NEWS

Upholstery manufacturer expands delivery fleet with truck investment

Fabb sponsors 11-year-old Spartan World Championships medallist

and now, to be able to say Fabb is my sponsor, fills me with pride. Thank you, Fabb – jumping over your furniture has been great fun!” said Harry.

MattressTek expands facility

Furniture manufacturer Buoyant Upholstery has expanded its delivery fleet with the acquisition of four new trucks. The new Renault Trucks T440 4×2 Evolution tractor units, which have been supplied by dealership JDS Truck and Van, add to its 20-truck fleet and follows a strong performance of other Renault trucks.

Hans Jansen, commercial director at Buoyant Upholstery, said: “Business has been particularly good over the last few years and we are very busy. We need delivery vehicles that perform well, are reliable and keep the drivers happy. The three T380s we’ve been running for the last four years have ticked all of these boxes and we’ve had very few problems with them. We have also been very satisfied with the service from JDS too so when we were looking for new replacement vehicles, Renault Trucks was the natural first choice.

“Our drivers love the new T440s, they are fantastic to drive and have an extremely well-equipped cab for life on the road. They are especially pleased with the more powerful 440hp engines, the automatic gearbox as well as the comfort and safety features on board. The monthly leasing repayments are competitive too, so it was an obvious choice to opt for Renault Trucks again.”

For months, 11-year-old World Champion Obstacle Course medallist, Harry Jeffery, has been using the Fabb Furniture store at Tollgate Way, Colchester, as a waypoint in his training routine. As soon as the Fabb team realised this, they invited him into store to check out his skills and were so impressed, they decided to present him with a £500 sponsorship cheque.

“Harry won silver medal for Team UK at the Spartan World Championships in Florida recently. When we heard that he used our store as part of his daily training plans, we were keen to find out more about this remarkable young man,” explains Kate Cadman, Brand & Communications Manager, Fabb Furniture.

“Harry has amazing skills and energy levels, and we wanted to harness these and use his unique skillset to test out the sturdiness of our sofas, beds and dining sets. We already offer a free lifetime guarantee on all our furniture, so what better way for us to reflect the confidence we have in our well-built furniture than letting Harry loose on it,” adds Kate.

“I couldn’t believe it when my dad told me Fabb was sponsoring me. I am very grateful they are supporting me. We run past the Fabb store all the time

Experts in production line automation for the mattress, bed and component processing sectors, machinery manufacturer MattressTek have agreed with Lancashire landlord BE Boys to expand into the neighbouring unit, taking their footprint from 16,000sqft to almost 22,000sqft – an increase of more than 6,000sqft.

This means that their factory, at Forest Mill in Water, Rossendale, will allow the new unit to house a showroom for stand-out machines in its range, as well as those in development, ready for testing in anticipation of customer visits from the UK, US and across the globe.

Technical Director Shaun Peel said: “Our growth and demand, to cater to our international customers, through our export pursuits, has meant that we have kept our eyes out for a suitable space to physically expand. The fact that the unit next door at our current site has now become available is a great opportunity to further grow at our current location, following the addition of an office, canteen, stock store and mezzanine for our electrical team. We look forward to welcoming customers to our site from across America, Australia, Asia, Europe and here in the UK.”

Duvalay acquires cot mattress specialist in pre-pack deal

“It was also important to us that we didn’t just purchase the trading name and IPs, but also secured the jobs of 35 individuals at a time of a cost-ofliving crisis. In order to do this, we will be keeping on the site in Northampton which is all set up and can keep trading as it currently stands.”

Beds retailer begins showroom build; strengthens marketing team

Mattress and bedding manufacturer Duvalay has purchased cot mattress business Nursery Connections in a prepack administration deal.

The deal includes Duvalay securing the brand rights and physical assets such as machinery and stock, as well as securing the jobs of thecurrent 35 employees. Nursery Connections supplies major retailers with a broad product offering of cot mattresses and changing mats.

Duvalay plans to keep Nursery Connections brand and name, while adding further expertise and innovation to its product portfolio. After adding Nursery Connections to its portfolio, Duvalay will employ over 120 people and become one the largest manufacturers in the sector.

Alan Colleran, Managing Director at Duvalay, said: “Duvalay has a reputation of being a disruptor in the sleep market and acquiring Nursery Connections allows us to widen our remit into the baby sector but with the added benefit of a company that is well established within the industry already.

“As a company in a strong financial position, we’re able to support Nursery Connections in its turnaround period, as well bringing in individuals experienced in several business disciplines to help with the restructure.

Beds and mattresses retailer MattressNextDay has commenced the construction of its new purpose-built showroom, which is set to open later this year.

Every aspect of the showroom, both inside and out, has been carefully considered to create a positive experience for its customers. In addition, the new building will also give the retailer extra storage capacity.

Martin Seeley, CEO of MattressNextDay, commented: “It’s exhilarating to finally see the construction of the building on-site. After years of careful planning and tireless work behind the scenes, this marks the realisation of our longheld vision. We’re confident that with this new showroom, we can elevate MattressNextDay to unprecedented heights and continue on our path of progress. We can’t wait to open our doors and invite you to experience the new showroom for yourself. Keep an eye out for updates and sneak peeks as we get closer to the grand opening.”

In other news, MattressNextDay has further expanded its Marketing Department with the appointment of Molly Beal as its new eCommerce Researcher and Copywriter. Molly will lead the content strategy, playing a vital part in optimising its eCommerce platform and improving the customers’ online experience.

Barry Rickhuss, recently appointed Marketing Manager, said: “As we continue to expand our online presence, we’re confident that Molly’s insights and talents in data-driven content creation will help us to stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving digital landscape. We’re excited to have Molly on board as a key member of our team and can’t wait to see the impact she will bring to the continued success and growth of the company.

“Molly’s insights and expertise will help us to leverage multi-channel marketing and create an exceptional customer journey. Her writing talent and innovative approach will be invaluable to the team. Welcome aboard.”

Bensons for Beds moves into Erdington

Bed retailer Bensons for Beds is moving into a new store in Erdington at Ravenside Retail Park, Kingsbury Road, near junction five of the M6. The new store opened on 17 March and features more than 5,000sqft of trading space, employing six colleagues.

The new store has been designed to showcase the wide range of beds and mattresses on offer at Bensons as it invests significantly to build a portfolio of brands that cater to every sleep need and the majority produced inhouse at its own manufacturing centre in Cambridgeshire.

Bensons’ Erdington manager Wayne Eyre, said: “I can’t wait to open the doors at our new Erdington store where we’ll be showing off the best of what Bensons for Beds has to offer to customers in and around the West Midlands. My whole team will be dedicated to one thing – giving our customers everything they need to get the best night’s sleep.”

Harrison Spinks launches debut US distribution centre

spring system made with ultra-fine wire pocket springs for superior comfort. Products start life on the company’s 300-acre farm in the English countryside, where sheep are reared on rich, untreated pastures and hemp and flax crops are grown on fertile fields without pesticides.

business on the platform, which has found evidence that the business has been making legal threats to consumers in a bid to “pressure and intimidate” them into deleting their negative reviews on Trustpilot.

Luxury British bedmaker Harrison Spinks has invested in a new distribution centre in Los Angeles – its first ever US facility – which will stock four of its most popular British-made mattresses for clients across North America.

The 180-year-old, fifth-generation family business, which manufactures all its handmade 100% natural mattresses and beds in Yorkshire, England, has made a significant six-figure investment in the LA facility to benefit customers in the United States.

Harrison Spinks, UK Bed Manufacturer of the Year at the 2022 National Bed Federation Awards, has made the investment following growth in the region, and the new facility will significantly reduce delivery lead times from three months to around two weeks.

It is a significant milestone for the brand which first launched into the North American market in 2021. This distribution centre will facilitate an upgraded US stocking programme which will hold its Euston, Northumberland, Leicester and Strand mattresses, luxury enhancers and divan beds.

The British family bedmaker offers handmade mattresses that are 100% recyclable and free from harmful chemicals while being naturally fire retardant, and include a glue-free

Scott Hollis, North America Sales Manager at Harrison Spinks, said: “When we launched into the market here in North America, our aim was to grow and expand across the country. Now we have achieved growth and brand awareness, we’re now doublingdown on distribution times so that our US customers can enjoy a better night’s sleep much faster than before.

“This facility is incredibly significant within our business plan, as it ensures our brand is much stronger within the country and more competitive, as customers can now have premium comfort with less wait times.

“It also greatly benefits our stockists along the West Coast of the United States, as we can now offer our beds to them with an extremely competitive lead time. We have plans to open more distribution centres as we continue to grow our independent retailer offering within the USA and Canada.”

The facility is leased in partnership with logistics specialists, Rhenus Group, which Harrison Spinks is working with to provide this brand-new distribution service to its US customers.

Maker&Son under Trustpilot investigation

Online review platform Trustpilot has launched an investigation against furniture brand Maker&Son over activity against its guidelines for use.

The investigation, which remains ongoing, is in relation to Maker&Son’s Trustpilot page and behaviour by the

A statement from Trustpilot said: “This is a clear violation of our Guidelines for Businesses – guidelines every business agrees to adhere to when signing up to use Trustpilot – and behaviour we take extremely seriously. As a result, and in line with our Action We Take policy, we have issued a formal Cease & Desist notice to Maker & Son, explaining that we do not tolerate this type of behaviour on our platform and demanding they cease with immediate effect. You may have seen that Maker&Son already had a Consumer Warning on their Trustpilot page, alerting consumers that we have identified and removed fake reviews on their page.

“In light of the legal threats they have sent to reviewers, and in line with our processes, we have now also updated the Consumer Warning to inform consumers of the business’s misbehaviour and attempts to manipulate the platform. It is worth stressing that our investigation into activity on Maker&Son’s Trustpilot page, and behaviour by the business on the platform, is ongoing and as a result, if we find further evidence, we may take further enforcement action where required.

“Additionally we are also seeing evidence of reviewers abusing the platform through creating multiple reviewer accounts and detecting multiple reviews being written from the same location – which contravenes our Guidelines for Reviewers. All businesses and consumers are treated equally on Trustpilot’s platform and through our reporting processes, and any views to suggest otherwise are simply not true.”