NEWS

Independent retailer installs new electric vehicle charging stations

“With Cousins Furniture’s userfriendly interface, you can quickly and easily start a charging session, monitor your charging status, and pay for your session, all from the comfort of your smartphone. Plus, with the fast-charging capabilities, you can get back on the road in no time.

“Cousins Furniture understand that range anxiety is a common concern for EV owners, which is why we are proud to offer our charging stations as a way to ease those worries. Now, you can shop with peace of mind knowing that your vehicle is being charged up and ready for your next adventure.

Commenting on the appointments, David Main, CEO of Shankar, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Paul Bell to our family. With his wealth of knowledge and experience in the industry we are confident that he will be a great asset as we continue to grow.

“We are also delighted to welcome Stuart to the Shankar team and we’re excited to incorporate his experience and knowledge too.

Independent furniture retailer Cousins has boosted its sustainable practices by investing in new electric vehicle charging stations.

Located at its HQ and Shrewsbury store, Cousins also has plans to roll them out into the Birmingham and Dudley stores.

Commenting on the investment, Cousins said: “As we move towards a more sustainable future, the need for electric vehicles (EVs) and their charging infrastructure is becoming increasingly important.

“Cousins Furniture are committed to reducing their carbon footprint and promoting sustainable practices. The electric vehicle charging stations offer a convenient and hassle-free way for EV owners to power up while they shop and have an impressive maximum power of 22kW.

“Whether you’re enjoying a day out or browsing for your new furniture in-store, the charging stations make it easy to charge your EV on-the-go. But what sets the charging stations apart from others is the ease of use.

“But our commitment to sustainability doesn’t stop at our charging stations. Cousins Furniture are constantly looking for ways to reduce their impact on the environment. From using renewable energy to sourcing sustainable materials, we strive to be a leader in sustainable practices in the Midlands and Shropshire, and promote a greener future.”

Shankar appoints new National Sales Manager and South East Agent

Furniture wholesaler Skankar has announced the appointment of its new National Sales Manager as well as an agent representing the South East of England.

Paul Bell has joined the business as its new National Sales Manager, bringing a wealth of knowledge and expertise to Shankar having been in the furniture industry for over 35 years.

Furthermore, Stuart McDonnell has been appointed as its new South East of England Sales Agent, while Andy Terry and Andy Gardiner have both left the business.

“We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Andy Terry and Andy Gardiner for their support and achievements while working with Shankar and wish both all the very best in the future.

“Shankar continues its development, with this year once again bringing a new collection that combines innovative inspiring designs that will meet current market challenges. This year Shankar realised their objective to achieve a commercial on trend collection of furniture that would support the retailer during these testing times.”

Independent department store chain to open in Salisbury

Independent department store chain Bradbeers has revealed plans to open a new store in Salisbury. The retailer plans to open in the former Debenhams store on Blue Boar Row, which has been vacant since 2020.

Bradbeers expects to open at the site during October later this year with refurbishment works currently ongoing. The new department store will feature a homeware section as well as clothing, cosmetics and a restaurant.

Beds retailer introduces 60-night sleep trial

Norfolk-based independent beds and mattress retailer Mattressman has announced the introduction of its new 60-night sleep trial.

Mattressman is now offering customers the opportunity to try out a new bed for 60 nights “risk-free” across of its mattresses the company sells.

Commenting on the initiative, Louis Kerry, Marketing Manager at Mattressman, said: “We wanted to give our customers an extra level of confidence when they purchase from us and our Sleep Trial will do exactly that.

“Mattressman are proud to be the first retailer to offer the trial across their entire portfolio of mattresses and we feel that not only will it improve customers experience, but we also expect it to increase sales in the short and longer term.

“This service will be great for the consumer and one we are delighted to help celebrate with them.”

Long-serving Aberdeen independent to close as owners retire

Long-serving independent furniture retailer Ewen and Company has confirmed it will close next month after the owners deciding to retire.

Ewen and Company, which is situated on George Street in Aberdeen, first opened back in 1922 and will officially close during June, ending over 100 years in the trade.

Owners, and husband-and-wife, Bryan and Joanna Ewen, are the third family generation to run the business but have decided the time is right to retire, paying special thanks to their “loyal customers” over the years.

Ahead of its closure, a final closing down sale will run at the store. In retirement, Bryan and Joanna plan to spend more time with their family.

Parked domain website ads found misleading by ASA

A parked domain website advertising sofas has been deemed as misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) following an investigation.

A content discovery network ad, seen on 21 November 2022, on a national newspaper website at the bottom of a news article stated “Unsold Sofas Selling For Nearly Nothing In London (Search Here)” accompanied with a stock photo of a sofa. Beneath the text there were the terms “Sofas” “Search Ads” “Sponsored”.

The link led to a website (https:// pr.couches-sofas-94612.com), which consisted of a list of links under the headings “Corner Sofas UK”, “Leather Sofas”, and “Fabric Sofas”. These ultimately linked through to a number of further paid-for ads for sofa retailers.

The ASA challenged whether the claim “Unsold Sofas Selling For Nearly Nothing In London (Search Here)” was misleading as to the nature of the content that the ad linked through to and that the ad falsely implied the marketer was acting for purposes outside its business.

The person or company behind the website, pr.couches-sofas-94612.com, did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.

In a statement on the case, the advertising watchdog said: “The ASA was concerned by Person(s) unknown t/a pr.couches-sofas-94612’s lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code as well as their failure to provide their full name and geographical business address, which were in breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 (Unreasonable delay) and 1.7.1 (Compliance). We reminded them of their responsibility to provide a response to our enquiries without delay and told them to do so in the future.

“We considered consumers would understand from the text “Unsold Sofas Selling For Nearly Nothing In

London (Search Here)” that the ad linked to information about discounted sofas, or that it led directly to a website or product listing page selling such discounted sofas. We considered that “Search Here” implied that consumers would be immediately able to find discounted sofas once they clicked on the ad. While we acknowledged that the label “Search Ads” was featured in small print beneath the claim, we considered that this would be understood in the same way as the “Search Here” text of the headline, and therefore did not override the overall impression of the ad.

“When clicked on, the ad took consumers to a landing page which featured a brief list of links under the headings “Corner Sofas UK”, “Leather Sofas” and “Fabric Sofas”. The page did not contain any information about, or product listings for, discounted sofas. Each subheading led to further paid-for ads that ultimately led to the websites for various sofa retailers. There was no indication that the retailers the ads led to offered sofas at a significantly discounted price.

“We understood that the landing page (https://pr.couches-sofas-94612. com) for the ad was a ‘parked domain’ website. We understood that domain parking was the registration of an Internet domain name without that domain being associated with services such as e-mail or a website. Domain parking could be done for various reasons, including reserving the domain name for future development or to protect the domain name from use by others. Domain parking could also be monetised by operating a single-page website which hosted ads, as was the case here. Ads which linked through to the parked domain website would then generate income from the host of the parked domain through the impressions it collected.

“The ad therefore misleadingly implied that consumers would find information or product listings for discounted sofas when they clicked on it, when that was not the case. We considered that the nature of the content the ad linked through to, particularly that it linked only to ads and search results, was likely to have a significant impact on whether or not consumers chose to engage with it. We therefore considered that the nature of the content the ad linked through to should have been made clear in the ad, and because it did not do so we concluded the ad was misleading.”

The ASA ruled that the adverts were misleading and stated that they must not appear again in the form complained about.

“We told Person(s) Unknown t/a pr.couches-sofas-94612.com to ensure that their ads did not mislead consumers as to the nature of the content they would receive if they engaged with them, for example by using phrases such as “Selling For Nearly Nothing” and “Search Here” when the ad did not direct to a product listings for discounted products,” the ASA said.

“Ads for parked domain sites should make clear if the only content consumers would be served with by clicking on the ad would be more ads or links to search results. We referred the matter to CAP’s Compliance team.”

Danish homeware retailer plots another summer opening

Danish homeware brand Søstrene Grene has unveiled plans to open a new store in High Wycombe. The new store will be situated in the Eden Shopping Centre and is expected to open during the summer of this year.

The store, which will feature products within the furniture, home accessories, kitchen and craft categories, forms part of Søstrene Grene ongoing UK expansion and follows recent openings in Cheltenham and Wandsworth. The plans also add to its recent announcement of a new store to open at The Lexicon Shopping Centre in Bracknell, which is also expected to launch during the summer.

Cavendish Cancer Care partners with Mattress Online

Sheffield based cancer support charity Cavendish Cancer Care has linked up with South Yorkshire based e-Commerce mattress and bed retailer Mattress Online to form an innovative wellness partnership.

The charity, which has been delivering cancer support including complementary therapies and counselling to people affected by cancer since 1991, will be supporting Mattress Online through its Cavendish Wellness brand. This includes delivering wellbeing sessions, including highlighting cancer awareness, with staff and collaborating on online advice content and guest blog posts for customers on a host of sleep related topics.

Chloe Angus, Corporate Wellbeing Manager at Cavendish Cancer Care, said: “A cancer charity and a mattress retailer might seem an odd combination however this is an innovative and exciting partnership for us. Key to our work is helping people to live a healthy lifestyle by considering things like their sleep, nutrition and mental health. We’re looking forward to working with the team and helping them in their mission to become experts in getting a good night’s sleep.”

Steve Adams, Chief Executive Officer at Mattress Online, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Cavendish, from collaborating on relevant blog content connected to health to partnering with our team to deliver wellbeing sessions and contributing to fundraising.”

“Knowing that our work with them is adding value to what they do for their patients and families, by funding therapy hours, makes it so worthwhile. At the outset it was clear that as organisations we have aligned values, it’s a great match.”

Cavendish Wellness works with corporate clients to focus on improving wellbeing for employees. Using the expertise from within Cavendish Cancer Care, the team provide training sessions, online platforms, focus talks, mental health first aider training and bespoke wellbeing services. Proceeds from Cavendish Wellbeing support the wider work of Cavendish Cancer Care to deliver complementary therapies and counselling to people affected by cancer in the South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire region.

Pictured: Emma Draper, CEO, Cavendish Cancer Care, Chloe Angus, Corporate Wellbeing Manager, Steve Adams CEO Mattress Online, Martin Eastwood Chief Operating Officer, Sharon Robson Head of PR & Communications and Laura Ross, Marketing Manager.

Committee from 1993 to 1995, during which time he led the committee in successfully persuading both retailers and manufacturers to fund The Sleep Council, which was launched in 1995 to promote the importance of a good bed to getting a good night’s sleep and contributed to reducing the replacement cycle of mattresses from around 17 years to 10.

John was joint chair of The Sleep Council until 1998 when he was elected President of the NBF.

Jessica Alexander, (outgoing) executive director of the NBF said: “John was admired and respected throughout the industry. Only someone like John could have persuaded the industry to get together and launch the Sleep Council initiative, which had such a positive impact. Personally, without John’s support and encouragement, I would not have had the opportunities or the courage to achieve all I have done in my own career. He was and always will be one of my heroes.”

John was also very active in promoting business in his adopted home county of Cumbria, where he and his wife Barbara moved in 1986. He was a founder member of the West Cumbria Development Agency, becoming its Vice Chairman and then Chairman, before relinquishing the role to set up and chair the Cumbria Marketing Initiative. He also chaired the Maryport Heritage Trust and sat on the North-West Industrial Development Board.

Obituary

John Hancock, MBE DL

The National Bed Federation (NBF) has announced the sad death of one of the bed industry’s greats and NBF Past President (1998-2000), John Hancock, MBE.

John enjoyed a 40-year career in the furniture industry, with Englender, then Silentnight-owned Buoyant and finally, for the last 14 years as Managing Director of Sealy United Kingdom, also part of the Silentnight group, before retiring in 2000.

He served on the NBF Council for many years, chairing its Marketing

In 1993 he was named Cumbrian Businessman of the Year and in 1994 was awarded an MBE for services to industry.

Since his retirement, John remained active in the industry as a consultant, while also indulging in his passion for golf both here in the UK and a second home in Florida. As recently as 2019, he helped to broker the purchase of his former company Sealy by Sealy Australia and Tempur Sealy. In 2020, he was a judge for the NBF’s Covid Community Champions Award. He also held a number of non-executive director’s roles with Cumbrian based businesses.

John is survived by his beloved wife Barbara, his son Alan and three grandchildren.

Independent luxury furniture business celebrates milestone year

to launch new products and expand its showroom in Alfold, Surrey, to mark the milestone.

Commenting on their journey so far, the couple said: “La Residence Interiors was founded after we started designing our own furniture while renovating properties in the UK and France.

“We really struggled to find highquality, luxury furniture to style and furnish our homes. So, we decided to design a few items of furniture and have them made specifically for us.

“To celebrate 10 years in business, we have plans to launch new products, redesign and extend our Surrey showroom, and explore opportunities to expand our reach and grow our business.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today without our loyal and devoted customers and we are grateful for the support we have received over the past 10 years and look forward to what the future holds for La Residence Interiors.

Founded by Dan and Sarah Cook a decade ago, the business has plans

“So many people who saw our furniture kept asking where it was from and wanted to buy similar pieces themselves. It was then that we decided to create an exclusive collection of our very own and La Residence Interiors was born.

“Our goal is to continue providing high quality products and services to our customers and to also continue to grow our team.”

Gallery Direct acquires Art Marketing

collections of wall art, clocks, photo frames and decorative mirrors.”

Home and outdoor furniture supplier

Gallery Direct Ltd has announced it has acquired Art Marketing Ltd, bringing together two brands within the home interiors and outdoor market.

With its development strategy of organic expansion and acquisition of selected high quality brands, Gallery has become the complete home and outdoor supplier to retail and contract customers. Art Marketing joining the Gallery group will strengthen the business still further, bringing deeper expertise to the wall décor category and an opportunity to widen Gallery’s art offering through the skills of their inhouse artists and designers.

Peter Delaney, Sales and Product Director of Gallery, commented: “We have long admired the Art Marketing business and its ability to produce on trend artwork, clocks and photo frames, fashioned by talented artists and graphic designers under the guidance of founders Nigel and Anthony Waller. They have created an outstanding business, trading for over 40 years. The quality and depth of their range is industry leading, being the stand-out brand within the wall décor sector.”

Nigel Waller, Managing Director of Art Marketing is remaining within the Gallery business and will take a new role as Category Director for Wall Décor. Nigel said: “I am delighted to be joining Gallery who continue to lead the market in home and outdoor. It is an exciting time and joining a larger design led business will have benefits to our team and customers. Working with our new colleagues, I want to broaden Gallery’s category offer with fresh new innovative

The acquisition of Art Marketing comes at an exciting time for Gallery Direct as it continues to develop. With this in mind, Peter Delaney will take on a new role of Sales and Product Director, allowing him to focus on bringing products to the market and driving the sales and marketing functions further within the business. Michael Last, CEO of the Gallery group, will take on the responsibilities of finance, customer service, people and operations, becoming Managing Director of Gallery Direct.

Michael added: “These changes underpin our ongoing strategy of financial strength and stability, operational excellence and relentless focus on customer service. Importantly it gives Peter increased time to focus on the development of Gallery’s next generation of products, whist driving our sales and marketing efforts with our valued customers. Over the next few years we are well set to scale and grow our business and are pleased to welcome Nigel and the Art Marketing team into the Gallery group, to help us on this journey.” as strenuous, was more than double Jessica’s normal daily walking distance. Supported along the way by friends, Jessica set off on her walk at 9.00am and crossed the finish line at 7.00pm. Jessica had set herself the target of raising £1,000 for the charity, but at last count, she had raised £1,604 (including gift aid).

Jessica said: “I’m delighted to have completed my hike round Harrogate in one piece, thanks to the support and companionship of many friends. After 10 hours, 50,000 steps and the equivalent of 54 floors climbed, I was beginning to flag – but knowing I exceeded my fundraising target by over 50% makes the pain well worth the gain! There’s still time to donate on my Just Giving page.”

Bed Show 2023 registration now live

The National Bed Federation (NBF) has announced that the online registration for the 2023 Bed Show is now live.

raises £1.6k for industry charity

Jessica

Jessica walked the popular 20-mile circuit which surrounds her hometown of Harrogate on Saturday 29 April. The length of the hike, which is classified

Taking place from 26 – 27 September 2023 at the Telford International Centre, the Bed Show, organised by the NBF, is the only bed-specific exhibition in the UK and continues to offer its unique mix of British and Irish bed manufacturers and component suppliers.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see all the big industry names, such as Breasley, Deluxe Beds, Harrison Spinks, Highgrove Beds, Hypnos, Kaymed, Sealy UK, Silentnight and Vogue Beds. The Supplier Innovation Zone will once again host a selection of key component suppliers, including Apropa, Boyteks, Enkev, Handy Ltd, John Cotton Nonwovens, Legget and Platt, Spinks, Wolf Components and many more.

“We’re really looking forward to this year’s Bed Show,” says NBF executive director Tristine Hargreaves. “Not only is it my first show as the NBF’s executive director, but the team has several exciting plans in store for the exhibition and gala dinner. Book your tickets now to secure your place at the UK’s biggest and best bed event!” To register, visit: www.bedshow.co.uk.

Sofa Club appoints new Head of Supply Chain & Merchandising

With over 15 years of experience in the furniture industry, Brooker brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the company. Before joining Sofa Club, Brooker was Head of Supply Chain at Furniture Village, where he was responsible for overseeing the end-to-end supply chain and logistics operations.

In his new role, Brooker will be responsible for ensuring Sofa Club has a robust supply chain that can keep up with the demands of the customers, managing stock levels to ensure customers have access to sofas that can be delivered fast.

“We are delighted to welcome Matt Brooker to our team,” said Louis Rose, Co-founder of Sofa Club. “With his extensive experience in the industry, we are confident that he will be a great asset to our company as we continue to grow and expand our operations. We are excited to have him on board and look forward to working with him to deliver exceptional value to our customers.”

“I am thrilled to join Sofa Club and work with the team to drive the company’s growth and success,” said Brooker. “I look forward to leveraging my experience and expertise to further enhance the company’s supply chain and merchandising operations, and ensure that we continue to deliver high-quality products and services to our customers.”

Independent retailer closes Marlow store

Independent furniture retailer Sara Hughes has announced the closure of its store to focus online. The retailer has been situated on West Street in Marlow for the last decade, but the owner, Sara Hughes, has decided to call time on the physical store. “I want to focus on building the business’ website and on designing my own furniture,” Sara said. “It really is a natural step forward to focus more on selling designs online and to other shops.”

John Lewis teams up with The Floor Room

John Lewis and The Floor Room have announced an exclusive partnership, creating a new fitted flooring offer across the retailer’s department stores and online. Under the agreement, the flooring specialist will take over responsibility for all of John Lewis’ fitted flooring, from customer consultation to installation.

Danish furniture retailer opens 30th UK store

Danish furniture retailer JYSK has announced the opening of its 30th UK store in Warrington. Situated at Unit 5 on Riverside Retail Park in Warrington, the new store is managed by David Marshall-Smith and features a layout of 12,884 square metres of floor space. The new store features products from outdoor living collections, furniture, accessories, soft furnishings, and lighting. In addition, JYSK has also created over 12 jobs.

Flooring group moves HQ

Victoria PLC, the international designers, manufacturers and distributors of flooring, has announced that it has changed the address of its registered office with immediate effect. The new address is Worcester Six Business Park, Worcester, WR4 0AE, with the new Victoria Head Office located within the Company’s state-ofthe-art, carbon-neutral, purpose-built 185,000 square foot distribution and administration centre.

Somerset independent to close

Independent furniture retailer Orchards The Furniture People has announced plans to close due to the owners retiring. The business, which is situated at Somerset Square in Nailsea, Somerset, has been trading since 1985 and is running a final £975,000 closing down sale.

Dunelm to open new store in Watford

Home furnishings retailer Dunelm has announced plans to open a new store in Watford. Dunelm is set to open in the former John Lewis store within Atria Watford, which will feature a retail space of 33,000sqft. An opening date is yet to be confirmed, although plans state it will open later this year.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Edward Tadros – long-time chairman of British manufacturer Ercol – has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by The Furniture Makers’ Company, the City of London livery company and charity for the furnishing industry, recognising his 50-year career. The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to a leader who has devoted their life to the furtherment of the furnishing industry and left an indelible mark on the trade.

IKEA UK’s new distribution centre

Furniture retailer IKEA UK has opened a 452,000sqft distribution centre in Dartford, Kent, operated by Wincanton. The new multi-millionpound facility will enable faster, more sustainable home deliveries across London and the southeast of England. The launch marks latest milestone in ongoing London expansion, as IKEA seeks to enhance accessibility and convenience for UK customers.

Independent carpet retailer secures seventh store

Independent carpet and flooring retailer 1to1 Flooring has announced plans to open a new store in Leighton Buzzard. The 2,500sqft store is located on North Street and will undergo a complete refurbishment with an estimated opening date set for August this year. The new store adds to the retailer’s six other locations, which include St Albans, Harpenden, Luton, Barnet, Shefford and Berkhamsted.

Sofa retailer partners with Home-Start UK charity

Furniture retailer Sofology has announced a new partnership with charity Home-Start UK, which helps families with young children through challenging times. The new partnership sees Sofology commit to fundraise and donate furniture to the charity. The retailer has already donated furniture sets to people based in the North West, as well as agreeing to fundraise, volunteer and promote Home-Start UK across its stores.

eBay launches ‘Better Than New Homeware’ hub

As UK households discard around half a million tonnes of furniture a year, eBay has launched the ‘Better Than New Homeware’ Hub – a curated destination designed to help shoppers consider pre-loved first when updating their interiors. The new Hub aims to boost sustainability, with data from eBay showing that pre-loved Home & Garden purchases on eBay over the past year resulted in 6.5M kg of avoided waste – the equivalent of 520 double decker buses.

Rowen opens debut Gateshead store

Online homeware and interior retailer Rowen Homes has announced the opening of its first ever store in Metrocentre Gateshead after the phenomenal growth of its online homeware business. The new store opened on Friday 28 April 2023, moving into the former Laura Ashley unit located in the Upper Platinum Mall. The store showcases the brand’s luxury furniture and homeware, including their recently launched collection with TV star Rylan.

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