Big Furniture Group Magazine March 2023

Editorial

Dan Squires

Managing Editor

dan@bigfurnituregroup.com

07531 854718 | 01223 298489

Advertising Gary Hall

Sales Director

gary@bigfurnituregroup.com

0207 096 1010

Publisher Stephen Smith

Production Juan Morante

GraphiC Design

www.bigfurnituregroup.com

EDITOR´S NOTE

Dan Squires Managing Editor

Welcome to March’s Big Furniture Group Magazine

This month is packed with topical articles, special interviews and some introductions into our magazine. There’s no better place to start than our Cover Star this month, being RESTED, where they talk about their exclusive distribution partnership with Royal Auping – a brand that is looking to establish itself firmly in the UK market. Another BIG feature this month sees our attention turn to Gallery Direct as they celebrate their 50th anniversary milestone year. We got the chance to catch up with Peter Delaney, MD, and find out just how special the occasion is – although I did miss out on some birthday cake!

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

Print: Buxton Press

ISSN No: 2753-3387

Copyright © Big Furniture Group 2022

Issue No: 7

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.

In the BFG hotseat this month is Susie Harding, new Finance Director at Macclesfieldbased furniture and furnishings retailer Arighi Bianchi, who talks about the company’s ecommerce focus, her favourite sofa, thoughts on sustainability and Waldo. Who’s Waldo, I hear you ask? Flip to page 18 to find out! As for the other regular, Sleep.8 goes under the Retail Focus spotlight. We’ve also been busy interviewing a number of sleep-related businesses as March is officially National Bed Month after all. There’s a handy toolkit from the NBF to take full advantage of the month, while we spoke to the Sleep Geek following his recent partnership with Mattress Online, Dreams on the cost-of-living crisis and Vic Smith, who provides an expert insight into the world of beds. There is also another March special feature, celebrating women in the furnishing industry as part of International Women’s Day. We spoke to six women in the industry to learn more about this year’s theme - #EmbraceEquity.

Meanwhile, in our Green Retail sustainability-focused feature, we concentrate on JYSK’s green credentials, and also get the latest insights from Wiemann, Kettle Interiors, GNG and Jaipur Furniture, as well as reviews of the recent JFS and INDX Furniture trade shows. And we haven’t finished there. With design in mind, we spoke to John Evans on why a good store design is key, while Spaceworks reflects on a milestone year for the business. Furthermore, Swan Systems Furniture talks UK growth plans as it seeks new retail partners, Stressless trend experts provide their forecast into future colour trends and our Letter from China returns with some more helpful tips. To wrap things up, SVL talks about their contact centre services they offer and their recent furniture case study, while Furniture Sales Solutions asks the question: Would you credit it?

That’s enough from me, so enjoy our latest magazine. Oh, and if you have any news you want to shout about or 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.

NEWS

16. Big on Social

FEATURES

18. The Big Interview with Susie Harding, new Finance Director at Arighi Bianchi

24. Why a good store design is key with John Evans

26. Review: INDX Furniture

28. International Women’s Day

32. Retail Focus with Sleep.8

34. Interview: Royal Auping set for UK expansion

36. The Big Fat Furniture Quiz winner

38. Review: JFS

40. Gallery Direct celebrates 50 years

44. Kettle’s new EA collection

46. Wiemann unveiled new ranges at JFS

48. GNG celebrates being Best of British

50. National Bed Month toolkit

52. How Dreams is combatting the cost-of-living crisis

CONTENTS ON THE COVER

The Modern Bed by Royal Auping

For further information, new retailer/stockist/partner enquiries; please contact Rested UK Ltd 020 8960 1754 or info@rested.com www.auping.com www.elysiummattress.co.uk

54. Interview: Sleep Geek & Mattress Online

56. The Bed Expert

58. Letter from China

60. Sustainability: Green Retail

62. Retailer launches carpet franchise

64. Forecasting trends with Stressless

66. Show success for Jaipur

68. Celebrating the ‘whoop’ moments with Spaceworks

70. New Products

74. Swan Systems Sliding Wardrobes seeks new retail partners

76. How to make the most of customer interactions

78. The Big Question: trade show recap?

82. Last Word with Furniture Sales Solutions on credit

BIG INTERVIEW SUSIE

HARDING

Susie Harding, new Finance Director at Macclesfield-based furniture and furnishings retailer Arighi Bianchi, talks about the company’s ecommerce focus, her favourite sofa, thoughts on sustainability and Waldo.

RETAIL FOCUS

Sleep 8 UK shares an insight into recent investments, future plans and their mission to bed in its retail model across the UK.

40

CUSTOMER SERVICE SATISFACTION

RESTED shares insight into their exclusive distribution partnership with Royal Auping.

INTERVIEW SPECIAL Gallery Direct is celebrating their 50th anniversary. We caught up with Peter Delaney, Managing Director, to find out more.

NEWS

New eco Barker and Stonehouse store takes shape as Newcastle closes

offering the best possible customer experience.

“We were proud to be the first UK furniture retailer of scale to achieve Carbon Neutral Plus status and are constantly thinking about ways we can improve our impact on the planet. This approach has certainly been foremost in our minds during the design and build of this store and we can’t wait to welcome customers this spring.”

doors to its Newcastle store on Leazes Park Road, having outgrown the base where it has traded since 1998. Before its closure, the retailer held a clearance sale on Friday 3 February.

James added: “It’s been a pleasure to serve so many of our wonderful North East customers from our Newcastle store for the past 25 years however we hope they’ll love our new flagship store just as much as we’ve loved bringing it to life.”

Independent furniture retailer Barker and Stonehouse has revealed that its new Gateshead store with serious eco credentials is taking shape.

Works are well underway to transform the former Snow + Rock site in Gateshead into a state-of-the-art flagship Barker and Stonehouse store, bringing together the very best in sustainable design, striking architecture and inspiring home interiors.

The nationwide furniture retailer is investing more than £5m to double the size of its existing base, with the new store combining 50,000 sq. ft of impressive retail space across three floors.

Ahead of its opening on Good Friday (7th April), the retailer’s existing unit at the Metro Retail Park will be transformed into an outlet store, giving customers the option to shop on a budget, without compromising on quality.

Managing Director James Barker said: “The new store is really starting to take shape and this is a huge milestone in what is a significant project for our business. Alongside other key investments in the area such as launching our concept store within Fenwick Newcastle, this represents our commitment to the region and to

In line with the retailer’s eco-friendly approach, the new store has been designed with sustainability ingrained in its blueprint. This includes the typical practices you’d expect from Barker and Stonehouse such as the use of responsibly sourced timber frames rather than steel where feasible and a full roof of solar panels, as well as innovative extras such as an expansive green roof that will protect and promote local biodiversity.

Inside, the store roof is held up by beautifully designed circular timber feature columns, crafted with branches that take the form of a traditional tree while striking studios will be home to the latest season’s looks.

Upstairs, there’ll be a roof terrace café run by restaurateur Daryl Chadwick. Bringing a taste of the Mediterranean to Gateshead, Daryl is set to recreate the popular menus already on offer at Chadwick & Co, his in-store café before at the retailer’s Teesside Park store.

Set in a prime location in Gateshead, at the heart of an already bustling shopping destination, the new store will be easily accessible by car and public transport and will have a dedicated car park with electric vehicle charging points.

Ahead of the new flagship store opening, the retailer will be closing the

Sofa retailer grows sales by £10m

Furniture retailer Sofa.com, part of the Frasers Group, has reported a surge in sales as turnover jumped by £10m. According to its latest filed accounts for the year ended 30 April 2022, total sales rose 27.8% to £45.4m from £35.5m in 2021. Pre-tax profit resulted at £6.2m, up 8.7% from £5.7m recorded in the previous year.

Stated within its report, the company said that despite a year of challenging market conditions affecting retail as a whole, it was “pleased with the performance” and saw continued growth in turnover, gross profit and operating profit.

“The company continues to make substantial investments in marketing to maintain its leading brand status. Detailed sales information by product and store is reviewed daily, enabling changes to product selection, incentive structures and advertising strategy to be made on a dynamic basis to optimise sales.”

During the year, the business reduced its employee numbers from 160 to 134, which was mainly across its warehouse and sales division. This lowered its wage bill by 17.1% from £3.5m to £2.9m over the period.

Fishpools Chairman John Fishpool sadly passes away

“Fishpools was part of the independent buying consortium, the Green Group, which was set up to develop modern designs in the 1960’s. It was disbanded in 1992, to which the largest members of the group went on to form Furniture Traders. John Fishpool was one of the founding members of Furniture Traders and chaired the group for a number of years.

“John was also actively involved in the Chamber of Commerce and played a significant role in the local community. John was a true gentleman and a huge part of everyone’s lives at Fishpools, he will be missed by all.”

The company has set up a Just Giving page in memory of John for donations towards Isabel Hospice.

“By all accounts we were successful for the first three years, self-funding to £30m revenue with a team of 50 and a community of over 300,000. However, in 2022, we experienced unprecedented trading conditions due to a 700% increase in shipping costs, supply chain shortages and the cost of living crisis, resulting in a sharp contraction in consumer confidence and spending on bigticket items.

“As a result, on the 10th January 2023, Snug Shack Limited went into administration, and the business and assets were purchased by ScS Group Plc (‘ScS’) under a new company ‘Snug Furniture Limited’.

Independent furniture retailer Fishpools has announced the sad passing of its Chairman, John Fishpool, at the age of 84.

A statement from the company said: “John became the third generation to join the family business in April 1958. Throughout his life, John played an instrumental role in growing the business. His passion for the industry, customers and community, is an inspiration to colleagues past and present, and remains at the heart of Fishpools today.

“In 1974, John became managing director, a role which he held for 28 years until 2002. He then appointed his son Simon as managing director and took the role of company chairman.

“John and Simon worked together to build and expand Fishpools to over 62,000sq. ft., one of the largest and successful furniture store in the UK.

Snug officially relaunches following ScS acquisition

Sofa in a box brand Snug has officially relaunched following sofa retailer ScS’ acquisition of the company after it entered administration.

ScS acquired the brand, domain names, website, intellectual property and stock of Snugsofa.com (Snug) from the administrators of Snug Shack Limited for consideration of £875,000.

Now, under new ownership, Snug Furniture Limited, the business has relaunched. A statement from Snug said: “Four years ago, we founded Snug as a vehicle for change; to answer customers’ needs for a comfy sofa to be delivered in days. We pioneered the sofa in a box category and disrupted a slow and outdated industry.

“Joining the ScS family has meant that the Snug brand and team can continue to serve our customers by spreading the ‘joy of sofa’ to homes across the UK. Unfortunately, there were a small number of customers and suppliers that have been affected by these changes and for that, we are truly sorry. We continue to do everything we can to support customers, old and new, through this time.”

Kyle Rowe, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer (ScS) added: “After a transitional time for customers and the team, delighted to have Snug in the ScS family and back, servicing their customers. As part of the ScS group, we look forward to ensuring Snug remains #1 in the UK modular sofa market and see the brand and product as entirely complimentary to our proposition. A new Snug is back with the same ambitions, to deliver an excellent product and service.

Wishing the team the very best and thanking customers new and old for their support.”

Furniture brand plans to open first store in Belfast

Michael Martin, Director of Like Architects said: “The proposed EZ Living Furniture flagship store will complement the current offering available to customers on the Boucher Road and will support local jobs in the area at all phases of construction. A popular retail hub with a variety of stores, Boucher Road is a great location for the brand to establish itself in Belfast and we’re delighted that the team has decided to set up here. The modern store is designed to provide a premium and slick shopping experience with on-site parking for convenient access.”

New spring development to offer 20-year lifespan

Irish furniture brand, EZ Living Furniture has revealed plans for a flagship store on the Boucher Road, in Belfast.

The retailer currently has seventeen stores across the island of Ireland, with only one store in Northern Ireland at Crescent Link Retail Park in Derry, Londonderry. This will be the furniture retailer’s first store in Belfast.

Designed by local architecture firm Like Architects, the proposed store will span 30,500 sq ft across two floors of showroom space and will create up to 30 jobs in the local area. The proposal is subject to pre-application discussions which are currently underway.

Established in 1998, EZ Living Furniture is a furniture retailer specialising in high-quality products at affordable prices. Once a small family-run business, the company has expanded across the island employing more than 300 people with ambitious plans for future growth.

Kevin O’Neill, Chief Executive, EZ Living Furniture commented on the proposed plans: “We’re excited to reveal our plans for our Belfast flagship store on the Boucher Road and expand our brand in Northern Ireland. Across our seventeen stores on the island and our ever-growing e-commerce website, EZ Living Furniture is committed to providing quality furniture alongside the highest level of customer service. The new store will provide the local area with the best in terms of quality, style and choice at great value.”

West Elm owner expects lower UK sales following store exit

The UK division of home furnishings retailer Williams-Sonoma, owner of the West Elm brand, has reported an uptick in sales but warned of lower future revenues.

According to its latest filed accounts for the year ended 30 January 2022, total sales rose 4% to £30.6m from £29.4m in 2021. Pre-tax profit resulted at £894,000, slightly down from £918,000 recorded in the previous year.

Stated within its report, the company said that sales increased due to rising in-store revenue as a result of postlockdown openings. Cost of sales decreased to 69% from 70% due to higher growth in revenue compared to costs.

During the period, the business ceased operations on one of its three stores during November 2022, as well as ending its wholesale shop-in-shop partnership with its largest department store retail partner. This is expected to have a negative impact on turnover moving forward.

“The turnover in our retail business in fiscal 2022 has been recovered as the stores re-opened after the closure due to the pandemic. The directors expect the retail activity of the company to decrease in the forthcoming year as a result of the early lease termination of one UK store,” the company said.

Bed manufacturer Millbrook Beds has unveiled its new spring development, a first to market product that doubles the lifespan of a mattress.

Infinity is a new base mattress and topper duo concept which presents retailers with nine different bed varieties for the floor space of one double bed. Consumers can choose tailored toppers for the standard mattress base by mix and matching materials and firmness ratings to suit their specific sleep needs.

Ross Thurston, from Millbrook Beds, commented: “We are delighted to launch Infinity to help drive sustainability and the eco credentials of the bed industry. This entirely new concept in mattress spring manufacture will ensure a 20-year lifespan, rather than the standard 7-10 years.

“The core of the mattress also uses our Nemoflex technology, which is made up of over 300 plastic bottles and entirely recyclable. So not only does it offer greater longevity, but it reduces the amount of mattresses in UK landfill.

“We are committed to innovation and product development which offers sustainability for consumers and the planet, while offering our retail partners a highly personalised and engaging shopping experience to get customers back through the door and buying in person.”

Mattress Online continues support for The Sleep Charity

Hypnos, Silentnight, and DeepSleep

Beds are amongst the other businesses making donations.

help improve our local delivery services as well as being able to offer a delivery service from our own fleet further out field more often.”

Online beds and mattresses retailer Mattress Online has reaffirmed its partnership with award-winning charity, The Sleep Charity, to empower the nation to sleep better.

For many years the company has been a corporate partner of The Sleep Charity providing vital funds for their services and now their relationship has evolved into a full initiative offering warehousing, inventory assistance, delivery logistics and physical deliveries.

The Sleep Charity are one of the leading independent expert voices on sleep issues in the UK and are there to help everyone get a better night’s sleep. As part of their work together, Mattress Online and The Sleep Charity came across and helped a family of eight who were all sleeping on the floor without a single bed between them.

Lisa Artis, deputy CEO at The Sleep Charity, said: “Our Sleep Poverty campaign was born from seeing more and more people in South Yorkshire living in poverty and lacking the basic resources they needed to sleep well at night. It is heart-breaking to see people sleeping on the floor, children sharing a bed and those without a duvet for warmth or curtains at the window. Sleep is a right not a privilege, and it was important for us to address this need and we are already having an impact in South Yorkshire which we hope to expand nationally as other charities and organisations get involved. We couldn’t have done this without the support of Mattress Online, who have generously supplied warehouse space and delivery time in order to help those living in crisis.”

Steve Adams, CEO at Mattress Online, said: “As an industry, we have to work collaboratively to make change happen, being able to provide this vital support is an opportunity for us to help make that change locally to reduce bed poverty in South Yorkshire – I’d encourage our industry peers to get involved where they can. Everyone at Mattress Online is fully behind our charitable endeavours, it’s not easy to see someone less fortunate than yourself, especially children, but the whole team take great pride in playing their part to support The Sleep Charity and its recipients.”

Beds retailer expands delivery fleet

Mattressman has also formed a new partnership with Ecologi in an effort to reduce its carbon emissions. As part of the link up, for every product sold by Mattressman, either in-store or online, Ecologi will plant a tree across Africa and Latin America to reduce carbon emissions.

“Our partnership with Ecologi reinforces our environmental stance and works in conjunction with our mattress disposal service, whereby for a small fee, Mattressman can dispose of our customers’ previous mattresses or bed frames to combat littered and discarded bedroom furniture,” the company said.

“Many similarities can be drawn between Ecologi and Mattressman, with the most evident shared principle being a proactive stance towards preserving planet Earth. We were inspired by Ecologi and their mission to drive forward climate solutions.”

Kettle Interiors launches new redesigned website

Norfolk-based independent beds and mattress retailer Mattressman has announced the expansion of its delivery fleet.

The retailer has invested in three new Mattressman vans within its logistics operations to further boost its customers services locally and nationally.

Louis Kerry, Marketing Manager at Mattressman, said: “Last year we set ourselves some new three-year goals with one of them being to expand our fleet. We had been dealing with some of our older existing vans finding themselves in the garage more than on the road so there was never a better time for us to invest into some new Renault Maxi Movers.

“We’ve got two on the road now and another coming next week. This will

Furniture wholesaler Kettle Interiors has announced the launch of its new website. The new website, kettleinteriorsagencies.com, has been redesigned from the ground up to give improved functionality and a smoother experience, making it even easier to browse, order and pay.

Simon Ainge, International Sales Director, said: “Now with full visibility of live stock levels, you can take complete control of your order. Browse from an extraordinary catalogue of products across Kettle Interiors’ five brands and filter by what’s new to make your choice, then place your order and pay invoices through the secure account management area. Download brandnew, high-quality images for marketing and product pages and get important product assets whenever and wherever you need them.”

Sofa Factory success at JFS

Sofa Factory, part of the Bentincks group, recently exhibited at the January Furniture Show (JFS) and launched 11 new ranges. Reflecting on the “fantastic exhibition”, Sham Alaq, Commercial Director at Sofa Factory, said: “We attended the show not knowing what to expect as the market is still very unpredictable.

“We launched 11 new ranges and had a fantastic response from both our existing and many new customers alike.”

“We expect that the market over the coming year will be split between value products and designer ranges.”

“With this in mind our latest offering filled these areas and the models sold well accordingly. This has given us the confidence to continue our drive with new designs and we are looking forward to year ahead.”

“We like to take a moment to thank everyone that visited our stand over the course of the show and we look forward to working with you all in the months to come.”

Operating as a family-owned company, based in Gateshead on the banks of the river Tyne and occupying a 129,000sqft factory sat in the middle of a seven acre site, Sham said the new models launched at JFS, their second time at the NEC in Birmingham, are aimed at

volume sales, with “great quality and commercial pricing”.

“The market is evolving, as are we, and we look forward to producing a net carbon zero range in the coming year in addition to our other ranges.”

“So, from price, style and sustainability, with the added security of a market leading delivery time, I believe we have something for all retailers and the year ahead is going to be a milestone year for the business.” www.sofafactory.uk

Big Bites

Emma delivers record revenues

Mattress brand Emma Sleep has reported record 2022 revenues of US$948m (€873m) and a year-onyear revenue growth rate of 35%, while marking a fifth consecutive year of profitability. Emma’s fastest growing markets were all located outside of Europe. In Asia-Pacific, Australia grew its revenues by 103%. In North America, the strongest performer was Mexico with revenues by 117%. In South America, Brazil recorded a 62% increase in revenues, while in Europe, the Italian market grew its revenues by 80%..

UK sales grow 25% at Herman Miller

The UK division of US office furniture manufacturer Herman Miller has reported a growth in sales as turnover surpassed £130m. According to its latest filed accounts for the year ended 28 May 2022, total sales rose 15.2% to £134.5m from £116.6m in 2021. Pre-tax profit resulted at £22.2m, slightly down from £23.3m recorded in the previous year. UK and Ireland sales were up 24.7% to £54.5m from £43.7m

Dreams appoints new CCO and first Head of People

Bed retailer Dreams has announced two new appointments with Emma Long as its new Chief Customer Officer and Shelly Dickinson as the business’ first Head of People. Emma joins from the DFS Group, where she spent the last five years working at Executive level, while Shelly will be responsible for spearheading Dreams’ People-First strategy.

Irish furniture business to expand

Irish furniture business Bespoke Sofa plans to open at the former CinemaWorld site in Douglas, Cork, which was demolished in 2020. The new store will become the company’s third, adding to its existing sites in Dublin and Galway, and is expected to open during April 2023.

Sleep.8 opens eighth store

Sleep smart brand Sleep.8 has announced the opening of its new store at Lakeside Retail Park. The store in West Thurrock is the largest square footage Sleep.8 store to date and also the first in their new store design optimised for retail parks, improving upon previous models to maximise the customer journey due to the plentiful floor space.

Vita Group introduces acoustic testing technology

The Vita Group, one of Europe’s providers of flexible polyurethane (PU) foam, has taken its R&D capabilities to the next level with the introduction of advanced acoustic testing technology. Middleton-based Vitec, part of The Vita Group has invested in the installation of an Alpha Cabin, which provides indepth data on the acoustic insulation and noise absorption properties of foam products. This will help further formulate materials and composites with optimum noise reduction levels for end users in a range of market sectors.

Very extends Everyday range

Digital retailer, The Very Group, has expanded its Everyday own brand collection with more than 900 new fashion and home products, following strong customer demand since it launched in summer 2022. The expansion includes 400 new home products that will be added across home accessories, bedroom furniture, textiles, dining and garden.

Vispring appointments

Luxury British bedmaker Vispring has announced the appointment of Thomas Staddon as its new Operations Director. Following the announcement of Martin Gill’s appointment as Vispring’s new Managing Director, Thomas has also taken over the helm of the company’s Plymouth factory from Chris Harrison. Thomas has extensive experience in both production and operations

Sofa-in-a-box brand secures investment

Sofa-in-a-box brand Swyft has announced an investment round with Channel 4 Ventures and BOOST&Co. The new investment will allow Swyft to feature on screens of millions of customers with adverts planned to run on the brand throughout 2023. The investment follows Swyft’s successful sales growth, rising from £16m to £22m, with further growth expected during 2023.

HSL announces MD Designate

Yorkshire based furniture manufacturer and retailer, HSL, has announced that its CEO, Guy Critchlow, has now left the business for pastures new. In late January, HSL appointed Venessa Hodgson as Managing Director Designate. The board is delighted to announce this promotion, and is extremely proud to recognise Venessa as the first female head of the business.

Spinks achieves Global Accreditation

Yorkshire-based Spinks, a spring components supplier to the mattress and furniture industries, has secured an internationally renowned Cradle to Cradle Bronze accreditation for its pocket spring products, making it the first such supplier to achieve this standard. The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) accreditation ensures products are safe, sustainable and ethically sourced and has been awarded to Spinks following a rigorous, 18-month third-party product certification programme.

ON

BIG SOCIAL

dan@bigfurnituregroup.com

BekaertDeslee

Last week BekaertDeslee Indonesia was honored with the visit of our CEO, Frédéric Beucher, Executive Committees members, Dirk Verly and Veronique Mulliez, Haniel Senior Business Partner Lean, Pieter Beelen, and Haniel CEO, Thomas Schmidt. During the visit, we provided a plant tour of our new Knitting Hall, Warehouse, and Finishing Department, as well as a DPM (Daily Performance Management) session in Knitting, Finishing, and Purchasing.

Hypnos Beds

It’s looking like a busy 2023 already! We’re excited to be kicking off a brand new year by returning to the QVC UK Studios to launch our exclusive Sealy Advantage Gel Memory Supreme Pillowtop Mattress and Divan. Our Sealy Training Ambassador Alison is back on set for the QVC TSV shows, spreading the message of how this mattress can renovate the sleep experience and the importance of providing support where the body needs it most.

Mattress Online

We’re at @BusinessFives Sheffield today; here’s Team A with our friends from @countercontext & @Altitudesays.

Leekes

Welcome (back) to the team Chloe Jones. Chloe rejoins our buying team to oversee our accessories departments bringing with her a wealth of buying experience.

Lebus Upholstery

We have introduced a new fabric colour to the Madena collection.

LOFT

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our latest eco-friendly mattress collection - the Pure Open Coil Mattress.

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

BIG INTERVIEW

SUSIE HARDING

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

I’ve spent the past 30 years or so working in finance – with experience across a diverse set of industries, including construction, aerospace, the capital markets, manufacturing; and most recently furnishings.

What is your current job role and key

responsibilities?

As Finance Director and board member at Arighi Bianchi, I am responsible for managing both the short and long term

financial health of the business. I’m focused on helping the business meet its ambitious targets by putting in place a solid financial strategy. Being part of the board also means I have a key role in the decision making of the future of the business.

What do you love about your job?

The people; my colleagues at Arighi Bianchi are like none I have ever experienced. There is a real family spirit within the business and as the first non-family member to join the board, I’ve been made to feel extremely welcome – it’s like I’ve been here for years!

Susie Harding,

What time is your alarm clock set for?

My alarm goes off every day at 5.30am without fail. I’m up early to walk our very energetic dog. I then get to enjoy a drive through the scenic country lanes of Cheshire to the office.

Why did you choose to work in the furnishing industry?

I didn’t! Nearly eight years ago the industry found me and I’m glad it did – I’ve never looked back!

Who do you most admire in the industry?

There are too many individuals to choose just one. For me, it’s about the people who have built their businesses and stayed commercial but true to their passions. That takes a lot of guts – something I really admire.

Have there been any special moments during your career?

There really is nothing like working alongside owner managed businesses. Arighi Bianchi has an extremely rich heritage and has been run by the family for nearly 170 years. Being part of the future of this business is really special and sitting on the board alongside the other family members to help drive success is something that I am really relishing.

What is your favourite item of furniture you own?

It would have to be our Tetrad Coniston sofa. It’s still gorgeous five years on and is standing the test of two children, a cat and a dog!

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

The move to sustainable furniture is a big (and hugely important) focus. The industry isn’t there yet but lots of effort is being put into working through fundamentally sustainable furniture rather than greenwashing.

Can you share an insight into your future plans?

One of the core focuses of the business is to continue to broaden and solidify our ecommerce offering – extending the reach of the customer base and reputation of the business nationally. We are also focused on continuing to

new Finance Director at Macclesfield-based furniture and furnishings retailer Arighi Bianchi, talks about the company’s ecommerce focus, her favourite sofa, thoughts on sustainability and Waldo.

provide best in class customer service instore – we are lucky to have a very loyal customer base and nurturing this is a key part of the strategy.

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

Simple things such as walking the dog, spending time with family and friends.

What might someone not know about you?

I had a pet lamb called Waldo growing up

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

Being a florist has always appealed. So, in many ways completely different to my current day job. I have more of a creative side just waiting to get out!

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

I’d be a dining room table, where friends and family join together for good food, good wine, and good conversation.

FUN QS:

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

I wouldn’t, I couldn’t, my conscience wouldn’t allow it!

What fact amazes you every time you think of it?

The fact that Landfill Mining is becoming an industry in its own right.

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

There really is nothing like working alongside owner managed businesses.

Bought a house on the way back from the hairdressers!

What is the most important object you own and why?

My watch, the brand has great sentiment in my family and the day my husband bought me mine will stay with me forever.

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

Electric blue eyeliner!

Why a good store design is key

John Evans, Principal Designer and Founder at Je+1 (John Evans Design), talks about good store design, a recent project with Designer Sofas and some top tips for retailers.

Je+1 (John Evans Design) has been designing stores for the furniture industry for over 40 years, ranging from national clients including DFS, Sofology and Bensons for Beds, through to independent retailers such as Glasswells and Cousins. The business started life as a shop in Edgbaston, Birmingham, experimenting ways of selling products by display. This was soon noticed by suppliers and blossomed into designing furniture exhibition stands throughout the country.

It was at one of these events, a certain Lord Kirkham asked who designed the stand, as John Evans, Principal Designer and Founder at Je+1, reminisces: “My name was proffered and very soon after I was designing a 20,000sqft furniture store. The first of many for DFS as it became known. We are now 40 years on and still designing stores for the group.”

So, what makes for a good store design?

John explains: “In my view, every good design starts with the customer journey. As we are living in a digital age this starts with an online presence which should be a good reflection of what the customer can expect from the physical store/stores.

The problem I find is that it is easier for a designer to produce an amazing website and far more difficult for a retailer to transpose this into a physical store. This is where we can help. “The internal layout is so important, the customer should be guided through the store without realising it, there should be areas where their attention is captured and they are made to pause and reflect on the items they are presented with. They should never be able to see all the store and the products on view, a visit should be a good experience and one worth

repeating and talking to friends about, as a recommendation is everything.”

A recent success story has been their project with Italian furniture specialist Designer Sofas, a third-generation family run business, also spanning over 40 years. Je+1 was approached to create a new store concept “unparalleled in the marketplace that provides the perfect environment for their customer and product, whilst ultimately being conducive for sales”. Je+1 worked alongside Designer Sofas planning their offering of upholstery, dining, bedroom and lighting; designing and delivering their first concept store at their flagship location and HQ in London’s Brent Cross.

Following the success of the concept that took the new store to No. 1 in sales within the group, je+1 more recently began work on the latest store in Cardiff Gate. The store design at the 18,000sqft location has evolved from the concept store ‘architecturally’ and included new range strategies and brand galleries.

“As with all je+1’s stores the customer journey is paramount to provide purposeful navigation through each destination, engaging interaction with product at each point,” John says. “The stores interior design approach was to provide an inspiring atmospheric environment, that aesthetically matches the quality of its Italian product. A modern lifestyle inspired setting was created that progresses through subtle themes with the use of architectural finishes, feature designs and lighting; while also introducing new Brand Gallery designs for Calligaris and Cattelan Italia. je+1 delivered the store from Concept to Detailed Technical Design and Completion, assisting with product accessorisation and Visual Merchandising.”

It’s not the amount of product that is on display that’s important, it is the way it is displayed that sells it.

To make a concept become a reality, je+1 adopts ongoing and emerging trends into displays and has an eye for each different client. One key trend John has noticed since the pandemic is for out-of-town retailers to co-habit retail units as different retailers seem to be joining forces to share larger units. “One furniture retailer we have worked with shares his unit with a bed retailer taking a mezzanine and another furniture retailer sharing a ground floor. This is a trend that we feel will grow as a way to stay on the retail parks and maximise profits. In this case the layout of the store is crucial if all parties are to be successful. The big advantage of this approach is that it makes for an enhanced customer experience.”

From key trends to top tips, John echoed his earlier advice on the customer journey and that they should “never be allowed to see all that is on offer from the front door”, as this allows them to “form an opinion of whether or not the retail store has what they are looking for. The customer is allowed to form an opinion without giving the retailer a chance, and they may see something that changes their mind if they have a proper look around and share the whole experience,” John said. Meanwhile, product cramming is another turn-off. “Please look at separating products so that the customers can see them in their best form, too often I see products crammed in so that they can’t be seen properly. It’s not the amount of product that is on display that’s important, it is the way it is displayed that sells it.” Another area is all about ambiance. “Customers will be frightened to buy if the ambiance that is created is too nice

as they will think that the products are too expensive for them. This is an argument that was put to me by a retailer, and my response was that at the moment the products on display look expensive because the environment in which they are displayed is very poor, if we raise the level of the store ambiance the products will look better value. The retailer agreed to try my approach and we managed to increase his turnover by 40%,” John added.

Je+1 says that the retailers they work with see a benefit in return for an investment in presenting their products in such a way that makes the consumers desire to buy stronger as the key to success. John said: “We are looking at ways to work with more retailers, as an ex-retailer myself I know how important it is to maximise the sales per square foot of any retail space. We are investing in technology to be able to show our retail clients in a photo-realistic way, how their store can be transformed.”

www.jeplus1.com

Real buzz” at INDX furniture

In its tenth anniversary edition, INDX Furniture was able to record one of its most-well attended shows to date, despite a backdrop of market challenges.

Curated by buying group, Associated Independent Stores (AIS), the show achieved a 60% increase in visitor numbers since its previous edition, and welcomed 35 suppliers across two showrooms at Cranmore Park. This figure includes nine first-time exhibitors and 11 major furniture brands.

Following the appointment of leading trend agency Scarlet Opus in 2022, member day visitors were also able to engage with specialists Phil Pond and Shelley Bou Chrouch for one-toone sessions throughout the show, offering insight on the retail landscape for 2023, consumer buying trends and more.

Emma Rackley, Director of Furniture & Home at AIS, said: “Despite forecasts of a difficult year, the furniture industry is already proving to be incredibly resilient, with a real buzz around the show. Across the event, various exhibitors and visitors remarked on the high-quality nature of this year’s offering, which is testament to our ongoing efforts to create the most focused order-writing environment possible.”

The show also marked the debut of a number of major brands, including the sustainably-sourced Bell & Stocchero, Italian upholstery manufacturer Cala Italia, and luxury Swedish bed company Mattsons. Charlie Bell, Director at Bell & Stocchero, said: “We joined AIS as a member just a week before the show and are already beginning to reap the benefits. The intimate showroom environment was really welcoming, and meant that we were able to put the USPs of our products front and centre, alongside allowing us to get face-to-face with buyers who are serious about doing business.”

Oscar Mattson, Vice President at Mattsons Beds, said: “INDX was our first time bringing our products to market in the UK and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results. Everyone at the show was really friendly, making it the perfect place to strike up new business opportunities, which allowed us to exceed our initial targets as a result.”

“The INDX show was the perfect launchpad for heritage Swedish company, Mattsons Beds. We could not have had a better show” says James Leach. “We took large display orders during the show and have been busy with follow up meetings

since then” Colin Boyce added. “We would like to thank all at AIS for giving us all the support we needed, and we are already planning next year’s edition,” concludes James.

Chris Everist, Commerical Director at Parker Knoll, said: “The show has proved to be an excellent launch platform for our new AIS-exclusive Chicago model. The attendance on Friday in particular was excellent, and in general the buyers were in good spirits. The show atmosphere was a nice blend of friendly yet professional, with a high standard of presentation and a good mix of products.”

Greg Bachelor, Sales Director at TCH, said: “We’ve been attending INDX Furniture since the very first show 10 years ago, and it’s amazing to see how it has adapted over this time to keep in line with industry demand. Throughout this time though, the low-pressure environment has been a constant mainstay, meaning we can focus on letting our products do the talking. We’ve already signed up for the June show, so we’re looking forward to seeing both old and new faces later this year.”

Chris Smith, National Retail Sales Manager at HND UK, said: “What a great INDX show it was in January! We were so pleased by the fantastic reaction and the comments received from visitors to our stand and the many orders that were taken for new showroom displays in both the West End Home and the Metropolitan collections.”

Siren Furniture added: “This was our first appearance at the INDX show for a number of years and we were really pleased with the positive feedback to our ranges – especially Freya. It was great to be able to engage with customers old, current and new, and explain how we are evolving both our products and the Siren business.”

“With an exceptional response to the introduction of new models and materials, we would like to thank those who visited both the At The Helm and Hydeline stands at this year’s INDX Furniture Show. We are excited for the year ahead and will continue to explore new materials and innovative technologies,” said Jonathan Burrage, managing director.

Daro, which are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, showcased popular ranges from the indoor, outdoor and Laura Ashley furniture collections. “The show provided a platform to connect with existing AIS members and current stockists plus the opportunity to meet with potential new stockists and discuss plans for 2023,” the company said.

Celebrating International WOMEN’S DAY

This month, on 8th March 2023, women all over the world will be celebrating and raising awareness of International Women’s Day, with this year’s theme: #EmbraceEquity. To help add to the celebrations, we spoke to six furnishing industry women who share their respective thoughts on what International Women’s Day means to them and the industry.

What progress have you seen on women and gender equality in the furnishing industry?

Sharon Robson: “I’m fairly new to the industry – having only worked within it for two years – and I can only really speak to what I’ve noticed in the bed world. However, I am seeing more and more women stepping into senior roles recently such as at HSL and Dreams, and having my role at Mattress Online is a huge step forward. There is definitely starting to be more representation for females in the bed world and its clear things are changing - I’ve attended a number of retail shows and there’s more female leaders present, like Fara Butt, who is also on the NBF council – a valid reminder that there’s more opportunity out there for other women.”

Jill Barrett: “There’s definitely been a healthy debate on the importance

of diversity, equity, and inclusion in various industries, including the furniture industry which has traditionally been very much a male bastion. My experience here at Barretts of Woodbridge is that both men and women can excel in interior design, bringing their own unique perspectives and creativity to the field - success depends on individual skills and effort.”

Wendy Martin Green: “Well, I have not worked in the furniture industry for all that long as I took over my business from my mother after she died in 2010. It took me some while before I noticed an imbalance between men and women in the industry…with men far outweighing women in terms of top managers and owners. However, in my own life I was made very aware of gender inequality at an early age. As a school leaver I was told quite bluntly that the two positions I had applied for and wanted, were not open to women. Obviously since those days things have improved greatly in all spheres. However, that being said the

gender gap is still very striking in both the furniture retail and manufacturing sectors, which is curious in an industry where the main consumer is almost entirely female.”

Fara Butt: “There are certainly more women in the industry now than when I first started but it is still predominately a male industry. Women in leadership roles are still few and far between and we still have a way to go towards greater representation across all areas of the industry.”

Bilkis Patel: “I’ve found the furniture industry itself is a male dominated industry but for the past few years there has been a number of women stepping into more leadership and management roles which is great to see, especially since women are the key decision makers from a consumer perspective. I still do feel there is still a gap in the industry when it comes to women in manufacturing, I think the opportunities for women are rare and scarce when it comes to courses in furniture making and woodwork.”

Wendy Martin Green Owner of Peter Green Furnishers

Sharon Robson PR and Communications Manager at Mattress Online

Jill Barrett Owner and Director of Barretts of Woodbridge

Natasha Shillingford: “I first started providing marketing consultancy to businesses in the UK furniture sector in 2010, and certainly the number of women represented in the industry, and even the language used around

women has improved in that short time. I believe the digital revolution has driven this, with the necessity for a younger generation and broader skillset in the sector. Having said that, there is a long way to go. This is still a

male dominated industry, which can create unbalanced ways of thinking. Thankfully, it is becoming more unusual and more shocking when we witness unacceptable language or actions directed at women.”

How does the company you work for implement women progression in the workplace?

Sharon Robson: “Mattress Online has invested £75k in ongoing staff training and development. We’ve had a major focus on training to empower employees regardless of their identity or background. This is all part of our stance on equity and equality in the workplace, providing people with the opportunities they need to flourish. We’ve seen female operational staff undertake NVQ qualifications in Customer Service and Team Leading to increase their confidence and we help the women in our company through ILM Courses – whether that be in coaching and mentoring or leadership and management. We’ve also supported our female staff to undertake Digital Marketing qualifications to help them gain skills that are in high demand for our industry.

Kirsty Mullen, our Development Team Manager, is a great example of this. She progressed from a Front-end Developer to a Manager in only a short

space of time. Kirsty says: “Credit goes to the full support that I’ve received from the leadership team and my colleagues here. I’m grateful to be part of an organisation that takes inclusivity seriously and is keen to develop young female professionals in what can be a very competitive industry. Our CEO empowers everyone in the business to progress. He is approachable, fair, measured and very supportive and encouraging. That’s a culture that filters down to each and every one of us.”

Jill Barrett: “We’re a business who happens to have quite a female dominated work force! From ownership to Heads of Department, women excel in every field. For us, it’s now not about diversity, rather becoming a true meritocracy. Take our Flooring Department Head, Debbie Golder. Two years ago, she was a sales assistant in our Homewares and Gifts Department. We saw her talent and moved Debbie into Flooring, and within a year she is running what is our biggest Department, and very successfully too!”

Wendy Martin Green: “I think the problem with the lack of women in managerial positions in the furniture

industry is not so much that they are selected against or not tough enough to make it, but more likely because the industry does not attract women in the first place. This is most likely due to the lack of good role models in the sector as a whole. At Peter Green we would celebrate having more female employees on the furniture side but have never ever had much luck in attracting them. If we don’t have women coming into our ranks at a junior level, how can we progress them?”

Fara Butt: “At Shire Beds we have more women working for us than when I started when we had just one. We also have women in all areas of the business, shop floor, sales, administration and leadership. As a trained and experienced secondary school teacher I am always looking at ways in which to develop the skills set of all my staff. Playing to an individual’s strengths and building confidence before introducing something challenging for growth ensures progression – and obviously a great deal of encouragement is also needed.”

Bilkis Patel: “Luckily for myself the director is my father, Ebrahim Patel, and he has always raised me to believe

Fara Butt Director at Shire Beds

Natasha Shillingford Brand Marketing Director, International at La-Z-Boy

Bilkis Patel Director at Vogue Beds.

I can achieve anything and to have no limitations, which is the mindset needed in a male dominated industryGiving women the same opportunities to progress within our company and go up a level in whatever area they may be in is how we implement progression for women in our working environment.”

Natasha Shillingford: “La-ZBoy recently appointed our CEO, Melinda Whittington, who is one of four women in our corporation’s senior leadership team. On the team alongside Melinda we have Carol Lee, Vice President and Chief Information Office, Raphael Richmond, who is Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, and Katie Vanderjagt, our Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. I’m hugely proud to work for a forward thinking organisation which is committed to creating opportunities for all. I am a member of the La-Z-Boy Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Council and as such I work with colleagues around the globe to support, represent and educate employees on issues affecting under-represented groups. It’s really important that all aspects of our workforce feel they are able to have their needs met and be empowered to initiate change where it may be necessary.”

Why do we need more women in leadership?

Sharon Robson: “Gender equality in leadership roles has been a priority for many businesses and organisations but is often overlooked or given insufficient attention. I have previously worked in very-heavily male dominated environments and have been very aware from experience that gender bias impacts careers. I’ve been very lucky to work in companies like Mattress Online where the topic

of inclusivity remains high on the agenda for leadership and as part of this culture, we are always looking for different ways to improve equity for employees at all levels. Having more women in leading roles not only advances the fight for gender equality but also has clear advantages for businesses, such as improved team performance, stronger creative thinking, and increased innovation. We must continue to strive for a more equitable workplace for everyone and commit to making progress towards achieving gender parity.”

Jill Barrett: “I would say about 75% of the Barretts customer decision makers are women, so having women in leadership roles is probably a good idea! Without wanting to sound sexist, but I think there’s less ego involved with women, and we tend to take a more co-operative and empathetic approach.”

Wendy Martin Green: “More women leaders in any workplace will break down the barriers created by gender bias. They will set good role models and encourage other women to follow them. I believe that the challenges of their journey to reach management levels makes them strong and insightful. They will more readily understand the issues faced by other minority groups. Women are also considered to be better communicators and great multitaskers, all good qualities for a manager.”

Fara Butt: “It’s important to have greater representation in senior and leadership positions for a more egalitarian fair society but that aside women can achieve commercial success through a different route and that can be exciting. Women can bring a different style of negotiating and leveraging and closing deals that can be gentler without necessarily losing any of the success.”

Bilkis Patel: “Again, touching on the fact that women are the key decision

makers when it comes to purchasing furniture, women know what women want, therefore know the market. Women in leadership roles provide a different skillset and perspective, as well being resilient, conscientious they lead by example and are highly empathic which is important in a leadership.”

Natasha Shillingford: “A balanced and representative workforce has been shown to be good for business, and women are still significantly underrepresented in leadership. Studies have shown that businesses with greater gender diversity are more profitable and outperform those which are less diverse. This is partly due to the differing skillsets and natural abilities that women can offer. Aside from this, it’s vital we offer younger generations the role models throughout society to reinforce to them that they can be anything they want to be.”

Share a women’s empowerment moment that inspired you

Sharon Robson: “One person we’re particularly proud of is Kirsty Mullen who I mentioned previously. She is a rising star. Her invaluable technical skills truly set her apart, evident by her rapid rise through the ranks to manager within a year and her very exciting shortlisting for Insider Yorkshire’s Young Professional’s Awards 2023. Since joining the company in 2021, Kirsty has already worked her way up from Front-End Developer to Development Team Lead and is now the Development Team Manager. She has key experience in the industry, knows the business well and is a highly experienced and skilled Young Digital and Tech Professional. Kirsty loves what she does and is very assured at it. Solving problems, delivering value and supporting others are her passions. Not only has Kirsty

been empowered to perform well in a male-dominated industry and given the necessary support she needed, she also acts a representative for her peers and as a role model for those joining the business now or in the future.

Jill Barrett: “Watching Debbie Golder (mentioned above) grow in confidence as she first mastered the many aspects of the flooring industry, then successfully led a team in a challenging environment has been a wonderful example of women’s empowerment for me.”

Wendy Martin Green: “The women’s liberation movement in the 1960’s and 70’s was something I was very aware of as a child and a teenager. I feel that this movement, which sought for equal rights for women opened people’s minds to the possibilities and as a result paved the way for greater opportunities and greater personal freedom for women.”

Fara Butt: “It’s very hard to choose a moment as we are still on the journey but there are many strong women that have inspired me. If I had to give one example of recent it would be Jacinda Ardern, she’s lead in her own unique feminine style and she knew when it was time to quit – leaving in her own way – I liked that.”

Bilkis Patel: “A women’s empowerment moment that inspired me, was the whole of 2014 where feminism and women’s empowerment seemed to gain a huge amount of media attention. Seeing women standing up for gender equality and equal opportunities itself was inspiring.”

Natasha Shillingford: “I am a big music fan and enjoy reading autobiographies by women who were pioneers in their respective fields. I’ve also been lucky enough to meet some of the icons who were founders of the punk movement in the UK. Punk symbolises a break from societal rules, and the personal risks that these

women exposed themselves to during the 1970s and 80s, simply for the right to express themselves through fashion and music, I find inspiring. The shocking violence and abuse they had to endure at the time has paved the way for young people to be able to be creative, enjoy what they love and be true to themselves without fear of being spat at, stabbed or sexually assaulted.”

What does International Women’s Day mean to you and what’s International Women’s Day message?

Sharon Robson: “I believe International Women’s Day offers an important opportunity to pause and reflect on the efforts of everyone working towards true gender equality and in line with this year’s 2023 campaign, equity too. However, while the 8th March is important, so too are the other 364 days in a year. The hard work must not stop and equity isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have.”

Jill Barrett: “For me, the important message is - it’s not just men who can sell carpet & furniture, women can do it just as well, and they do it just as well! So, give it a go! For us, the main ingredient to the Barretts workforce is humour - we’re all friends and when you visit the store, you’ll notice laughter isn’t far away, and we love to get to know new customers and hear their stories.”

Wendy Martin Green: “It is good to be able to celebrate the progress and accomplishments that have been made towards women’s rights and towards equality both in this county and across the globe. Looking back even within our own short lives we can see that we have come a long way, but there is still much to do. My message to young women would be to… “Always behave as if you should be there, because you should.”

Fara Butt: “International Women’s Day allows us annually in a very focussed way to acknowledge women who achieve amazing things, it gives us an opportunity to celebrate the unsung heroes, it reminds us that the journey must continue and it inspires so many of us on this day to just go for it.”

Bilkis Patel: “International Women’s Day for me is about celebrating all the women around me who continue to inspire me daily, with their strength and determination. My IWD message is and to quote Serena Williams“Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.”

Natasha Shillingford: “The theme of this year’s IWD is embracing equity, over and above equality. This is such a simple yet vital concept that is the key to all aspects of social progress. It acknowledges that women often need active support in order reach the same opportunities as their male counterparts, rather than the equality of a level playing field. A scenario to illustrate the difference between equity and equality could be if a particular job stipulated a minimum height requirement. This offers equality, in the sense that anyone, regardless of gender, can apply for the role if they meet that criteria. However, on average women are shorter than men, so fewer would be able to meet this requirement. To create equity, the job role should be reviewed to see how shorter people could be enabled to do the same job effectively, holistically looking at what changes could be made to the role, or equipment, to give any potential applicant an equal chance to get the job. As part of the IWD mission I’ll be aiming to educate friends, family, colleagues and others about how to consider equity to aid change.”

Retail Focus with Sleep.8

Stephen Newnham, Retail Director at Sleep 8 UK, shares an insight into recent investments, future plans and their mission to bed in its retail model across the UK.

Recent investments?

We have recently opened our upsized flagship location at 362-368 King’s Road, marking a huge milestone in our brand journey. The expanded store has more than doubled in size and continues to provide our bespoke sleep solutions with a luxury in-store ambiance. We have a great relationship with our landlord, Sloane Stanley, who have continued to support us on our flagship journey in Chelsea. In other news, we have also completed a significant investment in a full production unit and global distribution centre in Porto, Portugal. We also have several new retail stores in the pipeline, which will mark our first venture outside of the M25 area. We recently announced the opening of our new store at Lakeside Retail Park. The opening follows the success of our stores in retail locations of Bluewater, Lakeside Shopping Centre, King’s Road, High Wycombe and Westfield Stratford. The store in Lakeside Retail Park, West Thurrock, builds upon the momentum, showcasing the widest variety of products yet in the largest square footage Sleep.8 store to date and our eighth in the UK.

Future plans?

We have robust expansion plans for Sleep 8 in the UK market, strengthening our brand visibility and distribution networks. We would really like to replicate the success we’ve had on the King’s Road and other stores within London and want to keep ensuring that our brand is accessible for a variety of consumers.

What is your mission?

Our mission is to bring a vertically integrated retail model to life in the UK and to drive both staff and consumer satisfaction to the next level.

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

With our own manufacturing facilities, we aim to bring the highest possible quality with the lowest possible environmental impact. We have some distance to travel to achieve ambitious goals but we are definitely making strides to do this effectively, and try to reduce, reuse and recycle wherever possible in our day-to-day activities.

Our mission is to bring a vertically integrated retail model to life in the UK and to drive both staff and consumer satisfaction to the next level.

How has recent business been?

As I’m sure most industries would agree, business is tough at the moment - there are no ifs or buts about that. However, our ethos is to take opportunities as they present themselves, maintaining an agile mindset and changing quickly to take advantage of this wherever feasible to do so. The tenant and landlord relationship is also vital to maintaining a level of success and support, and we’re grateful to have a positive relationship with our flagship King’s Road store landlord, Sloane Stanley.

What would you change in the industry?

Sleep 8 is changing the industry; our bespoke solutions, specially trained consultants and eco-friendly products give us that point of difference from other brands within the sphere of sleep technology, and as we continue to expand and widen our brand name, we will see more and more impact on our industry.

What challenges do you currently face?

We overcome challenges by implementing new technology and maintaining confidence within our teams whilst we transition. Consistent communication, allowance for

testing, and recognition of both successes and failures are helping to shape our future positively.

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

We are a small team, and since the majority have been with us from the beginning, they have all learnt to adapt, step up, and be accountable for their actions and decisions. As a newer member of the team, I am very grateful for this bold tenacity and perseverance through the first phase of our strategy. Without this team, I would not be here. So, thank you to each and every one of them, and our amazing partners in business who support Sleep 8 through thick and thin.

Why do you think customers choose your business?

Consumers have choices, and competition helps us all up our game. We can offer something different from those in the market – bespoke advice, guidance and solutions is what our consumers need. I believe our reviews speak for themself.

www.sleep8.uk

Royal Auping set for UK expansion

Toby Walzer, Managing Director at RESTED, shares an insight into their exclusive distribution partnership with Royal Auping, their unique products, and their mission to deliver new retailer placement in the UK.

Who are RESTED?

RESTED | Sleep Engineering, are sleep product specialists, retailers and distributors. Established in 2015, we have two physical locations in London where we serve customers and trade alike with what we consider to be best in class beds, mattresses and all things ‘sleep’. We have a defined focus on sleep theory and engineering, and a stable of global super brands behind us. The whole business has been built around doing things differently; in terms of our approach within the retail sector, and then utilising that experience in terms of informing our distribution and training our partners. At the heart of what we do, is offering innovative products based on emerging consumer trends that we have first-hand experience of.

Who are Royal Auping?

Royal Auping are one of the most famous European performance sleep brands. Established in 1888, their unique beds and mattresses are found in over 27 countries globally and more than 600 branded dealerships. They are known for producing the most ‘ventilated’ beds and mattresses in the world, optimised support, and their signature style ‘Dutch Design’ contemporary beds.

Auping are a worldwide reference for adjustability and ergonomics, producing the strongest base in the world. Constantly innovating, they have for the last 130 years created amazing sleep products, backed by sleep science, and have consistently kept their range relevant as to what a modern bed should be.

So, what’s trending right now?

With Auping, increasingly we see that their longestablished core values are very accurately on trend in the UK. For example, we see customers of all ages increasingly seeking out mattresses that are not only comfortable, but are fundamentally ‘good for them’. In terms of back

care, thermoregulation, movement, pressure relief, sport recovery etc. Sleep has thankfully gained far greater prominence in the UK as part of modern health and daily recovery, and thus mattress selection has become more technical with increased desire from end users to ‘get it right’ in all senses.

Likewise, adjustable beds continue to increase in popularity. Especially within the lifestyle and luxury category rather than just for medical purposes. In that regard, Auping are unique in providing adjustable beds that don’t look like adjustable beds – within contemporary designer bed frames and without the need for that, supposedly, all important ‘end bar’. It completely changes the visual aesthetic and perception of what an adjustable bed can be; presenting as much more desirable than the traditional upholstered adjustable divan.

Perhaps most importantly Auping have really targeted sustainability, producing fully recyclable 100% ‘circular’ zero waste mattresses, from their Green factory. They are a certified B Corp, and have innovated heavily with new materials and technologies to create beds and mattresses of the highest quality whilst finding genuine solutions to the problems of waste in the industry. This is an element that customers and retailers now pay attention to, and that is a trend we will continue to see grow.

What are the Auping USP’s?

Many and varied I would say. Their new generation mattresses are effectively individually tailored to the end user; with a defined in-store process, every mattress is selected and created relative to the specific bodyshape, height, weight, and comfort needs. This allows customers the ability to find that which is perfect and is a very powerful system for sales operatives to add value in delivering their expertise and technical analysis. There is also a definitive theme with all Auping products, acknowledging that we are all different, and how you sleep is very personal. So, the bed and mattress have to be right for you personally, which means not accepting a one size fits all approach.

The Auping meshbase sits within every bed and delivers a flexible but extremely robust sleep platform. The beauty of the mesh is that it greatly enhances ventilation, and therefore temperature control, moisture control, and allergen control, whilst also providing optimised support. Adjustable motorisation can then be added to the mesh base as determined by the customer. Again, it’s that tailored approach of giving the customer what they require, delivering expert

advice on what is suitable for optimised sleep and recovery, as well as matching their budget. The Auping adjustable smartbase also includes memory positions, app control, sleep tracking, wake up and anti-snore functions.

Auping also specialise in extra-long beds, as part of their standard range; the Dutch are the tallest nation on earth. But we see strong demand for that in the UK too. Many customers at 6ft tall or above are much happier to have a 210/220cm bed, and that has traditionally been hard to find in the UK.

What are the plans for RESTED and Auping?

Auping were present in the UK in the late 90’s with a flagship store in central London. Their beds and mattresses have always been enormously popular across most of mainland Europe and they have a large existing loyal following. In many ways we feel that the UK has taken big steps in recent years in catching up with that greater focus on sleep that is more commonplace in mainland Europe. As such, even though the UK has left Europe, from a consumer perspective, the time feels right to expand Auping’s presence in the UK, and we are currently seeking out selected retail partners that share similar values and are interested in the performance of sleep, as well as offering something innovative, unique, and different to the traditional bed market.

Auping is a brand with a long and distinguished history hence the ‘Royal’ name, but it is an inherently different prospect to ‘traditional’ brands. It’s a space within the upper section of the market, without being a superlux brand, that we feel is underrepresented. Due to our own experience in retail, we have an enormous amount of understanding in observing and delivering the customer journey when it comes to this type of product, and we see real growth potential for their products in the UK.

For further information, new retailer/stockist/partner enquiries; please contact Rested UK Ltd – 020 8960 1754 or info@rested.com www.auping.com / www.elysiummattress.co.uk

Auping shop-in-shop Studio concept

And the winner is…

Kathryn O’Hara, Marketing

and E-commerce Manager at SleepHubs, won our Big Fat Furniture Quiz 2022 and received a celebratory hamper. We found out more about the business and their new mattress launch.

You may remember just before Christmas, Big Furniture Group launched a fun Big Fat Furniture Quiz, sponsored by Wallbed Systems, with 50 questions all about the furniture industry during 2022. Thanks to all that took part and we hope you had fun answering the questions. So, drum roll please, the winner is Kathryn O’Hara, Marketing and E-commerce Manager at sleep services provider SleepHubs, who was one of a very few bunch that answered every single question correctly and was picked at random to win the fabulous free hamper on offer. A big congratulations to Kathryn – she looks delighted!

Alongside the prize also includes a spotlight feature on the company, which sees the business launch their new range of mattresses and toppers, as well as their own MattressFit customer quiz – but more on that later. To kick things off, Kathryn shared an insight into SleepHubs. “We can help you to rebuild your relationship with sleep, whether you’ve suffered for one month or 10 years, we have a solution for you.”

SleepHubs provides check ups where they can assess, diagnose and treat a whole range of sleep issues, including insomnia. They work with sleep experts and therapists across the UK to provide a holistic solution to any sleep problem. Founder and MD, Charlie Oulton, created SleepHubs after being a sleep sufferer for many years. The company also offers business sleep services where it works with employers to improve productivity, efficiency, and staff health and wellbeing, as well as The Sleep Hub, an informative hub about various sleep disorders, common sleep complaints and more.

Another tool is their MattressFit quiz where it allows users to find the right mattress and topper from its newly launched Selectus range. Kathryn revealed: “We have just launched

a brand-new range of mattresses and toppers alongside MattressFit, which is a recommendation tool. We get website visitors to complete the short quiz and then make a recommendation on which mattress or topper would be best suited to them.

“The Selectus range has been in research and design for eight years and has cost millions to deliver. It builds on Charlie’s metallurgy degree, our previous experience with Tweak mattress (a customisable sleep solution with interchangeable foam inserts, now exclusively available at Oak Furnitureland), our sleep research, Britain’s largest ever blind mattress test at Grand Designs (where a Selectus prototype made its’ debut and was a customer favourite, and customer feedback. During the pandemic, we spoke to more customers and built up the consultancy and advice, helping people to get the correct setup from their Tweak mattress which then evolved into the development of Selectus products and MattressFit.”

The range contains five core products with a total of eight options, which include Essential Mattress Topper, Premium Mattress Topper (Split Comfort, available in two firmness

options), Elite Pillowtop Mattress (available in two firmness levels), Luxe Mattress with Topper (Split Comfort, available in two firmness options), and Supreme Bespoke Mattress (for more complex needs like zoning for example).

The business has signed an exclusive UK manufacturing license and plans to roll out the range in “carefully-selected retailers only”. As for MattressFit, the technology has been constantly developed since its initial version four years ago. Kathryn explained: “The first version of MattressFit was developed four years ago to help people get the most from the Tweak mattress. From speaking with customers, we found that people don’t know what they want or need, and shopping for a mattress can be overwhelming, so we wanted to make a helpful tool that would tell people what to choose, and why. MattressFit uses proprietary research from the British Biobank and asks just a few simple questions before making a recommendation based on what the customer should find both comfortable and supportive. The first version of MattressFit resulted in a huge decrease in complaints and returns and we were able to use it as a pre-sales tool to boost

sales too. MattressFit can also be used in-store as well as online.”

Now, with both the mattress and topper range officially launched, SleepHubs will continue to educate consumers to understand why and how making the right mattress decision is valuable for them, alongside its sleep advice.

Looking ahead, the company remained tight lipped on future investments in the pipeline, saying that there are plans in motion but they would “have to eat us” if shared at this stage! Hopefully, the hamper will prove to be welcome distraction. On that note, Kathryn said she was thrilled to win The Big Fat Furniture Quiz 2022: “What a lovely surprise to win! And what a great hamper. A quiet afternoon pre-Christmas very well spent completing the quiz - we will thoroughly enjoy all of the delicious goodies!”

www.sleephubs.com

What a lovely surprise to win! And what a great hamper. A quiet afternoon pre-Christmas very well spent completing the quiz - we will thoroughly enjoy all of the delicious goodies!

JFS Success

The January Furniture Show (JFS) closed its doors on 25th January after welcoming a 25% increase in buyers year-on-year to the NEC in Birmingham over four days. The show didn’t disappoint.

After years of disruption, the success of the event is testament to the resilience of the industry with over 1,000 VIP buyers in attendance with £1m+ buying budget. Senior buyers from companies included DFS, Furniture Village, John Lewis, Wayfair, Next, M&S, Sainsburys, Furniture Direct, Very Group, and Dunelm, as well as an 84% increase in international buyers from Cyprus, the Netherlands, Nigeria and Denmark. Clarion, organisers of JFS, said there was a 33% increase in attendees with “decision making power”.

The show focused on sustainability through a partnership with The Centre for Excellence in Creative Making (CECM), as well as trends with a collaboration with The Better Trends Company on what to watch in the year ahead. There was also informative ‘furniture talks’ across a variety of topics and the launch of Clarion’s new show for the interiors industry,

the Home Interiors Show, which will take place bi-annually at JFS in Birmingham, and co-located at London’s Top Drawer in September.

Michelle Downs, Buyer from Dunelm, said: “January Furniture Show is a great place to visit if you would like to see everyone, catch up with suppliers and see new trends.” Fabb Furniture Senior Buyer, James Hollas, added: “JFS 2023 was a really good show, we spent two full days seeing all the suppliers, there were some great new designs, great new fabrics, and great new dining sets, we’re really excited to get these products into the store for spring time.”

As for exhibitors, they echoed the sentiment shared by visitors. Vogue Beds said: “JFS was great for us! It gave us the opportunity to showcase a lot of ranges we had been redesigning and improving. We’ve had some amazing feedback.” La-Z-Boy UK said it had a “record-breaking” year at JFS, making more sales at the event than ever before. It was also the first time the brand had shared a stand at the show with its white label furniture brand Furnico.

RetailSystem shared their view: “We didn’t expect that! Talk on the street ahead of JFS23 on the turnout was a little subdued to say the least. It could not have been any further from the reality. Without question the most successful show to date for the RetailSystem Group. Our Block Buster FurnitureKiosk literally flew of the shelf along with record signups on our RetailSystem. Couldn’t have wished for a better show.”

Meanwhile, Core Products revealed their 2023 product offer, with their stand also featuring an expanded casual dining offer including a completely revitalised Aspen dining collection with a mix and match selection of great value tables and chairs. Fifty Five South were very excited by the JFS. “Our new trend-led curated ranges were well received by both existing and potential customers, as well as the judges as we were awarded with the Best Stand in Hall 2. We were delighted to welcome a lot of new customers who gave us a glowing reception to our lower prices to help retail in relation to lower freight rates.” As for Maya’s: “We had a lovely show and loads of new leads during JFS this year! It was incredible experience by no means. There is a great potential and growing interest to new supply chain, Türkiye. We found this trade show as exceptional opportunity to showcase our production power and introduce ourselves.”

On introductions, show newbie, Woods Packaging added: “This was our first time exhibiting so not really sure what to expect. All in all, we were pleased with the enquiries we took. One comment I can make is I don’t think it needs to go on until 18.00, especially on the Sunday. I have done previous shows and a 17.00 finish was ideal in my opinion. The show itself was impressive, and we will be looking to return next year.” Another new face to the show was VetiGraph, displaying automated cutting, 3D design, and template CAD software. “Our Duet Single Ply Autocutter was a real attraction for visitors,” they said.

Birlea Furniture showcased their latest collections,” impressing attendees with their innovative designs” from stylish bed frames, to its new Disney Home furniture. As for Sherborne Upholstery, they said: “We were pleased with the show. We fulfilled our main objective by selling our new models and new covers extremely well. The show was well attended, although we felt that footfall was slightly down on pre-COVID January Shows, no doubt partly because there were less exhibitors to see, including some big-name brands who decided to stay away. We hope that more manufacturers may be willing to exhibit next year, as this is such an important show for us as a company and for the trade.”

With a significantly higher rebook rate, compared to previous years of 74%, exhibitors like Tetrad, Westbridge and Kettle Interiors have already booked for next year’s show. Meanwhile, brands such as At the Helm, Ashley Manor, LPD and Paulus & Brown have all confirmed to return. JFS returns on 21-24 January 2024 at Birmingham’s NEC. Register at:

https://thefurnitureshows.com/january/register-your-interest

Never Standing Still: Gallery Direct celebrates 50 years

Home and outdoor furniture supplier Gallery Direct is celebrating an iconic milestone year, with the business reaching their 50th anniversary. We caught up with Peter Delaney, Managing Director, to find out more about how the company plans to celebrate the occasion, while reminiscing on some key moments over the last five decades.

Gallery Direct has grown to become one of the pillars of the furnishing industry, with ongoing commitment to supplying new products from multiple categories and displaying them in such vibrant settings. It has been some evolution from just UK manufactured mirrors when the business started life back in 1973. The continuous development, and graft behind the scenes, has seen the business grow through each decade, something Peter Delaney, who has been in the hot seat for almost 20 years, is immensely “proud” of. “Looking back at our family business, I feel very proud. My

dad Mick, with the support of my mum Brenda, worked hard to bring handmade frames and mirrors to market, all manufactured in South East London. It has been an exceptionally exciting journey that I am really proud of, and thanks to the hard work and talent of the amazing team that we have built around us.”

One key period for Gallery was when Peter and his wife, Nicole, redeveloped the business at the turn of the century, propelling it into the new millennium with a clear strategy of category expansion by developing on-trend commercial home interior solutions. Then, around 10 years ago, new shareholders helped “turbo boost the business further”, allowing for a significant acquisition strategy to be put into place, and the rest, as they say, is history. Back to present day, Gallery used the recent January Furniture Show and Spring Fair trade events to officially kick-off the 50-year celebrations, alongside a raft of new product launches. “At the start of the year, we launched over 500 new lines plus seven new category guides and two edits, alongside exhibiting at both JFS and Spring Fair, which proved to be the perfect platforms for our initial anniversary celebrations,” Peter said. “We had 50-year

1973

EARLY 2000’S

2009 - 2012

Gallery was established as a small family run company, manufacturing mirrors.

Gallery moves its manufacturing base to China, boosting scale and reducing costs.

Increased product offering with the introduction of photo frames and occasional furniture.

branding across a range of giveaways along with legendary client hospitality at both shows, while at the Spring Fair, we did special 50-year celebration offers for customers and a 50-year celebratory cake!”

And that’s not all. Gallery is planning some exciting client and trade events throughout the year, that will celebrate the heritage and history of their dynamic business. Peter continues: “We have big plans for our @Home events, where clients will be treated to a range of category showcases at our showrooms and distribution centre near Chesterfield. We also have a plan for a very special project of national importance that will be featuring an amazing piece of furniture, but for now this is top secret.” Unable to budge on the details at this stage, Peter did share that there may also be even further growth in the pipeline, “We’re always on the lookout for acquisitions that align with Gallery’s business direction, so watch this space!”

Reverting from the future back to their history, Peter paid special recognition to his father Mick, who was a “real character”. “Mick Delaney was incredibly commercial and often ‘blunt’ with clients and prospects alike. A fond memory of

Mick at meetings was how he could turn the tables on buyers by landing a ‘win-win deal for all’ that favoured Gallery!” Another highlight, one that remains incredibly personal to Peter was his first USA large container sale, which consisted of 127 containers of mirrors to be delivered on time in six depots across the USA. The order was fulfilled, with Peter and the rest of his team physically making every single mirror. Peter also reflected on several other highlights from over the years:

“The three Sittingbourne warehouse moves over a nine-year period was a great, but challenging time, due to our exponential growth within the business, while our first double height stand at JFS a few years back was not easy designing and building, but looked fantastic and something completely eye-catching at a trade show. The end result was brilliant – not so much the dismantling though! We have also won several awards over recent years – and continue to do so, which is testament to the hard work of the team and another staple in how successful the business has been.”

So, what has been the key to success over the past 50 years? The first three words that followed were: “Never standing still.” As touched upon earlier in this article, Gallery has continually developed and expanded the business, adding in new product categories and sub-categories to widen their offering – and consistently launching new product ranges, while employing experts in each field to help do this.

“Gallery’s evolution from mirrors was to occasional furniture, then textiles,” Peter said, continuing: “We then purchased ‘Frank Hudson Furniture’, who had been crafting fine furniture since 1947, in 2014 – two of Frank’s grandson’s, James and Tom, still work for Gallery, bringing their wealth of

2013

Gallery purchased by current shareholders.

2014 Launch of dedicated Textile Division, opening up new trade routes with India and Pakistan. Purchased Frank Hudson, opening up new trade routes with Romania, Indonesia and Vietnam

2015 Gallery purchased Westbury bed manufacturer ‘Dreamworks Beds’.

knowledge about furniture to the business. Then we acquired Westbury bed manufacturer ‘Dreamworks Beds’ in 2015, so we could offer UK manufactured mattresses and upholstery. Naturally, we expanded into home accessories and then outdoor living.”

Other key factors include the purchase of their own transport fleet to give full control over customer deliveries, increased warehousing in line with business expansion, in Sittingbourne and Chesterfield, so they can hold stock in the UK for quick delivery, investing in showrooms for customers to view products between shows and the expansion of country offices in China, Vietnam, Indonesia and India to give more control over supply chain and quality. A final thought on their ongoing success is all about customer service and coping with challenges that may come along, as Peter adds: “We’re always looking for ways to help customers, from white labelling products and drop ship ready packaging, to the launch of our new website where clients can log in to check stock, see prices, place and track orders.

“Expanding a business is never easy, but some key areas that have required careful management include building our great team to where it is now, the integration of IT systems, the transition from customers’ traditional ways of buying to online buying, supply chain management and the ever-growing focus around environmental and social responsibilities.”

As for present day, current business has been positive with continued growth, while adapting to customer needs remains paramount. “Recent years have been challenging due to

Covid, supply chain problems and the economic climate, but we’ve worked hard to overcome these and the start to this year has been incredibly successful. We anticipate further growth in the year ahead and we are constantly working hard to offer customers great value with fresh products,” Peter said.

Sticking with fresh products, Peter elaborated on current industry trends that Gallery is seeing within the market across four key product sectors. Firstly, on Outdoor Living: “People want more than just a table and chairs, they want to create outdoor living areas that extend their home to give an extra room outside, with a choice of furniture styles and designs to suit different tastes, along with accessories, textiles, lighting, etc to give the complete look, as you would for an indoor space.”

2016

Launched first Design Directory. Gallery become FSC Certified for Mirrors. Doubles existing storage to 120,000sqft. Launched own fleet with 16 drivers and 8 vehicles. Launched Gallery Australia.

2017-2019

Gallery became Zero Waste to Landfill Certified as part of efforts towards sustainability. Awarded several industry awards.

2020

Launched dedicated Home Accessories Division. Introduced seasonal Edits with Winter Edit, showcasing new Christmas Accessories, Home Office and Occasional Furniture.

Next up is Furniture, as Peter continues: “We are noticing that updated traditional, modern twists on classic styles is very on-trend. Transitional (not too contemporary), but offering practical modern designs for everyday living is popular, along with painted finishes.” As for Accessories: “The easy living style is very popular at the moment, with dry look florals, natural finishes and organic shapes. The handmade look is growing, with each piece different, while home fragrance is another area we are seeing on the upward trend.” Finally, with Textiles, Peter concludes his own trend report: “Bouclé fabric is very on trend, while sustainability – recycled plastic – is key for us. We have a selection of cushions, throws, occasional seating and rugs, including a new range for outdoor use, which are made from recycled plastic bottles and they are performing very well.”

2021

Launched dedicated Outdoor Division. Secured new 225,000sqft Northern packing, warehousing and distribution hub.

2023

Happy 50th Anniversary!

Another area that has proven strong initial success, and part of their 50th year celebrations, is a nod back to one of Frank Hudson and Gallery’s classic ranges with an updated contemporary feel. “We selected Spire and the team developed a new range of living and dining pieces, designed to offer a timeless ‘new traditional’ look, with its elegant style with a modern touch. The furniture features high quality marquetry with inlaid book-matched veneers and there are two finishes: Highgrove -offering lovely warm tones; and Madison - with rich deep tones for a more contemporary look,” Peter said.

With 50 years of innovation, Gallery Direct has established a firm foothold in the furnishing industry, with the company excited for their next chapter. As Peter said earlier, their heritage and ongoing success is due to “never standing still”. Here’s to the next 50 years!

Expanding a business is never easy, but some key areas that have required careful management include building our great team to where it is now, the integration of IT systems, the transition from customers’ traditional ways of buying to online buying, supply chain management and the ever-growing focus around environmental and social responsibilities.

Wiemann unveiled new ranges at JFS

German bedroom manufacturer Wiemann launched four new ranges and updates to seven of its existing collections at a successful January Furniture Show for the company.

Wiemann also scooped the top prize in the 2023 Furniture Awards Global Player category, with winners announced at the show. The business is known for products which offer a total bedroom solution to suit any home and the judges praised its high quality products and excellent design, installation and customer service.

New range Denver, a stylish addition to any room, is a sliding and hinged VIP collection all set to be 2023’s flagship range thanks to a flying start at the show. With its eye-catching decking effect feature doors and latest colour options, Denver combines contemporary chic with intelligent use of space. Available in graphite, bianco oak and champagne, among others, the decking overlay can be the same colour as the carcase and base door, or a contrast meaning Denver has a look to suit all tastes. It was the hero product at the January Furniture Show, attracting compliments and filling order books.

Monaco 5000 made its debut to Wiemann’s popular Monaco collection. Monaco 5000 is designed to add polish and practicality to any walk-in wardrobe and offers an imaginative solution for fitted furniture specialist retailers to work with. The addition of this door-less, clever product to the Monaco range was another JFS hit.

Split is a contemporary sliding and hinged door range which features a smoky opaque glass panel incorporated into the slider. Another VIP offering, Split is available in graphite and pebble grey.

Established favourite Shaker-style Cambridge was unveiled in new colour, sage green, at the show to great acclaim with feedback suggesting that this is going to prove a popular choice for the UK market.

Simon Hewitt, md of Wiemann’s sole agents for the UK and Ireland, Litmus Furniture, said: “We had some fantastic new products launched at the January Furniture Show, which were very well received. We are living up to our promise to provide a total bedroom solution for any space.

“All Wiemann products are known for their excellent design, quality and value and are backed up with our five-star customer support service.”

Denver from Wiemann

Split from Wiemann

Cambridge from Wiemann

GNG Celebrates Being the Best of British

After another phenomenal year for GNG Group which saw the business integrating the luxury Sonlevo mattress brand into its varied portfolio and opening a 40,000sq ft factory and warehouse dedicated to its fast-growing mattress division, it has begun 2023 with a bang by winning the ‘Best of British’ category in the Furniture Awards.

Having been named as a finalist in the NBF Bed Industry Awards last Autumn, GNG’s 40 year heritage and reputation as a leading UK manufacturer and international brand leader was recognised in the prestigious Furniture Awards 2023. Known for outstanding quality and service, all of GNG’s products are developed and made at its Yorkshire site. In addition to its popular consumer brands, it is one of the largest indirect suppliers of medical mattresses to the NHS.

Managing Director Darren Potterton said: “We are very proud to have been given this industry accolade which is a real tribute to the hard work and commitment of the GNG team. The judges commended GNG for our impressive growth, job creation, enviable green credentials and brand delivery, as well as for our advance R&D innovation which helps us stay ahead of the crowd. To achieve this recognition marks another important milestone in our evolution.

“We’re looking forward to another busy year with a strong order book and lots of new contracts driving further growth. In terms of key trends, people are increasingly looking at sustainability and wanting greener products. Fortunately, we started our journey to become a carbon neutral company a few years ago, so we are in a strong position to continue innovating in this area.”

The GNG team enjoyed a successful Furniture Show, welcoming visitors from across the sector in-person to its stand at one of the industry’s busiest exhibitions since the pandemic. It showcased models from its hat trick of popular British brands, including the Komfi range which features the unique Ecofoam, providing a reduced carbon footprint, and the affordably priced Unity vacuum-packed mattress collection.

Also on show were models from GNG’s luxury Sonlevo mattresses with its unique grid system TrueGel technology, giving maximum support while minimising pressure and regulating temperature.

GNG also partnered with Nectar Sleep, the largest boxed mattress brand in the US, which provides exceptional comfort, combined with a 365-night trial and lifetime warranty.

Combining the latest in mattress innovation as well as using green technology, GNG is the natural choice for UK retailers. With all mattresses made here in Britain, customers are assured of fast and efficient delivery times as well as British quality.

If you’d like to find out more about stocking any of the collections, contact GNG on 01924 950 300 or email info@gng-group.co.uk.

www.gnggroup.co.uk

Get up the right side of the bed

With National Bed Month upon the industry, the National Bed Federation (NBF) is calling on bed manufacturers and retailers to support the annual awareness campaign with its free multi-media toolkit.

#RightSideOfTheBed

The campaign, which has been running for over 30 years, promotes to consumers the health benefits of buying a new bed, particularly one made by an NBF-approved member.

The theme ‘Wake Up on the Right Side, with the Right Bed’ and hashtag #RightSideOfTheBed, focuses on bed-buying advice to ensure consumers get the right bed for their needs.

It also shares tips on caring for the bed to prolong its lifespan and dispose of it responsibly when it comes to the end of its life. The trade association has also partnered with The Sleep Charity to provide expert guidance to help the nation sleep better.

Bed retailers and NBF members are being encouraged to download the National Bed Month toolkit from the NBF website. The multi-media toolkit includes logos,

infographics, posters, web banners, suggested social media copy and a humorous official video to share across online channels.

Simon Williams, NBF head of marketing & membership, commented: “National Bed Month is the ideal time to remind consumers they are more likely to wake up on the “right side of the bed” when they sleep on a new, comfortable and supportive mattress, and know how to care for it properly.

“When pushing that new bed sale or special discount, we encourage all bed retailers to promote the many physical and mental health benefits a good bed can bring. We’ve done much of the hard work for you when it comes to the marketing collateral, so download our comprehensive toolkit today!”

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

How Dreams is combatting the cost-of-living crisis

Paul Solly, Chief Commercial Officer at national bed retailer Dreams, talks about customer service, future challenges, big investments and the importance of the in-store experience.

The cost-of-living crisis will continue to be front of mind for both customers and businesses; particularly so for big-ticket brands such as Dreams. The effect of this crisis is two-fold: a huge uplift in the rising cost of running a business alongside a potential reduction in customer demand. However, a good night’s sleep is important to everyone and there will always be a demand for beds and mattresses, particularly during March’s National Bed Month. “No matter what the operating environment, our determination to lead the market and to be the UK’s most-loved bed retailer will remain,” says Paul Solly, Chief Commercial Officer at Dreams. “We’ll achieve this by continuing to deliver an outstanding level of customer service to everyone who walks through our doors or visits our website. Our relentless and passionate focus on our customers makes our business what it is.”

On that note, Paul reemphasised that customer service sits at “the heart of Dreams”, underpinning everything the business does from initial interaction to following up a customer’s journey after a purchase and more. He said: “With customers only replacing mattresses every eight years on average, recommendations are critical to our success. With this in mind, we identified the key moments that help drive advocacy and built KPIs into our

first and last touchpoints with the customer - store and delivery - to ensure we are consistently delivering.”

Paul says their unique Sleep Match technology is a particular customer favourite when they visit in-store as it helps customers to identify exactly the right type of mattress for them in under three minutes. “We built Sleep Match to simply equip customers with the right information to put them in control of their purchase and feel confident about their decision.” The delivery process is another critical part of their customer experience, with the final mile in any customer’s interaction with Dreams of high importance. “Our tailored KPIs ensure that we can leave every customer with a positive and lasting impression. We know that the customer’s experience with Dreams doesn’t end there though, and that the follow up is just as important. That’s why, to measure our customer’s feedback, we invite each and every customer to share their thoughts via our Pillow Talk survey; a process that allows us to evaluate every customer experience. To date, we have collected over one million customer surveys and used this data to drive improvements in the end-to-end customer experience.”

Another element of customer satisfaction comes from choice, especially at a time of savvy-shoppers and more budget-conscious consumers too. Dreams believes that big ticket, such as the products they sell, needs to be thinking about providing affordable value. So, how are Dreams meeting this? “To provide affordable value, you need to consider price, quality and service. We have 100s of products to choose from, all at different price points to help meet all budgets. Whilst our prices may vary, our commitment to quality doesn’t, and we also run regular promotions that deliver exceptional value to our customers,” Paul said.

Offering value doesn’t just relate to products and prices. Dreams continues to invest in both its online and in-store operations to provide a high-level customer experience. In fact, the Dreams website is often their first touchpoint with a customer, with over half of its eventual in-store customers starting their journey online. Whilst some go on to purchase a bed from the website, many are still visiting their local Dreams store. In 2022, the retailer updated 40 of its stores, and has committed to updating a further 40 over the next 12 months. By the end of last year, the new look refit stores had driven growth in both sales and customer satisfaction. “Stores will always remain a vital part of our customers’ journey. Not only is buying a new mattress a significant investment, but we also spend a third of our lives in bed. Customers therefore want to be confident in their purchase and there is no match for being able to touch and try

out a bed instore,” Paul said, continuing: “Given the investment involved, we also know that purchasing a mattress can be both a daunting and stressful experience, with our own research showing that customers are often afraid of making a bad decision or getting poor value for money. Our colleagues have been trained to make buying beds as easy and stress-free as possible and are always on-hand to provide expert advice.”

Dreams is also investing in more areas across the business, in what has been labelled as a “really exciting year ahead”, as Paul reveals: “Starting with distribution, we’re investing in a new warehouse. This will be our biggest site to date and will serve customers from all across the UK. Elsewhere, our factory in Oldbury will be benefiting from the latest new machinery, helping to drive efficiency and innovation.

“We’re constantly investing in our colleagues and their development through training programmes. In 2022, thousands of hours of training were delivered to colleagues and we’re looking to increase this even further in the year ahead as part of our People-first strategy. We also recently introduced Workplace, our new internal communications platform, to enable our colleagues to be better connected and supported, as well as to inform everyone as to what’s going on in different parts of the business. It’s received fantastic engagement so far, with the active user rate already surpassing our expectations.”

Paul concluded our interview back with the cost-of-living and expects higher customer demand for flexible payment options, while product quality and value will also be at the forefront too. “Many customers may be wanting the option to stretch their payments over a number of months to allow for some extra flexibility in their budget. Affordable value will no doubt be front of mind. The cost-of-living crisis has put a renewed emphasis on price and it’s important that customers feel confident in the quality of the product. We’ll also see the return of the high street and more customers choosing to shop in-store. Whilst online will undoubtedly continue to grow, the physical store will see a resurgence as many people start to establish new working and shopping habits post-pandemic.”

www.dreams.co.uk

Why The Sleep Geek and Mattress Online make a strong team

Beds and mattress retailer Mattress Online recently announced a new partnership with Yorkshire-based sleep practitioner James Wilson, aka The Sleep Geek and Founder of Kip Mate.

The 12-month exclusive partnership aims to improve lives through better sleep by properly connecting products to problems – without traditional sales techniques getting in the way. James will be supporting and educating the Mattress Online team with sound sleep and wellbeing advice – helping them get to grips with the fundamentals of stress reduction, enjoying work to its fullest and providing tailor-made customer service.

Furthermore, James will be helping with employee wellbeing but, as his work gets embedded into the brand, he will also be providing customer-facing staff with the tools required to help customers make the right choices for them.

So, how is the new partnership bedding in?

Steve Adams, Chief Executive Officer at Mattress Online, revealed that James is settling in nicely with the team super excited to have him on board. “We wanted to work with someone who was the right fit; who understands our values and culture and who genuinely believes in what we want to achieve as an employer and a customer focused retailer. We can’t share the details just yet but we’ve already begun researching how our staff sleep to help shape the health and wellbeing element of James’ work - and the results have been interesting!

“It’s a unique opportunity to stand out in the industry and set the bar as customers become savvier about products and services - it differentiates us from other typical sales focused retailers - we’re reinforcing our customer focus and supporting our staff by putting them at the centre of the partnership.”

James added: “As far as I know, a partnership like this is the first of its kind in the world, where a mattress brand is working in partnership to help their customers and staff to sleep better. We have created some social content (the sleep grinch has made an appearance) and started the process of planning the different strands, advice and

tips for Mattress Online (MO) customers, content for training sales people, giving them some simple sleep knowledge and linking sleep issues to the products MO sells and also starting the process of working out, how do the people at MO sleep, so we can make sure the sleep seminars address the issues MO’s people have with their sleep.”

It’s all about helping customers make the connection between sleep issues and how the products the business sells can help these issues. And with Mattress Online already achieving a strong customer service reputation, with a 4.8/5 TrustPilot score from over 55,000 reviews, the company sees the partnership as an opportunity to be one step ahead of the competition and be connecting products to problems for their customers rather than just selling.

Mattress Online says it is “crucial” that their staff are sleeping well too, and in turn offering realistic help and advice to customers. Steve said: “There’s no one size fits all when it comes to sleep, and we know that when we talk to customers. One of our company values is that we do the right thing - and it’s only right we are prioritising the sleep health of our team.”

“The Kip Mate approach is designed to provide an understanding of what happens when we sleep, and then focus on a couple of factors, helps individuals understand themselves as sleepers, it talks about creating a workplace culture that is sleep friendly, it looks at our relationships and lifestyle and how these affect sleep and then gives some simple and effective tools and tips that will help improve the sleep of the people at MO,” James added.

So, why now?

James revealed that he has been searching for the right mattress brand to create a long-term partnership with for the last five years. A connection with Rotherham United Football Club opened the door for this to be explored, while synergies in beliefs and ambition were equally shared, making the partnership a good fit. “It has been hard to find a brand that was not trying to use me to “sleepwash” their offering. I am unique amongst sleep experts in that I come from a product background, my Grandpa and parents worked in the industry (my Grandpa was the founder of Duckers Sleep Products) and so I am more aware of the positives and the negatives, about the industry, which made finding a partner with the same beliefs about how we help people sleep better and how products like mattresses, duvets and pillows can do that was difficult.

“Many brands just wanted a relationship based on shallow marketing messages, whilst I was looking for something more involved and was about improving the experience of those buying these products. Mattress Online and I hold similar beliefs, we both are passionate about the mattress industry, but also, we can see clearly how it can be improved. The fact they are based in Rotherham, my hometown, is an added bonus, and is clear proof that all the best things come from Rotherham!”

Both The Sleep Geek and Mattress Online have a relationship with Rotherham United Football Club, and Steve Coakley, the clubs Commercial Director, made the connection and offered to make an introduction. Steve continued: “We’d followed James’ work for a long time, so we were delighted when we reached out and he wanted to come and chat with us. When we first met and started to talk there were so many similarities between us and James in terms of our thoughts on sleep and sleep challenges for our colleagues and customers, and streamlining customer understanding around choice and advice.

“The shared passion and aligned ambitions were clear - both parties believe strongly

in helping the customer by demystifying buying a mattress. James is also a Rotherham lad which is where we are headquartered. So much about the partnership just felt right.”

On that feeling, the partnership is expected to deliver sleep success and is not solely sales focussed. For James, this will be measured by helping customers and staff sleep better, implementing his sleep expertise in the right way and not just for endorsement or marketing purposes. “Hopefully it shows the industry that using sleep expertise should be utilised in pulling the products we sell as an industry closer to the people, like me, helping people improve their sleep day to day,” while Steve added: “We’ll look at feedback from our teams who are taking part in training and wellbeing sessions, we can of course garner statistics around the engaging web content James will be contributing to, and we can measure how his work translates to support for our customers through reviews, read time on site and brand trust - it’s not about sales.”

The partnership is one of many investments in staff training Mattress Online incorporates, with Steve sharing a final thought on other initiatives at the business. “As well as our ongoing NVQ training programme for staff, our internal Health & Wellbeing Programme is now in its second full year, and for 2023 we will be adding financial wellbeing to the mix. We’ve introduced some staff development with executive coaching, and our managers will be embarking on best practice training for recruiting as we continue to bolster the team.”

Do you need help with your sleep?

www.mattressonline.co.uk

www.thesleepgeek.co.uk

The Bed Expert

Vic Smith, owner of independent beds retailer Vic Smith Beds, talks about making the most of National Bed Month.

How do we make National Bed Month work?

It’s about knowing your beds. If we want customers to look at their bed in their house and find fault, where do we start? Window displays are a good thing to do and we go the extra mile. We’ve had a model in our shop doing a photo shoot dressed as a nurse / doctor with a stethoscope on the bed, giving it a health check and MOT. This gives our middle-aged couples, a reason to think about changing their bed. Has your bed started to dip? Do you sit on the edge of your bed or do you roll out of bed? Is your bed as comfy as it used to be or do you have to wake up several times in the night and reposition yourself? Are you sleeping in the same rut? Have you, like most of us, got bigger over the years and could do with a bigger bed, which will help you sleep better? (It’s been proven time and time again, a bigger bed with more sleeping area helps you, the individual, sleep better.) Have you got room for a bigger bed? Nowadays, a bigger bed does not cost as much as it used to. King-size costs a little bit more than the double and a super king more so. Again, it’s still great value but explain to your customers in their terms. If you are cooking dinner for four people, there’s not that much more involved to cook it for five in terms of effort or cost, so when they’re buying a double it’s not that much more for the manufacturers to make it into a king. Relay it in such a way, and if you get it right, they are your customers, but if you get it wrong, they’re going to be somebody else’s.

Customers will part with their money more happily when you’ve understood and explained as an expert should. The customer, your customer, is standing in your store because they want some help and advice. They don’t want a pushy smarmy salesperson; they want advice and they want to relate to you. If you can get them on side and explain and help them understand things about our industry, that will make them feel happier and confident to buy, so if do it properly and they become your best friend and they will tell

their friends and family - not just where to go, but they ‘have to go’, then you’ve done your job properly.

My competition may say, ‘I’m not going to get a model and photographer and do a photo shoot, that’s too expensive’, but if you do it properly, budget accordingly and plan right, it won’t cost the earth - plus, you’ve then got these posters for life. So, plan it well and don’t put something that’s fashionable in a photo. Keep it very much generic and that way you can use these posters and point-of-sale year after year after year. The best value you’ll ever get - obviously they can be used on social media and you’ve heard it before a picture speaks 1,000 words, so one picture of a small promotional offer will sync into your customers mind and consciousness, and when they walk into your store and see the same picture again the human brain associates that as a safe place because they recognise it. If a customer feels safe and happy then they are your customer not your competitors.

You want to work and promote your store and reap your benefits. Having said this, if you just want to dip your toe and go to the National Bed Federation’s website. Either way, it raises awareness for yourself and for the industry. Generally, March is National Bed Month, do something about it - don’t sit on your hands moaning if there’s no one coming through the door. Be proactive, make someone open that door and come in. After all, you’re the retailer. It’s your shop window, so do something about it.

www.vicsmithbeds.co.uk

How to avoid the Chinese hiccups

Paul Wray, Managing Director of Furntec Ltd and Modern Outlook Furniture, shares an insight into things to consider if you run into any hiccups or delays when dealing with products from China.

There’s been a lot of talk about supply chains recently with a variety of challenges cropping up over the last couple of years for businesses and suppliers alike.

It is difficult to rival Chinese manufacturers though, due to a number of factors including technology, skilled labour and capacity.

Here’s some things you can consider to ensure that if you do run into any hiccups or delays, you are covered.

Build strong communication with your suppliers in order to understand their challenges and keep abreast of any developments.

Keep up to date with industry news and speak to other business owners who may be experiencing similar challenges to share best practice.

Plan, plan, plan. Ensure you have enough stock on order and build a time buffer to

accommodate any delays, but also be mindful of over stocking and keeping a close eye on the current market situations.

Explore the possibility of using a variety of transport modes to transport stock as prices and lead times vary greatly depending on the method. Using a combination of transport modes could ensure you have stock available on time.

Nothing is impossible

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

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-wray-79403935/

Green Retail

In the next part of our ongoing sustainable series, we take a deeper look at Danish furniture retailer JYSK and what they are doing in terms of sustainability.

The topic of sustainability continues to be of great importance. From product innovations such as bottlefilled mattresses to greener practices and initiatives, businesses are also adapting new ways of working to make their operations more sustainable. In the next instalment of our series, and off the back of their recently published sustainability report, we explore more of JYSK’s green credentials.

JYSK

As an international company, JYSK interacts with thousands of customers, employees and suppliers on a daily basis. “The way we act has an impact on our surroundings, and this means that we as a company have a great responsibility to ensure that things are done in a responsible way. Our responsibility comprises a number of areas, including JYSK employees as well as employees working for our suppliers throughout the world. We have to ensure that our products are made with respect for both humans, animals and nature,” the company said.

Through its membership of international organisations, JYSK ensures that impartial partners visit their suppliers and informs them if a supplier does not live up to its requirements. Through the past years, JYSK has worked at increasing the amount of FSC-certified (Forest Stewardship Council®) cardboard packaging. “It has been challenging, but good results have been

accomplished,” the business said. In the fall of 2020, JYSK publicly committed to the FSC sourcing target that by the end of 2024, all JYSK products and packaging made from wood, cardboard or paper will be FSC-certified.

While JYSK has been working with increasing the number of FSC-certified products in the assortment for many years, packaging was a new focus area back in 2020, when the sourcing target was published. “It was natural to us that our FSC sourcing target should also include packaging, as we are changing more and more packaging from plastic to cardboard. Also, packaging has a high turnover rate and represents a considerable part of our impact on both climate and environment,” said Lars Høgh Jensen, Packaging Development Specialist. JYSK has reached the first milestone of the FSC sourcing target, meaning that all new products and packaging are FSCcertified.

“Based on misunderstandings or insufficient experience with the system and FSC’s chain-of-custody, it has for some suppliers been a challenge to secure the right documentation, and in JYSK we are very strict about that. It became clear to us that capacity building - developing a more in-depth understanding - in our supply chain was necessary,” Lars added.

Furthermore, JYSK has joined a Danish, voluntary sector collaboration, which aims to reduce the environmental and climate footprint of the textile industry. By 2030, all garment and textiles from Danish companies will consist of at least 40% recycled materials, including at least 10% recycled directly from textile fibres. This is the objective that JYSK has agreed to as part of a new Danish sector collaboration. “We have been working to increase the use of recycled materials in our products for quite a while. Textiles are an important area as this is both a large product category in JYSK and an area with a high impact on the environment and climate. We see the sector collaboration as ambitious and aligned with both our own strategy and the upcoming legislation,” said Lars Ringtved Nielsen, Compliance & Quality Director.

He highlights that one of the strengths of the collaboration is that it consists of employees with specialist knowledge of textiles, who are all joining forces from different companies to contribute to a common goal. “This area requires a high degree of technical expertise. We feel like we really have something to contribute with, and we are also looking very much forward to input from others. This challenge is too significant for one company to solve alone.”

The production of textiles has a high impact on the environment and climate due to high consumption of raw materials, water, land use and harmful chemistry. According to the EU, urgent action is needed as the consumption and impact of textiles continues to grow rapidly. The Danish sector collaboration wishes to support and contribute to the EU commission’s textile strategy and vision that by 2030 all textile products placed on the EU market are durable, repairable and recyclable, to a great extent made of recycled fibres, free of hazardous substances, and produced in respect of social rights and the environment.

The Danish collaboration is a result of a cooperation between the Danish Ministry of the Environment, trade associations and Danish companies.

From 2023, the collaboration will extend to include companies from Norway, Sweden, and Finland. JYSK has been chosen to be part of the steering group of the Danish sector collaboration. The steering group approves the action plan and subgoals, launches new initiatives, and continuously evaluates whether the ambition level can be increased.

JYSK has also decided to apply for a Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certification covering its own business. “We believe in the GRS as a thorough and valid certification with regard to recycled materials. When we sell and market a product as containing recycled content, we must know that the recycled materials are in fact recycled. It is a very complex procedure to control that throughout your supply chain, but the GRS system helps us do that, and we can benefit from their work and control system,” added Nielsen.

Everything from maritime ropes and water bottles to textiles and wood gets new life in JYSK’s products. Focusing on recycled materials is part of its sustainability strategy. One example is found among its garden furniture, where Indonesian teak from a demolished house, an old barn and traditional farmer rice boxes have been recycled for JYSK’s garden furniture. The garden table EBBESKOV is one of its new products made from recycled teak. The teak is FSC® Recycled-certified (FSC® N001715), which means that the wood has been verified as being actually recycled.

Recycling is the future

“Why not recycle some of what is already out there?” asks Rikke Blæsild, who is Range & Design Manager. In her job with developing JYSK’s range, she has a strong focus on increasing the number of products made from recycled materials. “Recycling materials instead of disposing of them helps reduce the strain on the planet’s resources. One of our focus areas right now is to increase the number of duvets and pillows, where the fibre filling is made from recycled materials.”

www.jysk.co.uk

New carpet franchise model gets green light

Trevor Johnson, Chairman at carpets and beds retailer Colourbank, talks about the launch of their new carpet franchise model after a year of trialling the concept.

The Leicester-based business has been growing its trade and wholesale side over the last five years and has now decided to offer a nationwide Colourbank carpet franchise following a year of piloting. Commenting on the launch, Trevor Johnson, Chairman at Colourbank, said: “After a large cash outlay preparing this project, we are now ready to launch this officially. We have looked at other carpet franchises and wanted to offer a much simpler and profitable model for the franchisees. We have taken advice from specialists who have advised a great number of companies who have rolled out franchises in many different sectors.

“We are concentrating on developing the franchise operation over the next few years, while continuing to invest in our retail stores in Leicester, expanding our contract division and continually improving our internal systems.”

Another area of continuous investment for the business is its sustainable practices. Colourbank has a £100,000 solar panel installation on its roof, while also completely switching to low energy lighting and equipment.

Trevor added: “We recycle all our polythene and cardboard,

while our underlays are a mix of recycled materials and recyclable materials. We have also installed three car charging points at our head office and we use sophisticated route planning software to reduce the miles travelled when carrying out deliveries. We plan to switch all our fleet to fully electric when replacement vehicles are required. We favour suppliers who are improving their record in this regard.”

Colourbank, which has been established for over 30 years and operates from two stores in Leicester, one on Cavendish Road and the other at Crest Rise, said that business has “held up incredibly well” during 2022 due to its large stock holding and quality service, while noticeable trends have seen consumers move towards “better quality products as the bottom end customers are more affected by the cost-of-living issues”.

There has also been a steady growth in LVT and hard floorings. Trevor continued: “We always carry a lot of stock to obtain the best prices so we can compete with anyone, as well as offering

a fast-fitting service by our 18 fitting crews. We also favour strong brands such as AW, Abingdon and Furlong.”

With a final word back on its carpet franchise opportunity, Trevor is encouraging any interested parties to contact the business to find out more. “We are determined that our franchise model will be the fairest one available as we want the franchisees to make a good living and run their own business with a lot of support and back up.

“We are in this for the long run and see this as the best way for Colourbank to grow organically and safely over the years ahead. I would be happy to welcome you to our head office to discuss this further, or we could have a virtual meeting if you prefer.”

For more information, visit www.colourbank.net/become-a-franchise.html www.colourbank.net

We are determined that our franchise model will be the fairest one available as we want the franchisees to make a good living and run their own business with a lot of support and back up.

Stress-less on colour trends with expert insight

Janne Muri and Berit Hellandsvik Steffensen, trend experts at Norwegian furniture manufacturer Ekornes AS, owner of brand names Ekornes®, Stressless®, Svane® and IMG, share an insight into how they foresee future trends and six good colour choices for 2023.

Every year, Janne and Berit have to predict the future. But how do they do it? When you invest in furniture, you probably want to make sure the colour doesn’t go out of style in a few years. The choice between colours and textures in a Stressless® recliner or sofa is so vast, many use weeks or months pondering over the right choice. Anyone who finds that challenging might find Janne Muri and Berit Hellandsvik Steffenssen’s job near impossible. Their daily task is to look years ahead, and try to predict what consumers, retailers and trendsetters will be looking for then. As part of the CMF (Colours, Materials and Finishes) team at Ekornes AS, manufacturers of the world-renowned Stressless® furniture, they have a say on every surface of the furniture. Wood, leather, fabrics – it is their job to ensure that all the materials not only look good, but are also safe, environmentally friendly, and long lasting.

Future forecast?

“It comes down to a combination of research and experience. On the one hand, we visit trend fairs with insights from all over the world and pick up the latest word from other experts. On the other hand, we have our theoretical background and brand knowledge, which is always the foundation of our choices.

We feel that we know our customers very well,” says Berit. Every year, they choose a line-up of new colours that are used in photos, brochures,

exhibitions, on trade fairs and in retail stores around the world. Nothing is left to chance. And often, the choices are influenced by variables far outside the fashion world.

“We want to surround ourselves with safety, with something trustworthy and natural. That is why earthly tones are high in demand, and will be for years to come,” continues Berit. “Right now, we live in a world filled with turmoil. That makes us less averse to risk. We want to surround ourselves with safety, with something trustworthy and natural. That is why earthly tones are high in

demand, and will be for years to come.” Janne adds: “That doesn’t mean our interiors will look bland. A vase, a pillow or a wall painted in a bold, contrasting colour is a cheap and efficient way to inject some colour into our surroundings.”

Six good colour choices for 2023

For the 2023 collection, the two have selected two earthy mushroom colours, one dark and one lighter. Teal blue gives associations to the ocean, and the bolder Breezy blue signals air and glaciers. The Platinum Grey is a rocky colour which sits well alongside all these. Finally, a new thyme green will be seen in showrooms and photoshoots around the globe. “Greens have been a big thing for a while, but now we see that in addition to the olive greens we also see lots of greens with a more blueish tint,” says Janne.

“Every colour in the new palette can be mixed and will still give a uniform look

to the interior. A Stressless® recliner in one colour, a Stressless® sofa in another – it’s all well thought out. Our job is to give customers a selection of colours that can be trusted to last. When we present our colours for 2023, they must be equally relevant in 2024 and beyond. We can’t miss – that’s just too expensive! Of course, customers can also choose between all the existing leather and fabric colours that are already in our portfolio. They are still highly relevant.”

Top tip for choosing interior colours?

“Be honest with yourself. If you know that refreshing, bold colours give you energy, and that you like to surround yourself with them over time, go for it. But don’t go that way because it looked good in a photo, or it is a fashion trend,” Janne continues.

“If you know that you need calm surroundings, seek out the more neutral colours. But look out for subtle nuances you can add to that grey or

brown. Today, there’s so many shades available that just weren’t there before. And finally, ask your retailer! There are so many knowledgeable people in the stores who are very happy to have a chat about colours and design.”

As self-proclaimed colour and designnerds, Janne and Berit really love their job, even though it comes with a lot of expectations from the entire company. “Colour-wise, this is such a good time for Stressless® recliners and sofas. The earthly colours that are in fashion really match the design language of our furniture,” Janne said. “And our main selling points beside the comfort – the craftsmanship and longevity – are part of a larger trend with high demand for sustainability and predictability. That makes our work extra fun these days.”

www.ekornes.com

www.stressless.com

Show success for Jaipur

Montu Soni, director at Jaipur Furniture, reflects on a very successful trade show period and a look at the month ahead.

Fresh from the recent Birmingham January Furniture Show and Frankfurt’s Ambiente event, Jaipur Furniture, a leading exporter of solid wood furniture from India, revealed that both trade shows proved to be a big hit with plenty of interest and orders from both existing and new customers. On show was Jaipur’s latest ranges of modern lifestyle inspired contemporary furniture, made from solid woods such as mango and sheesham woods.

There were four standout performers, as Montu Soni, director at Jaipur Furniture, explains: “The January Furniture Show was great. It was a brilliant event where we could meet new and existing clients, showcase our latest ranges and get a feel of what our customers are looking for.

“Our Geo, Frais and Kerela Dining ranges performed very strongly with lots of interest and proved to be the best sellers from what was on show. We also had a great response from our new Slatted Range, which was certainly the eye catcher for the show. After the January show, we then displayed our collection in Frankfurt Ambiente, which was another winner show for us.”

The show success comes off the back of Jaipur’s recent warehouse expansion in Huntingdon, where it can now better serve their customer’s needs and demands. The company has a rich history spanning over 30 years and operates out of its three large family-owned factory facility based in Jaipur, Jodhpur and the state of Rajasthan, in the northern India-a region, which is long famed as an important hub for handicrafts and home furnishings production.

This month, Jaipur is exhibiting at its native IHGF Delhi Fair, taking place from 15-19 March 2023 in Delhi, and has also invited potential buyers and existing clients to its 120,000sqm manufacturing facility to make the trip a full experience. “Our Indian factory is going exhibit at IHGF Delhi Fair this month where most of our potential buyers are planning to visit, so at the same time we are welcoming them to our factory to show how our products are made and the quality behind them,” Soni said.

Jaipur Furniture has been the recipient of India’s Top Export Award in the Solid Wood category for the past 10 years and believes 2023 will be another successful year. “We are doing very well at the moment and keen to expand our customer base in the UK market. The warehouse has been brilliant and as we are direct to factory, customers don’t need to go to a third party to buy, they can come direct to us without the need for a wholesaler.

“Customers can order direct containers at the same price without travelling to India, while also being able to communicate directly with our UK office to get updates on factory orders without any hesitation.”

www.jaipurfurniture.net

Celebrating the ‘whoop’ moments with Spaceworks

Kate Rowe, founder at Spaceworks Interiors, reflects on a milestone year for the business, overcoming recent challenges and what the future holds in 2023.

Founded by husband and wife partnership Kate and Michael Rowe, Spaceworks Interiors aims to make a difference to independent and family owned businesses. They have worked with brands such as Woods –Dorchester; Barbours – Dumfries; and Gillies – Broughty Ferry, to name but a few in the furniture space.

Last year saw the company reach its fifth anniversary after launching back in 2017. For Kate, this milestone has been a significant benchmark for the business, although celebrations were largely muted to remain focussed on continued growth. “Although five years is a milestone for us – in these uncertain difficult trading times almost every year becomes a little bit of a whoop moment as we reflect on our past years, and move onto new ones knowing we’ve covered costs, had some great adventures with our clients and made many big differences for the businesses we serve.

“To celebrate five years, we sent out a thank you message to our clients as I’m always mindful it’s been them that have enabled us to be here today. We didn’t really have a true sense of celebration.

We’ve ensured all our certificates and training are up to date, while concentrating on our strengths, going back to basics with business sense and making sure we are stronger and fitter for the year ahead.”

Since Spaceworks’ inception, the business, like many others, has faced a number of challenges, with online a particular focus. “The internet is probably one contributor that continues to be a challenge for our clients and therefore us too,” Kate said. “Many of our clients are long established independent family run businesses who trade predominantly from their bricks and mortar premises. Their marketing budgets are no way near great enough to compete with the big multiples and their online presence just can’t match those of the internet only business.

“They therefore lose out on opportunities, yet still pay dearly on business rates. Quite often store development and refurbishment is overlooked as ‘another marketing cost that we just can’t afford’. What I would like to encourage is a turnaround in that thinking – and that for a relatively small percentage investment compared

to an e-tailing investment, retailers could start to energise their store environment, create excitement and experience for their customers, create engaging events that create loyalty and start to enjoy a better relationship that encourages return purchases.” Spaceworks offers just this, and the key to their success is simplicity. “Keeping things simple and always doing what we say we’re going to do is why we’re successful,” says Kate, continuing: “I’m a big believer in being transparent, honest and being very clear about the way we like to operate and how we work with our clients.”

Kate concluded that with the everchanging high street, it is essential that the notion of design doesn’t get labelled as an ‘unnecessary expense’. “That’s a short-lived response. If you rest on the notion ‘we’ve always done ok as we are’, you soon won’t and some shiny, new retailer will come along and do it better, taking your customers. It’s surprising how cost effective a design solution can be. The long-standing benefits can be huge in ensuring your doors continue to be open.”

Sherborne Upholstery

One of our most popular recliner/suite ranges, the Comfi-sit, has been totally remodelled & was reintroduced at the January Furniture Show in its new, improved form with great success. It is a wonderfully comfortable & generously sized design, which is offered in both soft covers and leather in both small & standard sizes. Matching riser recliners are also included. Suiting both traditional & contemporary homes, it features soft, fibre-filled backs & soft ‘pillow’ arms.

www.sherborneupholstery.co.uk

Gallery Direct

Gallery Direct has launched a new mattress collection which offers a range of models, each with its own features, designed to make it easy for Gallery’s customers and end users alike to choose the right mattress to suit their requirements. All the new mattresses are hand crafted at Gallery’s Wiltshire manufacturing unit by their highly skilled, experienced team. The new mattresses were introduced to the industry at the January Furniture Show 2023. www.gallerydirect.co.uk

La-Z-Boy UK

La-Z-Boy UK’s Paris is an entry level price model with add-on options and its own exclusive leather and fabric ranges - Calda and Anivia. With compact arms, curved lines and pocket sprung seats, Paris combines traditional La-Z-Boy luxury with the ultimate in comfort and support. It includes two and three-seater sofas plus a chair with static, manual and power recline options. www.la-z-boy.co.uk

Shire Beds

Shire Beds are a FSC certified company and also signed the NBF Pledge for the Planet to further their sustainability journey. Shire Beds is a multi award winning quality manufacturer that offers added extras of own label, exclusive fabrics and extended guarantee on its eco designed products – it is a must have brand in furniture retail. Its award winning Signature Range and Best Selling Picasso from the Artisan Range are firm favourites. The new Spectrum Range offers great value in these very challenging economic times.

www.shirebeds.co.uk

Devonshire

Devonshire has recently launched a new kitchen selection designed to add style and practicality to consumers cooking spaces. Consisting of a butcher’s block, kitchen island and two larder cupboards (single and double), these beautiful pieces have been created to complement their popular Dorset Painted collection, but work equally as well as standalone pieces. Offered in a choice of 9 fanciful paint colours, the kitchen items are in stock now in the UK and available for fast and efficient delivery. If you’d like more info, please get in touch on enquiries@devonshireliving.co.uk, or phone 01237 471872.

www.devonshireliving.co.uk

Nectar Sleep

At Nectar Sleep we are committed to sustainability, which is why we use premium materials in our products to ensure that they last. However, we are also aware that all products have an environmental impact, which is why we have partnered with Climate Partner to measure, reduce and offset our carbon footprint. The products are also delivered in FSC certified boxes and vacuum packed using recycled polythene. We also create a second life for our mattresses. We refurbish and re-sell those that are good as new from our 365-night trials and we donate the rest to the British Heart Foundation. To date, our used mattresses have raised £410,000 for the charity.

www.nectarsleep.co.uk

Sonlevo

The Sonlevo TrueGel range is setting a new standard. It’s the first gel mattress to be developed in the UK using revolutionary Gel technology – its unique grid system is 80% air. TrueGel gives maximum support, minimises pressure and is never too hot and never too cold, for the best night’s sleep possible. For over 40 years GNG has been dedicated to helping people sleep better, with the latest in innovation, materials and design. From side-sleepers to star-fishers, nappers and night owls, to those who suffer in pain - we have something for everyone. Everything we do is researched, designed and manufactured by us in the UK. Given the heightened focus on sleep and wellbeing, this new premium range represent a real opportunity for retailers to expand sales into lucrative new areas. www.sonlevo.com

Wiemann

Award-winning German bedroom manufacturer, Wiemann, has two new VIP ranges. Quito is an eye-catching premium VIP range featuring a distinctive square design to set it apart from the crowd. Featuring hinged doors and a variety of carcase, door and finish options including mirrors, pebble grey, champagne and rustic oak. Asmara is a versatile and contemporary premium VIP total bedroom solution featuring hinged doors with or without drawers. Available in a variety of finishes including Bianco oak, pebble grey, champagne and mirrors. Chests, bedsides and beds complete the collection. www.wiemannuk.co.uk

Swan Systems Sliding Wardrobes seeks new retail partners

Lisa Dymott, Director at Swan Systems

Furniture, shares an insight into the business and their growth plans for the UK.

options to suit the style of your customers home and they feature closed, grease-packed ball bearing rollers that are housed at the bottom of the door, allowing the weight of the door to be carried along the bottom track, which have a fiveyear guarantee. All doors come with soft close too, a regular feature in most homes.

“We offer technical support on how to make and install the doors, sales training support on how to design a great selling Swan Sliding Wardrobe and how you can upsell with matching interiors, advice on what products will sell well and marketing support to help you generate leads.

“They can buy the components and make the doors themselves or we can deliver ready-made doors. We offer full training and marketing support too.”

Swan Systems Sliding Wardrobes are available to buy direct from the manufacturer, Swan Systems Furniture. The business aims to expand its network with home improvement retailers across the UK. “We currently supply the Swan Sliding Wardrobes to a growing group of independent retailers and want to increase these. Our aim is to recruit retailers around the UK who sell into the home improvement sector, with a showroom and a team of fitters. They could be a bed company, bedroom, kitchen – anyone looking to increase their turnover,” Lisa said.

With over 35 years’ experience of designing, manufacturing, installing fitted bedrooms, sliding wardrobes, home offices and walk in wardrobes, Swan Systems Furniture has built a strong reputation in its field. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the business embarked on a mission to re-evaluate the business, which saw a substantial investment within its online operations and focus on its core Swan Sliding Wardrobe Door range.

So, what are the main benefits of Swan’s Sliding Wardrobe

Door? In a nutshell, Lisa says they are made to high quality, technical excellence, space saving, while also enabling the option to upsell – and no cold metal frames either. “The product held a British Patent (No. 2304361) for its unique design and profiles are available in 14 popular colours, the majority of which match the ranges of fitted bedrooms offered by the main manufacturers. We offer versatile door design

Interested? Lisa explains how to get involved: “Firstly, we would like to meet you. We will invite you to see how we make the doors, store the materials and promote the products in our showroom. Secondly, we can design a showroom display for you. In return, you need time to learn how best to sell our Swan Sliding Door product range and get your fitters on board to install the product. We are positioned at the higher end of the price scale and the quality of our product simply closes deals.” For more information, contact Lisa: info@swansystems. co.uk or call 01329

How to make the most of customer interactions

Anne Holmes, Account Director for ScS at SVL, shares an insight into the contact centre services they offer and their recent furniture case study.

SVL is the longest running partner of the Contact Centre industry in the UK and currently works with a range of retailers directly by supporting their in-house Contact Centre, and also many more who use “outsourced” Contact Centres across the UK and Ireland.

For retailers, SVL provides a wide range of services directly related to improving their Customer Experience, by advising on and supplying software to record, monitor and analyse the quality of inbound and outbound contacts, to store and search interactions across all communication “channels” which now includes voice, email, webchat, social media and video.

“We help retail contact centres improve their employee’s working experience through powerful Workforce Management software, which allows them to plan resource effectively and engage their employees,” Anne Holmes, Account Director at SVL said.

When it comes to implementing their services into the furniture retail industry, SVL has recently forged a partnership with national sofa and carpets retailer ScS, their debut furniture-specific client. “ScS is currently our only direct partnership with furniture retail, although others use outsourced Contact Centres that we support (an example of an outsourcer would be Ascensos) who offer multiple call centres for retailers in the one building. We are also partners with major software manufacturers like Calabrio who support OTTO in Germany,”

“The furniture retail market, like all others, has developed it’s omni-channel services for their clients and needs to be able to quickly and safely monitor, analyse and store these interactions. No-one has time to listen to every call or monitor every email for quality or compliance purposes, and that is where SVL can help.

“ScS are an excellent example of the breadth of support furniture retailers can access. They chose SVL to improve

their omni-channel agent connectivity, quality management, workforce management, analytics, and outbound dialling capacity with a product called NICE CXOne.”

Anne added that this product will improve a range of services for ScS, including internal processes, accessing enhanced analytics to uncover powerful insights to improve client and staff satisfaction, improve employee engagement and morale, as well as scale their operations in a way that can expand across other areas of the group.

So, why it important for furniture retailers to maximise customer service and be able to monitor such interactions?

Anne explained: “In this post-covid world, footfall in retail is still struggling to return to previous levels. Indeed, it is speculated that buying behaviour has changed for good, with online and remote purchasing & customer service becoming even more central to every business. Whilst furniture retailing still attracts people in-store, are all these services truly joined up? Does the person shopping on the website, chatting to an operator, sending a tweet or phoning a helpline get the same quality of customer experience as someone in-store?

“Furniture retailers must spend time monitoring calls and channels in the same way an in-store supervisor would help a sales consultant improve their service. Developments in technology can quickly and easily search for issues within a contact and flag them up. Interactions are recorded and are made easily searchable, staff struggling with difficult issues can be supported, but the core of this is customer experience, and any interaction should be fast, well-informed and a pleasant experience, regardless of the channel they use.

“And, of course, customer service does not end with the sale, especially in furniture, but post-sale delivery and service create many interactions with warehouses and service centres which can occasionally be fraught. Our software extends across all interactions and captures the whole customer journey.”

Current interactions and engagements are just the tip of the iceberg too. Anne revealed that SVL is currently working on legacy data and how best to store such crucial information. “Furniture retailers, like all businesses, have mounds of data (recorded calls/emails etc…) that they hold onto for legal and quality purposes, but never access.

“We are working with a new product that stores all this data in the cloud and allows it to be searchable and accessed through a single “pane of glass”. This saves money, actually

makes all this valuable data accessible once more and saves thousands of hours trawling though old calls to find the one that is needed. Where financial transactions have taken place and are monitored by the FCA, all this data must be stored and accessible for many years.”

Most, if not by now, every furniture retailer is going through their own digital transformation journey, no matter the size of the business. Including this area within that journey is one that Anne highly encourages so data doesn’t get lost. “The software on offer doesn’t have to be baffling or even hugely expensive, as it may have been in the past. If you recognise issues that you need help with, we are happy to advise.”

The furniture retail market, like all others, has developed it’s omni-channel services for their clients and needs to be able to quickly and safely monitor, analyse and store these interactions.

THE BIG QUESTION

Huw Williams – Toon Furnishers

I attended both shows and it was fantastic to see things starting to return to something like normal in the industry. The INDX show was only slightly smaller than it traditionally was with some great new products on display and we have all been desperate to get some newness into our ranges after the stagnation during covid. The January show was a lot smaller than it traditionally is and some major brands were not exhibiting, but we still managed to find some great new ranges which will give a major refresh and a new look to the store displays. Talking to a lot of the suppliers they seem to have had a great show.

Martin Lukehurst - Lukehurst

The NEC was a sad representation, of what was once a very comprehensive furniture and accessories show, of six halls, that has now shrunk to a rather pathetic level of exhibitors and to be perfectly frank, if it reduces any more in size, I cannot see it surviving. Sadly, the AIS show has more significance with the suppliers, for our business, that exhibit there but it is very frustrating that it is not all under one roof and that there is not a show that combines the majority of exhibitors. For our business the two Minerva shows in spring and autumn now take on much more significance and I would recommend any meaningful retailer to put the dates of the Minerva show in their diary.

Sohail Khan - CFS

JFS is one show we never miss. We get to meet our suppliers and discuss previous year sales and any improvements that we can implement to make our business partnership better. Plus, take a peek of new design launches and trends. JFS 2023, what we noticed that a large number of exhibitors were not taking part and the show has shrunk in size substantially. The effort from exhibitors was commendable, in these challenging times many of our suppliers were full of positive spirit. Many suppliers who historically had huge stands were exhibiting in smaller spaces. On the trend side, clearly the popularity of colour grey was fading and there were new fresh colours on offer. We hope that 2024 JFS is back to usual capacity.

Nigel Lomas - Harvest Moon Interiors

I went to JFS show on the Monday (23 Years and counting). A lot of big names were missing, to be honest it was a bit disappointing. Distinct lack of excitement. Nothing very new to see. No proper cabinet, just a lot of cheap import. A lot of exhibition space was free in all the halls and it was not busy. I did have a nice fish & chips for £18, guess that’s the problem. A lot of manufacturers have obviously pulled out on cost to be there and exhibit.

This month we’re asking retailers, did you go to either the INDX Show and/or January Furniture Show and what were your thoughts?

Mark Reynolds - Furniture Village

I really enjoyed JFS, it was good to get back to some sort of normality and it was clear that manufacturers are now looking to the future again rather than fulfilling their order books and lead times are also shortening. However, it was sad to see a few less major manufacturers on display again. I saw several people not showing but networking and trying to get meetings. I get this in this environment, but perhaps the price for showing and the return on investment requirements by both manufacturers and the show needs to be reviewed. ‘Efficiency’ was a word banded around by many people I spoke to and getting more with less will play a big part of 2023 in every part of everyone’s lives, BUT and it’s a big BUT they’ll always be room for innovation, dynamism and pioneering in unpredictable times. Future favours the brave, to dare is to do!

Suzanne Skinner – Sussex Beds

We went to both shows. They are both very different types of shows. We visited the AIS INDX on the Sunday and it was a good warm up for the January Furniture show. It was good to see some different suppliers that we would not have seen before. Although not as large as the January Furniture show there were still some things of interest for us. We visited the January Furniture show on the Monday and Tuesday. The first impression was that it is getting so much smaller than it used to be. I remember getting blisters from walking around wearing silly shoes! I thought we would be finished by lunchtime on Tuesday but I was very wrong! We didn’t leave right up until the close of the day. It was great to catch up with old and new suppliers, see new trends and new products. I feel this is still an important show to visit for our industry for touching base with suppliers and seeing new trends coming through. This allows us to plan and look ahead for the coming year and keep up to date.

Vic Smith – Vic Smith Beds

With regards to the AIS show, I no longer attend. And the bed manufacturers I need to see, (and manufacturers are going to hate me for saying this), I find a factory visit from the retailers view far more productive. Now, the January Furniture Show is a whole new level. You can get to see more of the trade from the UK, Europe & afar. You can make some great new contacts and see where the next new trends are taking us. I’ve been going to the furniture show for over 30 years and of course you can have a good show and a bad show when, and you wonder why you wasted your time. This year the organisers I think should apologise, the reductions in the hall space / fake hoardings, the closure of hall 3, all added up to very little new on show and definitely made it an uninteresting show. The show has always done deals to fill empty stands but this year, the amount of extra stands that manufactures could have for a token fee, on the condition they fill the space. In all honesty, this year’s show was a disgrace. I felt sorry for the manufacturers having been hoodwinked and misled and I am sure that a lot of them, as I have been told, felt robbed. And I’m quite sure a few won’t show next year. Some out of principle, some out of lack of interest. The NBF Bed Show I think this year will go from strength to strength because of this.

George Sinclair – Nimbus Beds

We did attend the January Furniture Show and, to be honest, we were quite disappointed. The show feels so much smaller now & less impressive than it did years ago. Maybe Nimbus need to attend next year to shake it up a bit! But in all seriousness, I’m not sure what it was lacking, but everyone we spoke to felt the same way.

Last Word with Furniture Sales Solutions

I always wanted a Bang and Olufsen TV. My dad has inherited one from his dad in the 70’s and I remember what a big deal he made of having one. Somewhere in my psyche this has become embedded without a lot of conscious thought but it was there and every now and then I would stand outside the B & O shop in Southport and gaze longingly at the ‘Rolls-Royce” of TV and Hi-fi brands, never having the confidence to enter because I didn’t think I could afford it!

One day, around 25 years ago, in summer both doors were wide open and I ventured in with my two young sons, a Disney film was on at the back of the shop and they ran to watch it. As I browsed longingly at the TV’s on the floor stands, a TV in front of me swivelled, as if by magic, silently, slowly, and smoothly. My mouth dropped open! “Wow! That’s amazing”.

The salesman who was stood behind me with a heavy, chrome remote control in his hand, obviously moving the TV with it, smiled at me and said “Yes, it is, I’ve sold six of those this week!” I wanted it all the more, I said “how?”, he said “we do this brilliant interest-free offer where you pay a 10% deposit and the rest interest free in a year!”. 15 minutes later I’d paid my deposit and agreed an installation date for the following week.

In my dealings with many retailers I often hear them say that “our customers don’t need credit to buy” or “we don’t want to push interest-free credit as it costs us a lot of money”. Now, this is of course a point of view that the owners, operators, and managers of these, often independent, retailers are absolutely entitled to hold, and they can choose how and what they do in their business all day long.

I ask them, though, to consider a number of facts and reasons that they might consider before finalising this costly, in my opinion, decision. The first fact is that 25% of people who buy on finance, whatever type, interest-free,

you credit it?

low rate interest or normal credit terms would not have bought at all, if these “easy” terms were not available. In the case of the market leader, DFS, that quarter of “finance” customers is £125m per year. I repeat, these people say that they wouldn’t buy at all without a finance option being available.

The second fact is that the average order value of a 3-year interest free sale is 50% greater than an average cash order. At a 5% subsidy rate that makes the gross margin £600 on a £1500 finance order versus £450 for a cash order at £1000 (after the subsidy has been paid).

The third fact is that people don’t say “can we do it on finance please?”, what they do say is “we’ll go away and think about it” or “we’ll go and measure up”. Unfortunately, people get really embarrassed talking about money and especially about their own personal financial situation, and any possible hint that they need some type of ‘credit’ to buy what they want. Easy terms or small monthly payments are the “bridge” that the customer needs to get across the ravine of “I want that but how can I get it?”. There are many customers who want to buy what you sell, often because their parents or grandparents have bought from you but they think that they can’t afford it!

As you struggle to see sub-35-year-old customers visiting and buying from you consider why and how you might build a bridge for them to cross easily into owning furnishings from you! “I’ve always wanted to buy from there but really thought I couldn’t afford it, they showed me a way that I could!”.

P.S. The fourth fact is that customers who buy from you on finance are more loyal actually twice as likely to buy again in the same way as “it’s so easy to pay monthly, we hardly miss it”.

In current times, credit is a great way to help customers “reach” what they really want with the bridge of easy payments.

Adam Hankinson, Managing Director at Furniture Sales Solutions, asks: Would