achieved optimal quality, consumer-friendly solutions, minimised production risks, products configured for ecommerce, - and met target prices! On my client’s visit, perfect samples were presented, all SKUs were immediately approved and are now in production. Here is a good way to be ahead of competition. Most importers rely on their chosen factory’s dogmatic designs. An obvious approach for competitive advantage is to own the designing process, integrate critical thinking, creativity, and technical knowledge – a Western mindset.

Rule number 3: Don’t rely solely on Factory designs – create better designs in-house, to reduce cost, create better products and improve quality.

4. Understand the Factory – Unveiling Motivations

Successful collaboration with Vietnamese factories relies on understanding their motivations. Importers often make a critical error by initiating repeated design changes without adequate preparation. This investment of time and resources in creating the perfect design is compromised when alterations are made after samples are produced and prices agreed upon. Recognizing the impact on factory motivation, importers should request designs, specifications and prices only based on having done their homework eliminating the risk of having to request changes more than necessary. This will motivate suppliers and

foster long-term success. Once the brief is agreed upon, avoid unnecessary alterations, as demotivated factories compromise efficiency and may abandon projects altogether, without voicing their frustration. A motivated supplier is invaluable; - and low or no motivation results in stranded projects and missed opportunities.

Rule number 4: Whenever possible, stimulate and maintain your manufacturing partners’ motivation.

5. QC

– Be

in Control of Quality

Quality control (QC) is more than a superficial inspection; it demands a proactive and systematic approach. Particularly in Vietnam. You should lead a holistic QC process. Never sign off initiation of production without agreed technical drawings, secure a signed master sample, and create a comprehensive technical document for each SKU. Use these 3 elements to QC against and ensure that requirements are understood to alleviate possible misunderstandings and disagreements about what is QC passable and what isn’t. Taking control of the documentation process, including signed drawings, master samples, and technical documents, enhances clarity, reduces disputes, and elevates overall manufacturing quality – and it secures a better and more fruitful long term relationship with the supplier. Often I witness examples of QC without master samples, signed drawings or technical documents. Please for your own business performance make sure these examples are not your company.

Rule number 5: Own your own QC system and principles – and police them.

Implementing these five pieces of advice hinges on your organisation’s capability. It’s a challenge to find staff with the broad knowledge and skills (as well as time and consistent drive) to successfully manage all five rules, coupled with thorough understanding of the Vietnamese supply market. If you require assistance, I am ready to take responsibility for implementing all five rules, acting as your dedicated ‘buying office.’ This includes providing better results, sharing information with your organisation, managing a feedback system based on KPIs, and enabling direct dealings with manufacturers, leading to significant savings on buy prices while maintaining control and transparency. All of this can be accomplished without the need for costly expatriates stationed in Vietnam; and/or a difficult-to-manage from abroad Vietnamese team. I am already here. Feel free to reach out anytime.

Email: henrik@s2udesign.com

Tel VN: +84 (0)82 7600 171

Tel UK: +44 1432 851 824

Tel DK +45 36 99 16 77

A story of flair and personal touch

Tim Lawson, Founder and Director at TRL Furniture, shares an insight into the company as well as expansion plans including the appointment of five new agents.

In the heart of Nottingham, TRL stands tall as an award-winning furniture manufacturer renowned for its bespoke creations. Their philosophy is simple yet profound: “Celebrate individuality through craftsmanship”. With every piece they create, the business aims to reflect the unique essence of their clients and the spaces they inhabit.

What sets us apart is our commitment to sourcing materials locally from independent businesses.

“Our commitment to quality and craftsmanship has earned us multiple industry awards and nominations including Best Handmade Bespoke Furniture Provider 2023 by SME Business Awards as well as Rural Start Up of the Year Award 2023 by The Start Up Awards, and much more,” reveals Tim Lawson, Founder and Director at TRL Furniture.

“What sets us apart is our commitment to sourcing materials locally from independent businesses. This decision isn’t just about sustainability; it’s about fostering meaningful connections within our community of artisans and craftsmen. From handpicked oak to reclaimed timber, each material carries a story waiting to be told, enriching the fabric of our designs with authenticity and character.”

However, TRL’s dedication to local sourcing goes beyond geography; it’s about storytelling, as Tim explains: “Every knot in the wood, every stroke of the brush, bears witness to the collaborative spirit that defines Nottingham’s artisanal landscape. By incorporating these elements into our designs, we invite homeowners and business owners to weave their own tales into the fabric of their spaces.

“In a world of mass-produced goods, we offer a personal touch. From the initial consultation to the final brushstroke, our team works closely with clients to bring their vision to life. We believe that furniture should be more than just functional; it should be a reflection of the owner’s personality and lifestyle.”

At TRL, the business understand that a house is more than just four walls; it’s a place where memories are made and stories unfold, which is why they take pride in crafting furniture that resonates with warmth and authenticity. “Whether it’s a cozy bench for the garden, a statement dining table for the home or a commercial property that needs to ooze personality, each piece we create is infused with soulful resonance that stands the test of time,” Tim said.

“In a fast-paced world, we offer a glimpse of something timeless: the enduring beauty of craftsmanship and the personal touch of bespoke design. As we navigate the complexities of modern life, let us not forget the value of handmade goods and the importance of cherishing the stories that make our homes truly our own.”

TRL Expands

As TRL Furniture goes through some serious expansion, using the online platforms of the quintessentially British Debenhams, B&Q and The Range, they now aim to increase their offering through mutual support from the independent retailers of the UK.

To do this, TRL has expanded its team with the appointment of five new furniture agents looking after the majority of the UK. Richard Jackson will cover the Midlands and North Wales, Gary Birch will look after the East of England and North of the Thames, Clive Loe will take on South London and Kent, Colin Boyce will be looking after the South Coast and South Wales and Jonathan Huntsman will cover the North East of England and Cumbria.

“We are excited about our next phase of growth and we welcome all our new agents to the business,” Tim added. “Through these appointments, we look forward to continuing our story and that of our customers too.”

Harrison Spinks publishes sustainability report FEATURES

Fifth generation, family-owned luxury bed and components manufacturer, Harrison Spinks, has announced a raft of sustainably-focussed initiatives in its new Impact Report from both the main beds business and its components manufacturing company to further improve the planet whilst enriching the local environment and enhancing colleagues and communities.

The business, which employs around 500 people and is already one of the largest growers of hemp in the UK, will increase its flax crop from 20 to 120 acres to replace cotton – not only is the crop more suitable for the British climate, there is no requirement for pesticides or irrigation for it to grow.

Meanwhile its Yorkshire-based spring manufacturing business has introduced a patentpending, pocket coiling machine that reduces energy consumption by 60%, as well as minimising raw materials needed in the process.

Manufacturing production within the beds division at the 180-year-old company has moved to a four-day working week with longer production shift patterns after identifying the benefits of an improved work life balance – which they achieved without a reduction in overall output – and central operations has moved to a 4.5-day week, leading to increased productivity and reduced direct and indirect emissions.

Harrison Spinks’ partnership with Scottish luxury accessories manufacturer Alex Begg is now enabling the business to upcycle clean, high-quality cashmere offcuts to replace the virgin cashmere wool in its mattress fillings, also leading to lower transport emissions.

Last year alone, the company’s hemp crop absorbed over 3,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions – which is equal to all of its annual Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.

Our Impact Report details how we’ve adapted our business in the last year and the fundamental commitments we’re adopting for the future to make beds and components in the most responsible way possible.

Further changes to improve its production, CO2 emissions, and local biodiversity have been announced within the newly-launched Impact Report.

These include:

Further investment in weaving its own mattress ticking fabric from naturally fire-retardant wool, covering 100% of production needs and saving 28 tonnes of fire-retardant chemicals being used each year

Creating its own pocket springs through efficient wire-drawing processes that save 330,000kWh of energy each year

Becoming members of the UN Global Compact – the world’s largest corporate sustainability programme

The business is also boosting the local natural habitat, shifting from overseas carbon offsetting and investing into programmes in Britain, such as the Wild Ingleborough initiative led by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to help restore the natural habitat and combat climate change.

Harrison Spinks has committed to becoming Nature Net Positive across all operations and as part of this the two farms are working towards being fully organic by September 2025. It is also planting 2,750 metres of native hedgerows in Yorkshire to support animal welfare and encourage wildlife, while 47 acres of Ings grassland on the farm is left unstocked in spring to allow ground nesting. Furthermore, a higher stewardship grant from Natural England has enabled 33 acres of wildflower, bird, and butterfly margins to be created and maintained.

Simon Spinks, Chairman at Harrison Spinks, said: “Our Impact Report details how we’ve adapted our business in the last year and the fundamental commitments we’re adopting for the future to make beds and components in the most responsible way possible. We are a business that’s been recognised with seven King’s and Queen’s Awards, including two for Sustainable Development, so we understand the importance of playing our part in making the world happier and healthier.

“We’re making some big commitments, going from 20 to 120 acres of flax crop production – allowing us to replace cotton with Yorkshire-grown luxury mattress fillings – and we have a patent pending on a coil manufacturing machine which reduces energy consumption by 60%. This machine was designed and built by us here in Leeds and we aim to share this technology in our sector and beyond to allow others to benefit from these energy savings.

“From using renewable energy at our Leeds manufacturing site to our partnership with children’s bed charity Zarach, providing them with 20 mattresses every month to give every head a bed, we want to make sure we’re supporting local communities and the environment. Owning a farm gives us a unique and unbreakable connection to nature, and that’s why we’ve taken more steps to monitor exactly how we’re affecting the local environment, from making sure we lower emissions, right down to encouraging rare bird species onto our farms.

“We have been refining our manufacturing processes to be more responsible, and we’re now working on industry-leading ways to repurpose clean waste back into production and looking further ahead to re-purpose our mattress components.”

Harrison Spinks is the only UK bed manufacturer to have its own farms, blend its own natural filling layers in-house, weave its own naturally fire-retardant mattress fabric and manufacture 95%* of its mattress components in-house. It has 180 acres of arable land where it grows hemp and flax, and a further 200 acres of grassland where sheep are raised.

Further commitments Harrison Spinks is making include:

Investing in Solar PV technology to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, which is projected to create 400,000 kWh of energy per year

Digitising the wire-drawing process within its components division to reduce CO2 by 40%

Working towards becoming Net Zero by 2050 under the net zero strategy approved by the Science Based Targets initiative

Planning to decrease carbon emissions from direct operations by 95% within 10 years

www.harrisonspinks.co.uk/our-story/

To Print or not to Print

Robin Sutherland, Global Sales Director at BigFurnitureData, details the benefits of FurnitureBrochure and why it’s a game-changer in the furnishings industry.

Over the years we have all been at the point of needing to instruct the printers to do the next print run of brochures but having to hold back because there is a new model arriving that was held up on delivery and missed the photoshoot, or perhaps a product has been discontinued so you don’t want it included but you still have large stocks to clear, hence the dilemma ‘To Print or not to Print’.

So, the concept of the digital brochure was born.

Digital Online Furniture Brochures vs. Traditional Printed Brochures

The digital online brochure offers a clean professional appearance, vastly superior to the often dog-eared printed version hidden in a filing cabinet, whose cover is often enhanced by a coffee ring stain and perhaps ‘SHOP COPY’ written in a fat marker pen. Not to mention that it is dated 2021 and we are now in January 2024. Perfect for the retailer to use to show consumers and Reps & Agents to present to buyers, the products are loaded into the FurnitureBrochure will all fabric, size, finish and foot options and can be sorted to present all options onto a single screen, rather than flicking back and forward between pages. Thereby enriching the shopping experience and aiding in efficient decision making, creating a seamless buying experience for all concerned.

The digital online furniture brochure offers so much more than its printed counterpart, not only it is timeless, it has interactive features, categorisation and high-quality visuals, it also enhances the brand image and also proves highly useful

A digital online furniture brochure offers a clean and professional appearance. With interactive features and high-quality visuals, it not only enhances the brand image but also proves highly useful for reps & agents along with salespeople in showrooms.

for reps & agents along with salespeople in showrooms. They can swiftly present various options and details to customers on tablets or screens, enriching the shopping experience and aiding in efficient decision-making, creating a seamless and engaging sales process.

FurnitureBrochure offers an eco-friendly addition to traditional paper brochures. They are effortless to distribute, update and can incorporate interactive elements that enrich the buying experience. The content is all created for you and our content team will keep your brochure updated in real-time with live over the air updates. As soon as you advise us that say a fabric is no longer available, it is removed from the brochure, likewise when a new item arrives, it can be added to the brochure in minutes and will be there for everyone to see.

robin@bigfurnituredata.com

www.bigfurnituredata.com/ furniturebrochure

History, Legacy and why Trade Shows are still a Must

The team behind the Manchester Furniture Show and January Furniture Show explore just why trade shows have long been pivotal platforms for businesses.

The concept of trade shows, which enables businesses to showcase their products and services, connect with potential customers, and network with industry peers, can be traced back to ancient times when merchants and artisans would gather at local marketplaces to sell their goods. These early gatherings were more than just commercial events; they were social and cultural hubs where people exchanged not only goods but also ideas and information.

Trade shows have evolved significantly from the Middle Ages, propelled by the Industrial Revolution and then accelerated in the 20th Century by the advent of the internet and digital technologies. The pandemic fundamentally shifted the way the world did business and AI looks set to transform the future even further. The furniture industry has always thrived on strong relationships between manufacturers and buyers, and the need to touch, feel and inspect products, no technology will ever replace this all-important human interaction.

The past decade has seen a surge in digital communication and the development of new channels and ways to connect, with emails often replacing the traditional phone call. However, online platforms have proliferated, and email, once the preferred marketing tool of choice, has become less effective due to stricter data legislation, limited cookie tracking and higher email unsubscribe rates, this combined with the advent of a new hybrid working week, has made it even harder to reach customers.

With Brexit and the pandemic causing the UK furniture market to stall over the last few years, trade shows continue to be the most effective channel to reach new clients, showcase product and continue dialogue. This was demonstrated at this year’s January Furniture Show (JFS), now in its 33rd year, where the NEC Birmingham saw visitors from over 50 countries, with 89% of attendees citing trade shows as very important to the success of their business.

From their humble beginnings in ancient marketplaces to the sophisticated global events of today, trade shows have come a long way. They have continually adapted to the changing needs of business and society, reflecting the economic, technological, and cultural shifts of their times. As a dynamic and resilient industry, trade shows will undoubtedly continue to be a vital part of the business world for years to come.

Be part of history in the making and join us at Manchester Furniture Show which returns after a five-year hiatus from 1011 July 2024, at the iconic Manchester Central. With the show already tracking +15% ahead on visitor registration and costeffective packages available, trade shows remain as relevant today for the furniture industry as they did in ancient times.

Find out more about the January Furniture Show, Manchester Furniture Show and the Women in Furniture Network atthefurnitureshows.com

FEATURES

As advertising costs rise and the efficiency of marketing campaigns wanes, businesses know all too well that maximising the value from any marketing spend is crucial. Performance marketing agency Door4, which specialises in helping companies operating in the home and garden sector keep on top of the latest ways to acquire and convert today’s consumer in the digital space, shares this ethos.

Mirroring the fast-paced advances in digital technologies, and ways brands can reach consumers through digital channels, Door4 is continually evolving its own business to ensure its services meet the needs of industry. With a history spanning 25 years, today it identifies as an impact-led marketing partner delivering solutions for organisations globally. Comprising experts across a breadth of specialisms, its team adeptly tackles clients’ biggest challenges, providing strategic guidance through to seamless implementation.

“One thing has remained steadfast in our approach over the decades, and that is helping our client partner businesses to achieve growth, is the ‘how’ businesses can achieve optimum results from their digital marketing budgets that changes,” Leon says. “We centre our services around two core pillars of delivery. Performance and Service Levels. Without performance, there is no commercial gain for the client. Without high service levels, there is no trust, no faith and there can be no lasting relationship. We combine the two, helping clients grow with us, leading to successful long-term partnerships.”

Door4’s process begins with a tried and tested planning framework, encompassing the four Ms of market, message, media and measurement. It believes that a fundamental element to any marketing activity is knowing your customer, how to reach them and how to persuade them. Knowledge

into audience behaviours in the homes and interiors space is key too. Here, data must drive how to ensure brands are in front of the right people at crucial stages of the purchasing journey.

“Customer psychology plays a critical role throughout this purchase journey,” Leon said. “Our approach to experimentation spans throughout this, from the ads we place through to the websites we generate traffic for, knowing what makes our audience tick is the key to effective and profitable campaigns.

“We fuse the power of modern digital media with traditional, proven marketing strategy to deliver growth and profitability to our clients. We work with leaders within businesses to help the business to define, articulate and execute its strategic vision as a robust marketing plan, through offering an objective view of the audiences’ lens.

“We then determine the most effective way to allocate campaign budget across digital and traditional channels. Our data-driven approach ensures that every media choice is strategically selected for maximum impact, delivering your message to the right audience at the optimal time and place.

“We create campaign assets, leaning on our broad understanding of brand, media production and marketing communications. From striking visuals to compelling narratives, our team expertly crafts each element to resonate with a target audience and amplifies brand message.

“The fourth element of what we do is to continually monitor campaigns to ensure they are on track, optimising, adjusting and refining. Our approach is rooted in a cycle of constant improvement, where we gather insights, measure performance and review strategies to dynamically adapt and enhance a campaign’s effectiveness.

“There has never been a more crucial time to have a robust and effective marketing strategy based on a deep understanding of your customer. After all, it’s no secret that it’s set to be a tough trading year for all sectors – and homes and interiors is no exception. Retail footfall is down, shoppers are spending less and, although as a whole, marketing budgets are rising, so too is ad spend and competition. That’s not to mention changes to how marketers can target audiences in a cookieless world.

There has never been a more crucial time to have a robust and effective marketing strategy based on a deep understanding of your customer.

To support marketers and business owners operating in the homes and gardens sector, we’re holding a free campaign planning event focused on improving conversion rates, lowering CPAs and making your ads work smarter. It will take place on Thursday 6th June from 9am to 12pm at Brockholes Conference Centre in Preston. Please visit www.door4.com/nextevent to register.

Second-gen expands with second store

Louis Mitchell, Director at The M6 Bed Warehouse, talks about the expansion of the business as they celebrate the launch of their new store.

Cheshire-based family-run bed and mattress retailer The M6 Bed Warehouse is going through an exciting period of growth and is about to expand with their second store this month. The grand opening is set for the May Bank Holiday on Saturday 4 May 2024. As you’re reading this, the store has more than likely opened its doors.

Situated on Winnington Business Park in Northwich, the new store has been two years in the making and has seen significant investment from initial design plans to full completion. The project has been a big task, but one Louis Mitchell, Director at The M6 Bed Warehouse, has thoroughly enjoyed.

So, why expand now?

“We’re a second-generation family run business which started in 2001. We were created with the vison of being a ‘bed and mattress specialist’, allowing us to focus on giving our customers the best value, choice, service and expertise possible. These pillars, coupled with our unparalleled passion for the products we sell and first-class delivery service, has allowed us to build a strong base of loyal and local customers.

“Our business has grown and we’re looking to expand our customer base and Northwich is an ideal location for this. The town has experienced huge growth and investment in recent years and we hope to become a

Our business has grown and we’re looking to expand our customer base and Northwich is an ideal location for this.

staple business within the area for local people and building on the strong reputation we’ve built over the last 20 years.”

Adding to their existing location on Radway Green Road, Alsager, the new store is a purpose-built, glass-fronted 6,000sqft retail showroom overlooking a busy main road. “It’s a fantastic location and allows us to showcase some of the very best products we offer,” Louis said.

“Managing the project and combining all the different elements/contractors to ensure each stage has been completed on time so the

whole project doesn’t get delayed has been a fun challenge. It’s a shell-spec unit so we’ve had an amazing opportunity to build a floor plan from scratch. We’ve found inspiration from many areas (including other retailers) and tried to build a showroom which offers an incredible story and comfortable shopping experience from when you enter the store.

“We want to expand our customer base into a wider ‘local’ area, develop our brand, drive people into both stores and develop our online business through organic and direct traffic.”

Alongside the store expansion, the business has invested in five new full-time salespeople as well as expanding their fulfilment capability by adding a fourth delivery vehicle and more warehousing space for delivery processing and stock holding. The company has also invested heavily in SEO & PPC campaigns for its website and even plans to add another store next year.

“Despite difficult general trading conditions, we’ve had a successful Q1 2024 where YOY we’re up,” Louis added. “We’ve focused on driving the value proposition for our customers and ensuring the story within our stores is simple and effective.

We’ve found short lead times and high product and service availability is key to our customers and we’ve had to align with supply partners who can match these expectations.

“Our industry is full of investment and new technologies which is fantastic and we’d love to see more UK made bedframe suppliers to compete against the imported options. For now, we’re working hard to ensure our new store will be a massive success, while our next plan is to move onto store three by 2025, so watch this space!”

www.m6beds.co.uk

THE BIG QUESTION

This month we’re asking retailers: A customer walks into your store, explores some products then makes for the exit to potentially purchase elsewhere. What do you do?

We absolutely encourage our customers to browse under no pressure - a bed is such an important purchase people need to be left to their own journey, with our team on hand to answer any questions they may have. When they’re finished and about to leave without buying, we thank them for visiting us and remind them we’re always here and available if they need any advice, information or assistance in the future. Our 5* reviews show our customers appreciate this approach as there isn’t anything worse than being chased around (or out) of a store!

I’d ask if they needed the toilet, as we have one but you can only use it if you agree to buy that sofa you’ve been sitting on for the last hour with your friend!

Humorous answer: Lock the doors!

Sensible, established retailer suggestion: Having recently used Furniture Sales Solutions for an extensive sales training programme with all our teams, anyone coming into the store would have been engaged within no more than a couple of minutes by one of our sales consultants. However, if that somehow hadn’t happened, I’d engage in conversation, almost like an ‘exit interview’. It’s interesting when you so this, as it helps to establish what opportunities we’re maybe missing or where they think we have perhaps not met expectations. ‘Showrooming’ is a problem in the furniture industry –not just losing out to the online sale but also between physical retailers, where space to display the full range is perhaps limited - but dig a little deeper and often customers really want to buy from someone they know and trust. Something got them to visit our store, so we have to do our best to make the sale and gain a satisfied customer.

If a customer has been in looking at beds in our store, then heads for the door, we would ask them…. “Why”? “What is it that they are trying to find?” This way we can hopefully steer the customer to something that they didn’t realise we can do or have. In fact, just recently this happened and we got the sale. The customer didn’t realise we could store the bed for them for up to six months. They were moving home and they weren’t ready to purchase until they knew the exact date they would be moving. They were pleased to get the job of buying a bed off their list of things to do.

I would normally ask if they had found what they were looking for and would they like any further help or information

We thank them for visiting and remind them of our core USP’s, facilitated by the consultative conversation the customer received from one of our sleep experts during their visit.

Louis Mitchell – M6 Beds

Peter Harding – Fairway Furniture

Grant Berry – Home World – Mattress & Bed Centres

Nigel Ledger-Lomas - Harvest Moon Interiors

Huw Williams - Toons Home Furnishers

Craig Wileman - Store Manager - Mattress Online Doncaster

Gaining Experience

Paul Wray, Managing Director of Furntec Ltd and Modern Outlook Furniture, shares an insight

into his experience of dealing with furniture suppliers in China.

Having been working with many furniture suppliers over the last 25 years in China, it has been the biggest challenge for me, having to deal with all the different hurdles you have to face day in and day out.

I am asked frequently, how easy is it to buy furniture from China? My answer to that question is, “yes its fairly straight forward as there are thousands of furniture manufacturers here who are more than willing to supply you”, but there are many things to consider before you even attempt to place an order.

Over the last few years, China had closed its borders to the outside world due to the Covid virus. This meant many overseas buyers having to do their business online and not being able to visit to see the supplier and their furniture being made. In my experience with many furniture suppliers here in China, a potential time bomb waiting to happen.

With all the factories here in China that manufacture for me, it is imperative that you or your team are able to be at the factories when producing your product. Even the best factories still need to be kept an eye on when it comes to Quality Control. All it takes is one part to go wrong in the process, and you could end up with a container or containers of product that you cannot sell. A very expensive problem to have.

Another issue is, are you dealing directly with the factory or are you dealing with a trader who may have no experience in furniture? It is easy to set up a website to say you have a factory here in China and you can manufacture furniture, but in reality, they are waiting for you to place an order and they will then themselves find a factory that can produce for you which you will not know the quality of the goods being made. Even worse, they will not know the quality standard you require.

There are also many laws governed around the world when supplying furniture to certain countries. For example, when supplying the UK with products that will require UKFR regulations to be adhered to. Does the factory you are working with know these standards required? Many suppliers will say they do but they don’t. How do you know your product will be safe?

Unfortunately, the list can go on and on with potential issues you can face in China by having your furniture produced here. Please don’t get me wrong, China is amazing for the furniture products it can produce, you just have to be mindful and my advice is to make sure you always have someone professional on the ground here at factories you are buying from, to make sure the quality and safety of your product is always applied.

Modern Outlook Furniture assists businesses of all sizes in procurement from China at any stage of your project. If you would like a no obligation conversation about how we can assist you and help you avoid any costly issues or nasty surprises, please do get in touch! paulw@modernoutlook.cn

www.linkedin.com/in/paulwray-79403935/

Registration for IFHS 2024 is now open

About Us

The Irish Furniture and Homewares Show stands as a pivotal event in this year’s tradeshow calendar, offering a platform for the latest trends and innovations to converge! Do you sell into Ireland or aspire to do so? Take advantage of the only premier event of it’s kind in Ireland, to expand your reach and make a lasting impression in Ireland’s dynamic furniture and homewares markets.

Continuous reinvestment in the show has created a dynamic platform that propels the entire Irish industry forward. The IFHS 2024 is a decade-long commitment to fostering the growth of the Irish furniture industry. The show boosts the Irish furniture trade by uniting every level of the industry, with a singular focus of adding value to the sector.

Organisers of the Irish Furniture & Homewares Show (IFHS) has announced that visitor registration for the event is now open.

IFHS takes place from 25-27 August 2024 at the National Indoor Arena in Blanchardstown, Dublin.

The IFHS is a testament to a decade-long commitment to fostering the growth of the Irish furniture industry. Boosting the Irish furniture trade by uniting every level of the industry, with a singular focus of adding value to the sector, the IFHS is a show not to be missed.

“Registration for the Irish Furniture & Homewares Show has officially opened for attendees,” organisers said. “Registration is quick, easy, free and open to all furniture trade customers. Each person must register with their own unique email address and will receive their ticket straight away.”

To register, visit https://ifhs-tradeshow.registrationdesk.ie

Registration is quick, easy, free and open to all furniture trade customers.

Award Winning

As an addition to the show, in 2016 we launched the Irish Furniture and Home Awards, providing the perfect opportunity for our suppliers to showcase the best of their products and recognising the enormous efforts made by exhibitors, presenting the best of new innovation to the Irish Market.

Devonshire

At this year’s INDX show, Devonshire debuted two brand-new collections to resounding applause and they will be proudly displayed at the Spring Furniture Show, May 21-22, Hall 2 Stand 25. Wiltshire Dining and Living is a stunning whitewashed pale oak collection, in a contemporary design, creating a lovely sense of lightness and elegance. The sophisticated Wiltshire Bedroom collection has a painted body in their popular Moon Grey and a strikingly contrasting oak top in the same light finish as the dining and living room pieces. Eight more colours are offered by their on-site paint shop, including Raven, Devonshire’s colour of the year. An incredibly gorgeous dark grey that looks amazing against the pale top. Generous sized rails, tapered legs, chunky tops with softly rounded edges, and the exceptional craftsmanship that one expects from Devonshire are features shared by both collections. The design is completed with modern chrome pull handles for a flawless finish. Together, these exquisite elements produce two collections that are both captivating and breath-taking, each with all the pieces you would expect from a successful range. www.devonshireliving.co.uk

DUXIANA

DUXIANA has announced the launch of its latest version of its DUX Bed. Their new collection, Sustainable Comfort, is their fully re-engineered most advanced customisable and replaceable component bed, that continues to provide the unique DUX spring system that combined with the finest natural materials and handcrafted attention to detail, delivers unrivalled comfort and longevity. The new collection is our most advanced and customisable DUX bed to date but continues to offer the ability, like no other, to unzip the mattress to see within. This now also allows you to replace three key components to both adjust and maintain the support and comfort. These three components being our… Removable Top Pad –Inner Comfort Layer –Customisable Pascal system. The name Sustainable Comfort was chosen for two literal meanings… Firstly, by utilising the ability to exchange the three replaceable components, the user can sustain the comfort of the product throughout its life. Secondly, in an era of false environmental claims, we can proudly say that our component-based products both reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and use as many sustainable materials as possible. www.duxiana.co.uk

Sweet Dreams

AIS Landmark showcases six luxurious beds featuring 100% recyclable foam free mattress fillings and sleep surfaces made from chemical free eco-friendly sustainable fabrics. Foam free, ecofriendly fillings include Platinum™, free from chemicals with sustainability at the forefront and 100% recyclable at the end of life. A luxurious cotton mattress border completes the look. The six mattresses are designed on three of Sweet Dreams best-selling spring systems, 1000, 1500 and 2000 pockets and are available as three no-turn quilted and three two-sided tufted models in each of the spring counts. The Landmark base comes with a choice of six fabulous 100% GRS Certified 100% recycled base fabrics. The GRS standard applies to the full supply chain and addresses traceability, environmental principles, social requirements, chemical content and labelling. Another benefit is that our Landmark base, border and headboard fabrics will feature 94% less water use, 59% less energy use and 32% less CO2 emissions in the production process. All the timber used in the bases are FSC certified and to the sustainability story. www.sweetdreamsuk.com

Wiemann

VIP Lagos - brings a new detail to the Wiemann ranges. An accented trim merges with an elegant floor to ceiling handle, which can be further accentuated by a stylish downlighter. Lagos is a hinged range available in a wide choice of finish combinations. Every Wiemann item enjoys the back-up of the company’s renowned network of agents, plus marketing support, home delivery and installation service. www.wiemannuk.co.uk

JOBS BOARD

Here are some of the latest furnishing industry jobs.

(Correct as of 22 April 2024)

HTL – Area Sales Manager - Northern England

Established in Singapore in 1976, HTL are a dynamic global market leading company specialising in the manufacture and supply of leather and fabric upholstery to the UK’s leading furniture retailers. As we expand our UK operations, we’re seeking an ambitious and experienced Area Sales Manager for Northern England.

What will you be doing as our Area Sales Manager?

As the Area Sales Manager, you will be responsible for driving sales growth within the independent customer sector, with a strong emphasis on new business development, as well as maintaining and growing our existing sales. The area sales manager will also provide ongoing training and support to our trading partners retail sales teams. The role will require extensive travel within the region, and at overseas trade shows.

The Benefits

What will you need to become our Area Sales Manager?

The successful candidate will have a passion for furniture, be well educated, ideally to Degree level, with excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills. You must be self-motivated, with the ability to work autonomously, using your time effectively and planning efficiently. The successful candidate will need to possess good IT skills, being proficient with PowerPoint, Excel, Word. You must have a full clean driving licence.

A competitive salary and sales commission structure, pension scheme and fully expensed company car will be offered to the successful candidate. Interested applicants should in the first instance forward their CV together with a covering letter to: joachim.tan@htlinternational.com

Harrods – Furniture Specialist

We’re currently looking for a full time Furniture Specialist to join our welcoming and close-knit Harrods family in our Furniture department. If you are a luxury home décor enthusiast with an eye for detail and product specifications, passionate about exceptional customer service, and confident using technology (ordering systems, MS Excel etc.) this is the perfect opportunity for you. As a Furniture Specialist, you’ll be responsible for providing world-class, personal customer service and demonstrating exceptional product knowledge. You will proactively build a loyal client database and you will accurately process Furniture orders and continuously drive and convert leads to achieve business goals. Your core responsibilities will be selling Furniture and bringing the customers vision to life through using your product knowledge and service skills. For more information and/or to apply, visit: www.harrodscareers.com/job/furniture-specialist-in-various-jid-11487

Furniture Village – Sales Consultant

Romford, Essex. Salary: £40,000 to £45,000. You’ll be the face of your store, greeting customers, creating rapport, understanding their needs and creating an awesome end-to-end experience, from ordering to final mile delivery. You’ll be part of a dynamic team that’s hungry for success. With our industry-leading training, you’ll soon become a Furniture Village expert, well versed in beautiful furniture, world class service and understand how to overdeliver on KPIs. For more information and/or to apply, visit: https://careers.furniturevillage.co.uk/job/546646

The Furniture Bazaar – Sales Agents

Carpetright – In Home Consultant

As an In Home Consultant we want you to make our customers dreams come true with your passion and desire to improve every home you step into. You’ll be bringing the store to the customer and sharing your flooring knowledge and expertise to get them the best fit. As an In Home Consultant – your day might look like this: Bringing the in-store sales experience to our customers’ homes; Visiting customers’ homes with samples and helping them to understand what products we have and what might be the best solution for them; Measuring up the customer’s home there and then, producing quotes and confirming orders; Processing the sale on site using the latest technology. For more information and/ or to apply, visit: https://jobsearch.carpetright.co.uk/jobs/job/In-Home-Consultant/6990

Get Laid Beds – Trade Sales Manager – Contract Furniture

Hybrid offered, office is based in Glen Parva, Leicester. Competitive salary, bonus & benefits. Crafting Careers in Comfort – Join the Get Laid Beds Family! Are you a passionate and driven sales professional with a knack for B2B success? Get Laid Beds is looking for a Trade Sales Manager to join our dynamic team. If you have a proven track record in trade sales, excel at relationship management, and thrive on exceeding targets, we want to hear from you. Please email applications to barbara.robertson@getlaidbeds.co.uk.

A well-established family run business located in West Yorkshire supplying upholstered bed frames and Headboards throughout the UK. We are recruiting for sales agents in the following areas: Scotland, North West England, Midlands and London. For more information about the role or to apply, please send an email with your CV, to info@thefurniturebazaar.com.

LAST WORD

Adam Hankinson

Sofa Shopping: A Tale of Desperation, Disinterest, Frustration and Hope

Adam Hankinson, Managing Director at Furniture Sales Solutions, shares a story of Sarah and John searching for their perfect sofa.

Sarah and John did their research online before heading out to buy a sofa. They were determined to find the perfect one with the right style, colour, and comfort. They came prepared with spec sheets and a Pinterest board but were worried about the possibility of pushy salespeople.

As they walked towards the first store, they saw 5 salespeople grouped together looking at them through the large windows. They were stood slightly to the right as Sarah and John, now anxious, entered the store and (unsurprisingly) turned left. One of the salespeople shouted “Morning guys!”. Sarah and John thought they heard a titter of laughter, they weren’t laughing at them, were they? As they tried hard to avoid eye contact with the group, they heard another cry “Give us a shout if you need any help.” John thought “Yeah right, but at least that sounds like we’re going to be left alone.”

Undeterred but slightly nervous, Sarah and John wandered through the bays trying to match the models on their list with the ones on display. Suddenly, somebody appeared right behind them “Can I help you?” “Err no, no thanks we’re just looking.” (This response is automatic in 95% of customers).

Now more edgy than ever and with male pride in the way John felt he couldn’t now ask for help even though he knew he needed it! As they tried out various models, they were conscious of numerous sets of eyes staring at them like prey on the Serengeti. “Let’s go,” said John. Was that another titter they heard on the way out?

They entered the next store frowning nervously (there were 7 furniture stores on this retail park, but thankfully they couldn’t see any staff this time “Phew!”, they relaxed. They took their time to try things out, discussing what they liked or didn’t like about each settee; “I wonder if they do this in other sizes”, “I don’t like that colour of feet”, “I wonder what this fabric’s like with kids?” They were getting some good ideas.

20 minutes had gone by and Sarah was looking for some help. She saw a glass office with two people inside, busy working on their computers. Sarah waited… and waited, “Where are the staff?” she whispered to John. John walked over to the office and knocked on the door. After a couple of minutes, a frowning lady opened the door and asked “Can I help you?” “Yes, please we’re interested in some sofas is there anyone that can help us?” “Haven’t they come over to you? I’ll put a call out for them.” The office door shut as the lady leaned over to speak over the tannoy “Sales to the shop floor customers waiting!” She barked.

John walked back to Sarah rolling his eyes at her. A couple of minutes later a salesperson, still chewing and wiping his mouth with a tissue came over, “Can I help you?” He smelled of a Ginster’s steak slice (other brands are available) and cigarettes!

To say he appeared disinterested was an understatement and why wouldn’t he be? His lunch was going cold and it had been dead all week anyway. Dulled by the obvious

MORE SALES GUARANTEED

lack of interest John and Sarah left. They shook their heads in disbelief as they left the store “unbelievable.”

Store three was another national retailer, they entered with trepidation. The store looked tidy and bright and had some customers and staff interacting, there felt like a bit of a buzz. They pulled out their pictures. “Good morning” smiled a friendly-looking young woman. “Welcome to our store, just to let you know we have a special offer today that means some additional savings for you. My name’s Hope by the way. I see you’re looking for some particular styles let me point you in the right direction.”

For the next 30 minutes, Hope asked some great questions, listened carefully, demonstrated and explained various options and choices, learned all about Sarah and Johns’s busy lifestyle and made recommendations that made perfect sense to them, things they’d never thought about. They laughed together and she even made them a lovely cappuccino just as they liked it. The difference in experience was incredible.

Hope had done a brilliant job but it was lunchtime and John needed to eat before he felt he could make a final decision. They left but promised to be back.

After a quick lunch and a couple more disappointing store visits, they burst back through the doors of Hope’s store even more delighted to see her than she was to see them, they all beamed at each other, “We said we’d be back”, “I hoped you would” smiled Hope.

That night Sarah and John couldn’t stop talking about how brilliant Hope had been.

The following week Sarah was meeting her group of five friends for lunch - she told them all about Hope. Within the next six weeks, two of them had bought sofas from Hope. A few weeks later John’s mum and dad bought their new sofas. Have a guess who from?

www.moresalesguarantee.com