Big Furniture Group Magazine December 2022

Editorial Dan Squires Managing Editor dan@bigfurnituregroup.com 07531 854718 | 01223 298489

Advertising Gary Hall Sales Manager 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 December’s Big Furniture Group Magazine ”

With the January Furniture Show taking centre stage next month, this issue features our first look at the show as well as what to expect to see from some of the exhibitors showcasing new products. There’s also an anniversary feel to December’s magazine as we spoke to Leekes, Julian Charles and Regency on their respective milestones. From long-established businesses to relatively young-guns making strides in the industry brings us to Joseph James Furniture Outlet, where they talk about their rapid growth. Another business under the spotlight is beds retailer Mattressman, which takes our Retail Focus interview this month. We found out which product is still selling strong for the superhero chain, while they also paid particular recognition to a long-serving employee.

BigFurnitureGroupLtd

UK registered company number 05484239 2 Jordan Street, Knott Mill, Manchester, England, M15 4PY

Print: Buxton Press ISSN No: 2753-3387

Copyright © Big Furniture Group 2022 Issue No: 4

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.

From the regular retail focus feature to our Big Interview, we welcomed Darren Potterton, Managing Director of GNG Group, where he shared an insight into one of his proudest moments and why his hot tub ticks all the boxes. GNG’s luxury mattress brand, Sonlevo, is also featured as we understand how it keeps going from strength to strength, while Furmanac unveil their relaunch plans for one of its core ranges, inline for the January Furniture Show. With Christmas fast approaching we asked a number of retailers in our latest Big Question what their plans are around the festive season.

The magazine also includes the third part of our sustainability series with a look at three larger retailers in the field and what they are currently doing in this area, while Jaipur Furniture sat down with us to discuss their new product designs and how they meet customer’s needs. Then there’s the third installment from Made Smarter following last month’s feature where they explore the real life impact of its adoption programme on furniture manufacturers. In keeping with manufacturing, this month includes an interview with MattressTek and highlights their continued momentum in automation. To wrap things up, we have a freight rate special from Man Wah in our Last Word column.

That’s enough from me, so enjoy our latest magazine. Oh, and if you have any news you want to shout about, drop me an email on dan@bigfurnituregroup.com We’d love to share your story.

The Big Interview with Darren Potterton, Managing Director of GNG Group

Joseph James Furniture Outlet talks about their rapid growth

A first look at JFS 2023

Jaipur Furniture shares an insight into new designs and meeting customer demand

MattressTek continues momentum in automation

40 years strong as Re gency looks to the future

The real life impact of the Made Smarter adoption programme on furniture manufacturers

Interview with Leekes

BIG INTERVIEW DARREN POTTERTON

New Products: Sweet Dreams, George Smith, Siren Furniture, La-Z-Boy, Tetrad & Sealy

The Big Question: are you running a Christmas campaign?

Last Word with Man Wah on freight rate

Managing Director

GNG

our Big Inter view spot this month where he shares an insight into one of his

moments and why his hot tub ticks all the boxes. INTERVIEW SPECIAL Emma Leeke, Managing Director - Leekes Retail, reflects on the company’s 125th anniversary, some key highlights and the secret to their ongoing success.

MATTRESSTEK MOMENTUM

of

Group, takes

proudest

Bed retailer reaps rewards of continued investment

We are shipping across the UK, matching prices and completely updating the look of our website. We are really set apart from other retailers by our young and ambitious team that is always full of fresh ideas, and always excited to innovate our strategies to fit current trends and anticipate new ones.”

UK presenting our new store concept called ‘Retail for the Senses’.”

Digital agency partners with flooring firm and furniture retailer

Leeds-based digital agency

Boutique has secured two furnishing partnerships with flooring business Ted Todd and furniture retailer Fabb Furniture.

Beds and furniture retailer Bedkingdom.co.uk has reported a surge in sales as it climbs closer to its £20m turnover target.

The retailer, which operates its flagship showroom in Heckmondwike, has seen sales jump 50% year-on-year to over £15m, which has been driven by increased investment in its store and marketing operations, particularly through online and social media.

The company is on track to achieve £20m turnover by the end of 2023 and has promoted Levon Hall to marketing director as well as tripling its number of employees to 30 across all parts of the business.

Levon joined Bed Kingdom as an apprentice a little over a year ago, aged just 22, and his meteoric rise is the result of his remarkable talent for marketing and social media management. This has seen him quickly take charge of the marketing team and Bed Kingdom website development, dramatically boosting his team, including a new apprentice, to achieve even higher goals and constantly invigorating the business.

Bed Kingdom marketing director, Levon Hall said: “It’s a very exciting time for Bed Kingdom as we are exploring many new sales channels and marketplaces.

Commenting on its performance, Ashley Hainsworth, founder and managing director, said: “We’re incredibly proud of the way our business is growing and developing and delighted to see families coming to small businesses like ours to rejuvenate and improve their home and give them a great night’s sleep.

“We’ve worked hard on stocking a range of brands to cater to everyone’s needs, from affordable ranges to luxury brands to eco-friendly options, all with free next day home delivery.”

Danish homewares retailer opens sixth UK store

Danish furniture and homewares retailer Søstrene Grene has announced the opening of its new store in Newbury.

The new store is situated on in the Parkway Shopping Centre, on Newbury high street, and officially opened on 25 November 2022.

The new opening follows its other recent launch in Derby’s Derbion shopping centre, which opened on 4 November, and features its new store concept.

Søstrene Grene’s latest store brings its UK network to six with its first opening in Nottingham dating back to 2016. CEO and co-owner of Sostrene Grene Mikkel Grene said: “We are very happy to be opening a store in Newbury and we wish to contribute with a completely new shopping experience as this store will be the second Sostrene Grene store in the

For Ted Todd, Boutique will be managing PR, SEO, organic content, paid search and social, as well as implementing an integrated strategy to further boost the Ted Todd Group’s traditional and digital presence.

Made up of Woodworks, Ted Todd and most recently Karta, the group provides wood flooring solutions for a variety of markets. On working with Boutique, founder of Ted Todd, Robert Walsh said: “We’ve been looking for an agency with a marketing approach that covers all grounds. Boutique is well-equipped to push all areas of our future plans, and we’ve felt genuine excitement from the team from the get-go.”

Moving on to Fabb Furniture, Boutique has been tasked to make its website as complementary and effective as its physical store locations, which will see the firm manage its paid social and paid search strategies.

“Looking to launch paid social for the first time to boost their online presence and conversions, Fabb has appointed us to tailor paid strategies that will help position the brand as the market leaders in quality home furniture, providing an online retail consumer experience that matches the customer service and care of visiting a store,” Boutique said.

Kate Cadman, Digital Marketing Executive at Fabb Furniture, added: “Boutique’s expertise in growing online conversions, plus their data-driven strategy process was a huge factor in us teaming up with them. They have created a bespoke plan to improve our online performance and we’re excited to see where it takes us.”

Millbrook Beds appoints new manufacturing manager

“Lee is an instrumental member of our management team and we are already seeing the benefit of having him in role,” explains Ross. “We are conscious that growth brings increased responsibility on our manufacturing team and by having Lee in place, we are able to use his experience of managing a busy workload and environment to ensure that our team is happy and that systems, processes and outputs grow in line with the business.”

As a member of the senior management team, Lee will also contribute improvements to operational and production processes and manage financial forecasting and budgets.

of our first TV advert a little over a year ago we are really excited to bring a little Christmas magic to TV and computer screens across the area.

“By working with local media agency Simple Media who utilise modern filming and distribution methods we’ve been able to advertise to thousands of people for only a very small fraction of what traditional TV advertising costs allowing us to keep prices low all year round for our customers.

Bed manufacturer The Millbrook Bed Company has announced the appointment of Lee Pharoah as its new manufacturing manager.

Lee, who is no stranger to managing a busy manufacturing floor having worked as operations manager in a printing subsidiary of the Daily Mail group, joins to support the increase in manufacturing, which has been fuelled by the company’s growth and innovation.

His awareness of deadlines and a key eye for detail will be vital transferable skills to Millbrook’s busy manufacturing space.

Lee will manage a team of 60, taking responsibility for staffing levels, safety, training and development, operational improvements, production planning as well as task and financial management.

“I feel privileged to have the chance to be part of the journey Millbrook. I am looking forward to channelling the passion and enthusiasm I have for efficient, smooth processes into my new role,” explains Lee. “I am ready to learn the ropes for a new industry while drawing on the relevant skills which I can transfer from my last role.”

Lee will be working under Ross Thurston, operation, sales and marketing director at Millbrook.

Independent furniture retailer unveils debut Christmas TV ad

“Those who haven’t visited us since our opening will be surprised at how we’ve grown into the space and expanded our offering. We’ve also greatly expanded our stock holding of sofas, beds and furniture so we still have a good choice for those customers who don’t want to wait for their handcrafted purchase to be made.

The advert depicts the store coming to life after the lights have been turned out with a toy soldier jumping down from the Christmas tree and looking around the shop at all the furniture and homestuff.

Matthew added: “There’s quite a few ideas within the advert, some borrowed and some new, from the idea of places coming to life when there’s nobody around such as the world depicted in toy- story to the magical element of Christmas often depicted in traditional big-store Christmas advertising – all on a budget more fitting of our family-run furniture store.

The advert will be seen on TV screens locally through Sky Adsmart and Virgin TVs, as well as on Youtube and social media.

Sopha, which was founded by couple Matthew and Emily Scott, has expanded their range of giftware and luxury Christmas decorations, with the advert aiming to inspire people to come in and take a look around.

Matthew said: “Following the success

“Our team have really put a lot into creating this advert, from building two full window displays within a week to re-organising the store several times as it was turned into a film set for a few days all while ensuring we still offer the best possible service to our customers, many of which looked rather bemused at the Christmas trees and decorations that were coming and going. I just hope that the advert adds a little sparkle and a smile to people’s faces as the adverts interrupt people’s viewing of TV and video content.”

Highbridge-based furniture retailer Sopha has revealed their first ever Christmas TV advert.

Gaming bed secures high score following popular launch

enjoying from the comfort of their bed. So it made total sense to us that a gaming bed should feature in our portfolio, adding to the existing range of products to suit different price points and lifestyles. It’s all part of our strategy to bring people great quality beds that fit perfectly with their life and what they love.”

“We’re delighted that the early signs suggest gamers love this bed as much as we do! It’s already our best-selling TV and tech bed and we’ve sold double the number of beds against our original forecast. We’ve also seen a huge amount of interest online – an engagement rate of 7,000 on social and almost 4,000 visits to the website.”

British division saw Q3 sales result at THB 1,186.84 million (£28.1m), down 20.3% year-on-year.

EBITDA for the third quarter decreased 127.5% to a loss of THB 14.49 million (£0.3m), with net losses resulting at THB 55.81 million (£1.3m), down by 856.1% from the net profit of THB 7.38 million (£0.17m) recorded in the same period of the previous year.

During the quarter, revenue contribution from TCM Living was 58.25% of total group sales, down from 73.28% in the previous year.

Beds and mattress retailer Dreams has revealed that its debut king-size gaming bed, which it claims to be the first of its kind in the UK and launched last month, has outperformed sales estimates by over 100% in the first three weeks of sales.

Dreams recently launched “The Drift” bed in response to the growing trend of in-bed gaming. The UK consumer games market reached a record figure of £7.16bn in 2021, as gamers increased spending on software, hardware and on game culture (books, toys, movies etc). This followed a surge in gaming fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw the sector grow by 30% in just twelve months from 20192020.

Dreams’ own research identified gamers were increasingly choosing their bed as a comfortable place to play. As many as one in 10 Brits (12%) now prefer to game in bed, with those doing so racking up an estimated one hour and 45 minutes gaming in bed every month. In response, it created the Drift, completed with design features specially crafted for gaming compatibility.

Paul Solly, Chief Commercial Officer for Dreams, said: “Since the pandemic, our beds have become a place for so much more than sleep. There are over 40 million gamers in the UK and increasingly gaming is something many of them are

The Drift is available in three finishes, including: black faux leather with blue or green piping, as well as a grey fabric with black piping. All of which feature LED lights, which frame the perimeter of the bed frame and headboard, to create a ‘gaming atmosphere’.

“All styles hold a built-in TV with a lifting mechanism at the foot end, which easily and seamlessly hides away when it’s time to sleep. The Drift also houses storage for games consoles, features nifty headset holders and USB ports on each side, and is even available with matching bedside chests with stands for resting your controller – to ensure the most comfortable gaming experience around,” Dreams added.

Upholstery group posts Q3 decline in UK as demand softens

Upholstery group TCM Living has reported a decline in third quarter with sales within its British division due to lower consumer demand.

According to its latest trading update, TCM Corporation, the parent company of TCM Living, which houses UK brands Alstons, Ashley Manor, Alexander & James and AMX Designs, said that its

TCM Living said that the decline was mainly due to the maturity in customer demand and that market movement was in a ‘downward trend’. Gross profit margin decreased from the same period in previous year as a result of the increasing transportation costs and raw material costs, and the weakening British pound against Euro and US dollar.

“UK market has been adversely affected by economic recession. Inflation rate has been remarkably higher following by rising interest rates, energy prices, and utility costs. Many businesses suffered from significant sales drop, and some businesses shut down their operations,” the company said.

“However, furniture retailers have put their best effort to cope with the downturn market environment and the low season of furniture business as people spent their budget on travelling rather than shopping during summer. Higher transportation costs and supply chain problem still remained and had a major impact on the raw material costs.

“Adjustment in selling price was reflected by lower customer demand which resulted in sales drop. Production by the new suppliers in Europe haven’t met their full capacity. All these factors have led to the deteriorated gross margin and gross profit level was lower than expected.”

NEWS

Mattress Online recognised with 2022 Scale-Up Award

heightened demand following the pandemic, this has allowed them to introduce 20 new members of staff in this time, some within their senior team, as well as launch their first three physical stores in Sheffield, Rotherham and Skipton.

Now, they have achieved an E-Commerce Business Award from the 2022 Scale-Up Awards. Celebrating high-growth companies and the entrepreneurs running them, the Scale-Up Awards are the first and only awards focusing on the scale-up sector. Bringing together politicians, VIPs and business leaders from across the UK and even further they celebrate success and enterprise.

confirmed the Spring show has been rearranged.

Due to the announcement of a Bank Holiday on the 8th May 2023, the Spring Long Point exhibition will now take place from Tuesday 9th May through to Thursday 11th May 2023. The Long Point Autumn event will run from Monday 18th September 2023 through to Wednesday 20th September 2023.

Online retailer of mattresses and beds Mattress Online has landed a prominent Scale-Up Award at this year’s event, which took place at Tobacco Dock in London and was hosted by Russell Kane.

Mattress Online has long had technology at the forefront of the business and was one of the first online sellers of mattresses back in 2003 when the company launched its bespoke e-Commerce platform from a bedroom and garage.

During the pandemic, Rotherhambased Mattress Online saw turnover leap to £37.5m fuelled by stayat-home spending on DIY and homeware. Growth was underpinned by the in-house Development team who continually innovate and find smarter ways to use technology to make the customer experience slicker.

In the past 18 months alone, Mattress Online has seen their turnover and profit increase by 200% with

The independent panel of judges –which contained Touker Suleyman from Dragon’s Den, PensionBee Co-founder Jonathan Lister Parsons, and many other esteemed figures – awarded Mattress Online with their illustrious E-Commerce Business Award.

Steve Adams, CEO of Mattress Online, said: “To be recognised nationally for our work is incredible. After being involved in E-Commerce from the early days and building the Mattress Online platform along with my growing team for almost 20 years, to be awarded this title is a proud achievement.”

Mattress Online has seen a great level of success over the past year where it’s incredible achievements have been recognised on a national level. This has included coming 68th in FEBE Growth 100 and achieving Online Bed Retailer of the Year for four years in a row by the National Bed Federation.

Long Point Exhibition changes Spring show date

Organisers of the Long Eaton Guild’s Long Point Exhibition have

The Long Eaton Guild have been holding trade exhibitions for over 50 years in its famous furniture town located in the East Midlands, where fine upholstery has been made for over 100 years. In 2014 The town was recognised as the UK Centre of Quality Upholstery Manufacturing.

‘Long Point’ takes place in the Spring and Autumn of each year, and enhanced by ‘guest’ manufacturers and importers displaying a wide range of styles in upholstery, cabinet, bedroom and accessories.

Fabb Furniture celebrates new store opening

Furniture retailer Fabb Furniture has announced the opening of its new store in Swindon.

Situated on Mannington Retail Park, opposite TK Maxx, the new two-story store officially opened on 11 November 2022 and features designer sofas, beds, dining collections and bedroom furniture.

Team players from Swindon Wildcats, Aaron Nell and Colby Tower, attended the official ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening. Fabb Furniture has 22 stores in the UK and is opening an additional outlet in Cheltenham next month on 22 December 2022.

Knightsbridge appoints new business development manager

Contract furniture manufacturer Knightsbridge Furniture has announced the appointment of Vicky Taylor as its new National Business Development Manager. Vicky has been tasked to grow the business across all sectors with a particular focus on mental health and healthcare environments, as well as exploring trends within the industry.

Since achieving her BA (Hons) Interior Design degree at the Manchester Metropolitan University, Vicky has collaborated on a vast range of interior design projects, including residential, commercial, retail and care schemes. She has a wealth of experience in design, stake holder engagement and project delivery, and is well versed in creating inspiring environments that support well-being and enhance the user experience.

Speaking about her new appointment: “I’m thrilled to have been appointed as the National Business Development Manager at Knightsbridge. This is a great opportunity for me to utilise my skills and previous experience to grow the business even further. I have a huge passion for furniture, and enjoy collaborating with partners across multiple sectors, so this role is the perfect fit. I’m looking forward to working alongside a dynamic and forward-thinking team.”

Loaf grows sales to almost £100m

Furniture retailer Loaf has reported a growth in sales and profit as turnover climbed towards £100m.

According to its latest filed accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022, total sales rose 52% to £93.9m from £61.7m in 2021, an uptick of £32.2m. Gross profit increased from £30.6m to £51m, while pre-tax profit resulted at £12.7m, up from £7.2m recorded the previous year.

Stated within its report, the company said that it continued to grow its customer base as well as introducing innovative products, which included building on its Loafing Supplies range of giftable, lifestyle products. These allowed both new and existing customers to ‘engage more readily’.

Loaf said it continues to invest in the business and is nearing the opening of its nineth store, while also its first in Scotland. The new store will be situated at Straiton Retail Park in Edinburgh and is expected to open during December 2022. It will also be its largest store to date with a space of 9,100sq ft.

The company has also injected further investment in its marketing strategy following successful TV ads, as well as investing in its website with the introduction of high-res 3D rotating product rendering models.

Big Bites

John Lewis issues dining chair recall

Department store retailer John Lewis has issued a product recall on a dining chair over a safety hazard. The retailer has issued the recall on its own brand cloud velvet dining chairs due to the potential for the chair’s legs to break causing a risk of falls and injury to the user.

DFS introduces Laura Ashley

Home and lifestyle brand Laura Ashley is now available in sofa retailer DFS after introducing six designs to its range. Carolyn D’Angelo, Managing Director, Gordon Brothers Brands and President of Laura Ashley Global, says: “This launch marks an exciting milestone for the business as it is the first time our sofas will be available to buy from DFS. We look forward to introducing our sofa range to DFS customers, while offering our existing customers a new place to shop.”

Terry Muggeson passes away

Respected businessman Terry Muggeson, the former owner of independent carpet retailer T & A Carpetworld, has sadly passed away at the age of 85. Terry was well-known in the Scarborough area and operated the carpet shop on St Johns Road for over 30 years. He funeral took place on 4 November at St Mark’s Church.

DFS appoints new CFO

Sofa retailer DFS has announced the appointment of John Fallon as its new Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Group. John joined the Board on 14 November 2022 and moves from Asda. John Fallon, said: “I’m not only looking forward to working closely with Tim and the Board, but also the wider leadership teams in helping the Company deliver on its strategy for growth and its vision to lead furniture retailing in the digital age.”

Kettle Interiors founder passes away

Furniture wholesaler Kettle Interiors has confirmed the sad passing of founder John Kettle at the age of 73. After a long battle with cancer, John died peacefully at home surrounded by his family on Saturday 5th November. In a statement, Kettle said: “Having worked in the furniture industry for over 40 years and founding Kettle Interiors in 2003, he will be sorely missed by everyone that had the privilege of knowing him both professionally and personally. As well as a successful businessman, John will be remembered by those closest to him as an intelligent, funny and generous person who always made time for everyone. Our thoughts are with his family as they go through this difficult time.”

Bensons re-opens eve Sleep’s UK website

Beds retailer Bensons for Beds has announced the re-opening of evesleep.co.uk following its acquisition of eve Sleep’s brand and intellectual property. eve Sleep is being retained by Bensons as a standalone brand and the website features six mattress ranges –the premium, original and lighter available as hybrid or full foam sleep solutions. These ranges accounted for the vast majority of all eve Sleep sales prior to its administration.

Bensons for Beds relocates Stirling store

Bed and mattress retailer Bensons for Beds has moved into Unit 1c at Springkerse Retail Park in Stirling, which officially opened on 11 November. It replaces the store at the same retail park, which it had previously shared with Harveys until 2020 when Bensons became a standalone company.

Independent invests in coffee

Independent furniture retailer John Doe of Diss has opened a new café within its store on Sawmills Road. Officially opening at the end of October, Angela’s Coffee Lounge was opened by Angela Doe and is situated on the first floor of the furniture store.

H&M opens new furnishings store

Fashion and homewares retailer H&M has announced the opening of a new furnishing store in Essex. The new store, which sits next to its existing clothing shop at Lakeside shopping centre, features H&M’s home range including furniture, textiles and decorative products. The space covers a total of 8,000sqft with the extension bringing H&M’s retail space to over 40,000sqft at the site.

Flex Bedding Group secures acquisition

Spanish Flex Bedding Group has taken over SCHRAMM Werkstätten GmbH, a German manufacturer of luxury mattresses and beds. With the acquisition, the Spanish Flex Group, which owns UK based bed manufacturer Vispring and retailer And So To Bed, is strengthening its leading global position in the premium segment, which already contributes 40% to the group’s turnover.

ON

BIG SOCIAL

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

dan@bigfurnituregroup.com

Silentnight Group

We are delighted to announce that we have won ‘Brand of the Year’ at the World Branding Award’s 2022-2023 ceremony. The award recognises Silentnight as the leading brand within the UK Furniture category. We are even more grateful to know that over 150,000 consumers participated in the nomination process and 70% of the brand evaluation came directly from consumers, making the award truly special to us.

Fabb Furniture

Spinks

We use four different cutting-edge fabrics to encase our springs. Each fabric comes with award-winning benefits, such as having unique airflow, being 100% plant-based and having enhanced temperature control.

Caffreys Furniture

Our exciting new look Dublin showroom. Over 20,000sqft offering a huge range of furniture & a super Mattress Mick concept showroom. Huge thanks to all our team who made this possible, the vintage ice cream company & Sunshine radio for making the weekend such a success.

We’ve been hard at working training some of our staff, sending them on a two-day bed sales training course with Airsprung and Gainsborough. The course saw Paul Little, MD of Airsprung, share some of his pearls of wisdom with a presentation showcasing over 20 years of bed sales training – a really useful tool to understand the journey a customer goes on when purchasing a bed. Over the two days, those on the course were able to get hands-on with some of the bed making skills being kept alive by a company with over 140 years of experience. Well done to all!.

Lebus Upholstery

Just another day at Lebus, our dispatch teams work hard getting sofas ready to be shipped out.

Sterling Home

Our Christmas displays are in full flow in all of our stores, with everything from baubles and decorations to floral arrangements and Christmas trees.

MattressOnline

Thanks to Jamie Noble at Rotherham United Community Sports Trust for sharing these great images of the Rotherham United Women’s Football Club training kit in action - everyone at MattressOnline is delighted to be sponsoring the team this season!.

Gillies

We had the pleasure of attending the Courier Business Awards 2022 where we won Dundee & Angus Family Busi ness of the year award! Our Marketing Director Ewan had this to say: “We are delighted to have won the ‘Dun dee & Angus Family Business of the Year Award’, this is testament to the hard work and dedication of our loyal workforce who we are very proud of, and I sincerely thank for their continued efforts.”

BIG INTER VIEW

DARREN POTTERTON

I’m an engineer by trade, but I became involved in the foam industry by chance, helping my dad out who was the Production Manager at GNGthat was back in the 1980s and 37 years later, I’m still here! I started out operating machines and have worked my way through the business, taking on roles in product design and development before moving into management, becoming Managing Director of our healthcare division and, ultimately, becoming Managing Director of the whole group.

Since January 2021, I have been group Managing Director, responsible for our divisions supplying performance foam products for the healthcare, consumer and contract mattress as well as Sports and safety sectors. GNG has become a leading name in British mattress

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

What is your current job role and key responsibilities?

Darren Potterton, Managing Director of GNG Group, takes our Big Interview spot this month where he shares an insight into one of his proudest moments and why his hot tub ticks all the boxes.

manufacture, supplying our popular Komfi and Sonlevo ranges as well as recently adding Nectar Sleep to our portfolio for the consumer market. We are also one one of the largest indirect suppliers of medical mattresses to the NHS. Basically, I oversee all aspects of the business from sales, accounts and customer service to production and managing our 100-strong team.

What do you love about your job?

I really like the fast-changing, reactive environment – no two days are the same. As someone who enjoys problem-solving and dealing with issues, I find the role genuinely exciting. I’m also happy to make decisions, even if they’re not always popular. While engineering tends to be a fairly regimented role and can be a bit monotonous, being

responsible for a business with so many products and serving so many sectors means there’s lots of variety. It’s also rewarding working for such a fast-growing business, we’re again expecting to see 20% year on year growth, despite challenges such as the volatility of the supply chain. It’s been a tough few years in many ways, but dealing with the unexpected from Brexit to a global pandemic and now labour shortages and the energy crisis means that everything changes from week to week and I like the constant juggling required.

What time is your alarm clock set for?

I tend to wake up early doors even when I’m on holiday. Generally, I get up around 6am, walk the dog, shower, check emails, watch the news and then head off to work.

Why did you choose to work in the furnishing industry?

As I say, I didn’t really choose the industry, but ended up here due to circumstance – I was disillusioned as an engineer so went to help my dad and stayed with GNG as it had lots of potential both for my career and as a business.

Who do you most admire in the industry?

That’s a really difficult question and I don’t think I could name just one person. I guess I most admire the businesses that have developed foam technologies and shown real innovation in creating new products that fulfil a genuine consumer need such as Tempur, Nectar and Simba.

In a career of almost 40 years, there have been many! It’s always special to be recognised for your skills and to be promoted. I’m very proud of where I am today and also of the success of the business – we now have three sites in West Yorkshire having made a £1.75m investment in a new factory this year, and we employ over 100 people. One of my proudest moments was in the early days of Covid when we switched all production to serve the NHS -I truly admire our amazing team who came in and worked ridiculous hours, helping us to manufacture 16,000 medical mattresses in just three

months! We’ve also donated hundreds of medical mattresses to hospitals in Ukraine as well as locally which again gives the whole team a lot of pride.

What is your favourite item of furniture you own?

It has to be my hot tub – we got it a year ago and it’s a great way to relax after a busy day. Of course, I also have to mention my amazing mattress, it’s manufactured from a special foam made specially for GNG and it’s cool and lovely.

products and, fortunately, we’ve been working on this for some time, looking for environmentally-friendly solutions, including recycling foam offcuts and using reconditioned Ecofoam where possible. We achieved a carbon neutral certification in 2019 and were the first UK manufacturer to produce a carbon neutral mattress. The eco collections within our Komfi mattress range are designed to replace traditional foams with alternative, more sustainable comfort fillings that aim to take end-of-life mattresses out of landfill and back into the recycling chain. As a member of the NBF, GNG signed the ‘Pledge for Our Planet’ in May 2022, further demonstrating our commitment to becoming a more sustainable business and reducing our products’ impact on the

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

There’s a growing focus on green

Has there been any special moments during your career?

environment. With the current cost of living crisis, price points are going down and the middle market is likely to be squeezed – ensuring that we can manufacture as cost-effectively as possible will be more important than ever.

What would you change in the industry?

I think the sector could be better regulated, particularly in terms of tightening up sales and marketing claims. I often see products advertised with descriptions that simply aren’t factual. For example, as the largest indirect supplier of medical mattresses to the NHS, we are well aware that there’s no such material as ‘medical grade foam’, yet other companies are using this term and misleading customers. I would also like to see a greater drive towards supporting British-made products from both retailers and consumers.

Can you share an insight into your future plans?

Earlier this year, we opened a new 40,000sq ft factory and warehouse in Normanton, dedicated to our fastgrowing mattress division. It has massively increased our capacity, enabling us to quadruple production, and keep up with demand. Going forward, we aim to continue to grow our customer base and, in particular, we will be looking to expand stockists of our Sonlevo range. We’re also carrying on developing greener alternatives – as

well as on a new, more environmentally -friendly range which will be less reliant on foam and will use other components. Watch this space!

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

Living in Pudsey, I really enjoy getting out into the countryside on either my mountain or road bike, cycling in the Yorkshire Dales to beautiful places like Hawes and Masham. I also love beach holidays in the sun.

What might someone not know about you?

When I was in my teens, I was a guitarist in a punk band – we even had a single, but, unfortunately, we were never discovered. I also once had a job as Brian Adams’ bodyguard when he played in Leeds!

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

A bit random, but something that enables me to spend time outdoors, away from a PC or a mobile phone, maybe something like a dog walker.

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

Perhaps in light of the grand kids I’m now getting, three to date, I should be a grandfather clock!

5FUN QS:

Hmmm, the Prime Minister’s would be good, a bit of scandal is always an interesting read!

What fact amazes you every time you think of it?

Statistically, it is more dangerous to go to work than it is to go to war!

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

I once decided to go on holiday on the spur of the moment. We booked at 10.00 at night and flew to Majorca the next morning!

What is the most important object you own and why?

I’m not really bothered about possessions, but I do have one thing that’s precious to me. I have a two foot Buddha in my garden which contains my parents’ ashes.

In my punk rock days, I had a Mohican – need I say more?

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

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

Unusually young for the furniture game

Joseph

Shenton,

co-owner of furniture outlet retailer Joseph James

Furniture

Outlet, talks about their rapid growth.

In a time where the ‘doom and gloom’ cloud is ever looming over the industry, and the general country as a whole, it’s even more refreshing when a positive story emerges, drawing its own light from the grey void of uncertainty that brings with it two things. One – a bit of needed positivity to the eyes of readers, and two – a sense of hope for others.

This positive story features two young guns striving to make a name for themselves in the furniture game, and with both only 21, Joseph Shenton and James Pullen, co-owners of furniture retail outlet Joseph James Furniture Outlet, are excited to add to their impressive start.

In August alone, the business hit a new record, achieving £150,000 of sales and has targeted month-on-month revenues of around £200,000 for the remainder of the year. Aiding this recent growth has been the move to its larger 20,000sqft showroom on Chester Road in Stretford, which has been in operation since June.

Rewinding the clock to 2019, Joseph Shenton and James Pullen, both school friends, decided to venture into the world of furniture with their ‘winning formula’ that involves

buying end of line, excess stock and sample sofas from bigger retailers and selling them on to customers at a heavily discounted price. The duo started life in Stockport and after 18 months move to Altrincham with their warehouse based in Broadheath. Over the past few years, demand exceeded that of their location, citing the need for their new showroom, which is retail only, while the Broadheath base is now just being used to store stock.

“Sales have been very strong since opening the new showroom and we had a record month of £150k sales in August,” Joseph said. “We have found our geographical location to be a strong position for attracting the key demographics who purchase from outlets.”

Joseph says their delivery speed has been another key metric to its consistent success, with the company offering free same day or next day delivery if a customer is within 60 miles of the showroom.

“With most sofa retailers you’re waiting 14-16 weeks for delivery. A lot of people don’t have the time to be waiting around or need a sofa quickly for whatever reason, and we

can be there the next day. You can get pretty much everything you need from Amazon the next day now, and more and more people – especially the younger generation – are looking for an instant fix,” Joseph said.

“With the increase in sales we have to become more efficient in our outgoing delivery processes to ensure we are still able to offer customers the rapid delivery they expect. We have done this by implementing a new delivery management software, refining the labelling processes in the showroom and in the warehouse, as well as increasing the working hours of our delivery drivers.”

The company, which employees 15 staff, has also refurbished its photograph studio in order to improve the lighting of photographs, while revealing further investment plans that will be in technology - to develop custom software which will allow the business to easily and accurately process and track stock from the point of arrival to customer delivery, as well as expand their physical footprint with either Stockport or Liverpool on the cards.

Joseph revealed: “We have hopes to open a second showroom in Greater Manchester next summer, providing we are able to extend our stay at our new showroom. Alternatively, we may look at one large ‘Mega Store’ to cover the Greater Manchester area. We are also looking to secure a second warehouse so that we can split our incoming and outgoing deliveries into separate warehouses. This will allow us to take in more trailers per week.”

Alongside digital and physical expansion, the company plans to extend its product offering too, and has already dipped their toes into other categories. Joseph said: “We found some success with mattresses but we struggled to advertise them online as aesthetically they struggle to differentiate online. When opening a second showroom, we will absolutely be diving into other categories. We hope to be a one stop shop for all larger furniture discount needs.”

With products in mind, Joseph shared his thoughts on current customer trends and shopping behaviours. “Being an outlet, we sell different items every day. This means we get a great idea of what is popular and what is not. We are seeing a real turn back towards the safety of leather, especially for families and older customers.

“However, we are seeing a popularity in some of the more expensive and vibrant coloured pieces. Those tend to be my favourite too! In general, we also notice our sofas becoming far more price inelastic with the influence of the recent high inflation. Customers are starting to show a greater interest in the style, quality and size over its price. This is unusual, as in the past, we have found that customers will pay very acute attention to not only the price of the item but its saving over the retail cost.”

Another unusual thing that Joseph also pointed out, and set a reminder of, is their age. “We are unusually young for the furniture market and we’re aware of that. The furniture and particular sofa industry is one that seems to slowly catch up to the modernisation of customer demands.

What else would a customer have to wait months for after ordering? We believe we have a great grasp of the modern sofa shopper’s needs and we aim to supply them.

“A lot of the other outlets use what we call ‘gimmicky marketing’, where they make up an RRP price and make it look like you’re getting a big discount. We’re strict on ensuring we don’t do that.”

www.josephjamesfurnitureoutlet.com

We are unusually young for the furniture market and we’re aware of that.

”

Ready for JFS?

The January Furniture Show, one of the UK’s biggest furniture and interiors trade shows in the calendar, is back at the NEC in Birmingham from 22-25 January 2023. The show will feature around 350 exhibitors showcasing over 1,000 furnishing product launches across four halls. These include Premium Design (Hall 1), Interior, Accessories & Furniture (Hall 2), Living, Dining & Bedroom (Hall 4), and Upholstery & Beds (Hall 5).

Looking ahead to the event, we spoke with Gallery Direct who are “looking forward” to exhibiting at the January Furniture Show once again. Over the last few months, they have been designing and developing their SS23 Collection, along with a new mattress range, ready to launch at the show. Gallery’s SS23 Collection features a fantastic selection of new furniture ranges, as well as extensions to some of their current ones. All the new products are designed to offer quality and affordability, and the show gives customers the chance to ‘touch and feel’ them, whilst enjoying Gallery’s well-known hospitality.

Upholstery manufacturer La-Z-Boy will also be in attendance with their stand to include its very sports den where visitors can relax and unwind. The area, which celebrates La-Z-Boy’s three-year partnership with the American football league NFL, will include the brand’s Spectator chairs, a widescreen TV and framed NFL shirts. The homely interior will offer an escape from the hustle

and bustle of the show and is designed to emulate the kind of space customers might want to create in their own living room, den, shed or garden room. It will also showcase the Spectator rocker recliners, which have been available to buy from selected UK retailers since September.

In keeping with sofas, Tetrad will be exhibiting at the show where they are excited to be showcasing its diverse ranges including some of its latest collections for 2022. These include their signature statement piece, the Liberty, its contemporary take on a classic style, the Strand, and the sumptuously stylish and glamourous modern classics of its Spink & Edgar by Tetrad range. Plus, Tetrad encourages visitors to explore its website where you can design and visualise your own Tetrad with their fun virtual configurator tool. Simply pick your style, size and desired fabric, before bringing it to life in your chosen space. Meanwhile, Tamarisk Designs will be show casing an “amazing stand” at the NEC in January, with six key looks including a new faded glory velvet collection and a loose cover range, as well as a whole host of new models and fabric ranges. It’s certainly a stand to stop by and explore.

Moving to the beds area, Komfi, part of the GNG Group, will showcase their Unity vacuum-packed mattress range, which launched earlier this year. At an extremely affordable price point, this new range is certainly an asset to the existing diverse and successful Komfi collections; Active, Sensory

With the January Furniture Show preparing to open to the industry next month, we explored some new products that visitors can expect to see.

and Rhea. All mattresses come with a 10-year guarantee and are made in the UK to National Bed Federation approved standards. The Komfi brand is part of the GNG Group, manufacturers of performance foam products for the healthcare, sports and retail mattress markets. As an NHS approved supplier, GNG worked through the Covid-19 pandemic to produce thousands of medical mattresses. The company has also been accredited with Carbon Neutral certification, part of GNG’s ethos to be an environmentally responsible organisation.

Finally, German bedroom manufacturer Wiemann is heading for the January Furniture Show full of excitement too, where it will unveil new and updated products. The five keenly anticipated new ranges will be contemporary and stylish. As with all Wiemann products, they will offer a total bedroom solution to suit any home. The new products, on show in Hall 4 Stand C50, will complement Wiemann’s premium VIP ranges including Monaco and Quito, which all show commitment to driving increased value for retailers. Simon Hewitt, MD of Wiemann’s sole agents for the UK and Ireland, Litmus Furniture, said: “We have some fantastic new products lined up for launch in January 2023 plus some updates to existing collections. All Wiemann products are known for their excellent design, quality and value and are backed up with our five-star customer support service.”

Organisers of the January Furniture Show (JFS) has confirmed that visitor registration is now open.

To register, visit: www.thefurnitureshows.com/welcome

Komfi Active Coolmax Primo

FEATURES

Furniture for the heart and home

The customer expectations for quality and lifestyle fitting designs have been on a rise. Solid wood furniture is positioned to fulfill these needs and is being increasingly favoured for modern lifestyle inspired contemporary furniture. For any brand to succeed, the answer boils down to three main things - product design, quality, and service. Jaipur Furniture is positioned exactly at the heart of all three.

Montu Soni, director at Jaipur Furniture, explains: “Fusion of different elements and geometric designs are the newest trends. Adapting the minimalist and fresh ideas of the urban lifestyle, Jaipur’s new collection fits in every modern home.

“Customers prefer products that are made of better materials and which last longer. We use solid woods such as mango and sheesham woods, the timeless classics, to create the highest quality products for our customers. One of Jaipur Furniture’s core values is to put the consumer first, so we continuously strive to be as close to our customers as possible and help solve their problems. We achieve this with keeping our quality consistent in both our products and services.

“Finally, building into customer service, which involves bringing in new designs and having the right capacity to fulfil the demand. We have expanded our Huntingdon warehouse to better serve our customer’s needs and demands. The new collections from Jaipur Furniture promise to venture both in our customer’s hearts and homes.

“Come and visit us at January Furniture Show HALL 4, STAND D35.”

www.jaipurfurniture.net

Montu Soni, director at Jaipur Furniture, shares an insight into new designs and meeting customer demand.

We have expanded our Huntingdon warehouse to better serve our customer’s needs and demands.

”

MattressTek continues momentum in automation

Directors Shaun Peel and Michael Birtwistle discuss the extent of their pursuits and how it has enhanced the way manufacturers make their products, increase volume, improve efficiency and save time.

Continuing success with big names in the mattress and bed manufacturing field, they have installed the seventh full automation conveyor line for a customer in America, as well as bespoke individual machines and partial lines to fit into existing production at factories all across the UK.

Having grown their team to meet the demand, they have been humbled to receive recommendations from the lines they have installed this year, including orders for rolling, packing, stitching, stamping/labelling and transportation systems to move components including foam blocks and rolled foam buns around vast factories and facilities. One of these involved transporting foam blocks from a saw to multiple lines of conveyors, using three straight-line belt conveyors on a track – their ‘Shuttle’ conveyor. A similar line was also installed for a processor in Lancashire to load rolled foam used in almost all aspects of the automotive industry into a compressor.

Examples of their work to enhance automation, streamlining how products are made, as well as ensuring reduced risk to operators, with regard to

health and safety, were the design and installation of downward incline conveyors to replace a factory that was sliding divan beds down wooden planks rested precariously on a staircase. This ensured minimal health and safety risks, reduction of labour of, and by, operators, and damage to the product and site, as well as increasing capacity and speeding up transportation.

Another case study that they have been working on, which is also available to look at on the automation page of their website, is the full installation of an automated line to layer foam and pocket spring components, glue and press them together, before stuffing them into a fire sock, stitching the seam with a sock closer, stuffing them into an outer cover before closing that seam, then centre aligning them, ready to be stacked. This has increased production and efficiency by 95%, allowing them to process more than 450 mattresses on each 8-hour shift, and ensuring reduced operator involvement, accuracy of alignment and ease of transportation for the divan based to the lower level of the facility for loading in the logistics area.

They have also been working to redevelop the RollPack machine whereby foam and spring mattresses can be fed into a press, before being spun into paper and wrapped ready for rotation at 90 degrees and raised for positioning on a pallet. They have plans for

https://www.bigfurnituregroup.com/mattresstek-continues-momentum-in-automation/

a similar machine, ideal for manufacturers of rolled and boxed mattresses.

Technical director Shaun explains: “We have been honoured to be recommended by current customers, to both their internal teams and other departments, as well as their network of fellow manufacturers, in the foam processing and transportation world, which has led to us designing and fulfilling orders of bespoke machines here in the UK and across the US and Europe.”

Fellow Director Michael adds: “With automation becoming the logical and sensible thing to consider and incorporate into production, regardless of the sector of manufacturing, to ensure efficiency and streamlining of production, whilst maximising capacity and volume, we are proud to be a British business leading the way in the mattress and bed making and foam processing worlds.”

As a finalist in the International Trade category of The Manufacturer TMMX Awards, and Insider North West International Trade Awards having made it to the second stage of the Innovation and Under £20m Company of the Year categories, the company says: “We have increased our marketing presence exponentially in the past year and to be a finalist in these awards, to further get our brand and range our into the industry, is credit to the hard work of the whole team in ensuring we can provide reliable, robust and efficient machines, designed and build to meet the needs of our customers and help them to optimise production.”

www.mattresstek.co.uk/automation

The installation of our machines in full automated production lines has fed our already established growth and we have been able to document these innovations through case studies, which are now included on our website.

40 years strong as Regency looks to the future

Ben Swan, Managing Director at Regency Beds & Furniture, reflects on four decades of trading as the business celebrates its 40th Anniversary

Did you manage to spin to win? If you happened to visit Church Road, St. Sampsons, Guernsey, you may have seen customers at Regency Beds & Furniture trying their luck to take advantage of their special 40th anniversary promotion.

The event, which took place during August and September, proved popular and was a big success. We found out more from Ben Swan, MD, at Regency. “We wanted a creative celebration promotion, which materialised as the spin to win 40% off any purchase or 40 months interest-free credit. The promotion ran for, of course, 40 days. I was particularly pleased with the spin to win, which was a custom-built random number generator. The result guaranteed a minimum value of 10% but could land on any figure between 10% – 40%. The promotion was very well received, and customers enjoyed the game element at point of purchase.”

Regency was first established back in 1982 by founder Robert (Bob) Lee, who was actually retired at the time but found it a “little too sedate for his liking”. But before we delve into the history of the business, Ben shared his

thoughts on reaching the big 4-0. “Honestly, somewhat bittersweet. 40 is a fantastic milestone. It feels like we have accomplished something wonderful with a lot of dedication and hard work. But at the same time, it feels like we have only just started.

“There are so many exciting things I want to do with the company, which I will hopefully pass down to my son. Regency wouldn’t be here without our incredible team or the tenacity of spirit to enjoy and overcome challenges, which is a key part of our culture. We believe in doing the fundamentals right, including providing customer service that is consistently above and beyond. Our cultural values were instilled and best exampled by my dad. He is my inspiration, and I wish he could be here to see what we’ve accomplished, having built on all his hard work.”

In fact, Ben’s dad, a power station engineer who had also recently moved to Guernsey when Bob started the company, joined the business early on to head up the factory. Then in the late 80s, Ben’s dad, along with his business partner, bought the business from Bob, with Ben’s parents later taking full ownership at the turn of the millennium.

In 2007, Ben re-joined the business for a year following the unexpected and sad passing of his father. Then after a gap travelling and pursuing a career as a marine biologist, Ben returned to Guernsey in 2012 and re-joined the business once more, but this time, permanently. “I started a buyout process in 2016 after accepting the MD role, which will be complete by the end of this year,” Ben revealed. “It’s a shame I turned 39 in September; it would have been a great story to have bought Regency in both our 40th years. Regency has an interesting, rich history. I like to say that in the 80s, we were a factory that happened to retail to the local public, but, as time has passed, we have transitioned into a retailer who happens to have a small factory. It gives us a unique USP that is highly thought of locally.”

With Ben at the helm, the family business has continued to evolve further and completed a full renovation project last year, while current works include refreshing their showroom to reflect Ben’s travels. “The new showroom is an inspiring project. Our display roots are old-school warehouse, cram it in and sell it off. My parents believed in an ‘if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it’ policy, but I have a much grander vision. For years I have been inspired by aspirational displays I have seen on my travels, so I am very excited to give Regency’s display a big lift to take it in that direction.”

Ben also highlighted the importance of sustainability within its customer base, a movement that has seen sales perform well. “Guernsey has a unique client base, and our trends tend to be a little behind the mainland. Velvet is growing strongly in popularity in upholstery. In beds, which are our bread and butter, the trends between natural and foam based products have always swung back and forth; however, across all departments, the race toward sustainability is clearly increasingly important as a key driver of purchasing decisions.

“All of our lines with sustainable stories sell well. Coming from a marine biology background, I have always been keen on sustainability and have enjoyed being an early adopter of items with a positive earth message. I believe that has put us in good stead, maybe even a little ahead of the game, as customers want more and more to be afforded sustainable choices.”

As for the year to date, Ben said in one word, it’s been “challenging”. He concluded: “We’re experiencing similar troubles as everyone else, although Guernsey’s energy crisis isn’t as bad as the mainland (yet). We have been very fortunate and are making good turnover YOY. The next year or two will provide us with significant challenges, and we look forward to tackling them as we always have.”

There are so many exciting things I want to do with the company, which I will hopefully pass down to my son.

Success for Sonlevo

With a reputation for quality and innovation, GNG’s growing portfolio, which includes the popular Komfi vacuum-packed brand, is proving to be the perfect home for the premium Sonlevo range.

Following its high-profile re-launch at The Bed Show 2021 with exciting new branding and point-of-sale material, Sonlevo has seen spiralling demand. The Sonlevo TrueGel range was the first to be developed in the UK using revolutionary gel technology, and it’s setting a new standard. Its revolutionary gel technology features a grid system; it is 80% air, 100% recyclable and hypoallergenic. It gives maximum support, minimises pressure and is never too hot

and never too cold, helping to ensure the best night’s sleep possible.

With five models in the TrueGel range – Signature Soft/Medium, Signature Medium/Firm, Bronze 6000, Silver 8000 and top of the range Gold 12000, plus the luxurious new TrueGel pillow –there’s something for everyone.

With all our products providing correct posture support and ultimate comfort, which are paramount in achieving the best sleep, our entire range is recommended to its members by the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) to ensure players have a good night’s sleep and deliver their optimum performance.

Attracting great interest at this year’s Bed Show, there is growing demand from retailers for the range which is manufactured here in the UK at GNG’s purpose-built factory in West Yorkshire. As one of the largest indirect suppliers of medical mattresses to the NHS, GNG has become renowned for outstanding quality and service over its 35-year history. Its brand new 40,000 sq ft manufacturing facility and warehouse will quadruple its mattress manufacturing capacity.

Having achieved carbon neutral certification in 2019, the company also strives to find environmentallyfriendly solutions, including recycling its foam offcuts and using reconditioned Ecofoam where possible.

Group Managing Director Darren Potterton explains: ‘’As a British mattress manufacturer, we’re proud

of our continued growth and ability to expand our product range. The luxury Sonlevo range perfectly complements our Komfi brand and has been seamlessly integrated into our portfolio.

“We were thrilled to be named as one of three finalists in the ‘Bed Manufacturer of the Year’ category of the 2022 Bed Industry Awards announced at the NBF Bed Show, alongside two other prestigious names, Sleepeezee and Harrison Spinks. We look forward to continuing to focus on innovation, materials and design as we meet the needs of UK retailers.”

To find out about becoming a Sonlevo stockist, or if you’d like our show van to bring our products direct to your stores, contact GNG on 01924 950 300, email info@gng-group.co.uk or visit

www.sonlevo.com

Since joining the GNG Group, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of mattresses and performance foam products, the luxury Sonlevo mattress brand has gone from strength to strength.

As a British mattress manufacturer, we’re proud of our continued growth and ability to expand our product range.

Retail Focus Mattressman

Andrew Kerry, founder of independent bed retailer Mattressman, talks about which product is still selling strong and what he would change in the industry, while also paying particular recognition to a long-serving employee.

A bit about the company?

We’re one of the UK’s biggest online mattress specialists, selling hundreds of mattress models from top manufacturers. Starting with one store in North Walsham, Norfolk in 2004, we’ve grown over the years, and we now sell mattresses to customers all over the country from 10 stores.

What future plans do you have in the pipeline?

We are dedicated to sourcing more products from the UK; the supply chain for bed frames seems to rely on manufacturers from the Far East too heavily. With volatile freight costs and currency, it’s a perfect time to look at other options closer to home

What is your mission?

We have just purchased 3x more Maxi Movers vans to our fleet. We have found the Maxi Movers excellent for bed delivery, and using our own vehicles as far as we can from our base in Norwich gives a better delivery experience for our customer.

Our mission is to be the number one mattress retailer in the UK. We are working hard behind the scenes on some great projects that will catapult us forward over the next few years.

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

In truth we are not doing as much as we probably should, however, our team focuses on buying mattresses that have been engineered using recycled materials. We are also investing in solar panels at our head office over the next 12 months.

Can you share some recent investments the company has made?

The business has been steady all year. We were tracking on target each month, and just recently trending above target, so the signs are good so far. As for trends, ottoman beds are still selling very strong with lighter shade colour fabrics taking the lead.

What would you change in the industry?

If I could change one thing in our industry, it would be our flammability laws on mattresses. The chemicals and FR treatments that go into most mattresses are ridiculous, especially foam ones. I’m all for raw natural products and no chemicals. At present all the foam mattress suppliers are having shortages of foam because the of TDI chemical shortages, and guess what, TDI is a confirmed carcinogen.

What challenges do

currently face and how are you overcoming these?

The energy crisis seems to be our biggest worry at Mattressman, so we have rallied all the staff to start thinking about lights, heating & appliances. We don’t leave any computers on in the evening and have added motion sensors for lighting in our warehouses. Small changes make a huge difference.

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

If I could change one thing in our industry, it would be our flammability laws on mattresses.

”

you

I would like to say thank you to Katherine Williams for 13 years of service and for putting up with me (I did tell her that was unlucky). Kath has been my right-hand woman for many years and she makes the whole of Mattressman World come together, so a big thank you to her.

www.mattressman.co.uk

Mattressman has great brand recognition, especially where our stores are located. Just recently on a night out in Norwich a young couple were chatting with me, and when I told them what my job was, they started singing the Mattressman Jingle, which made me very proud of our brand and how recognised it was with all ages.

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

Why do you think customers choose your business?

Green Retail

In the third of our four-part series, we take a look at a number of furniture retailers and what they are doing in terms of sustainability. Next up, IKEA, Dreams and Carpetright.

The topic of sustainability is not anything new but its importance is ever relevant and continues to grow. You may have seen a greater choice of sustainability-led products within the furniture industry over the past few years, from bottle-filled mattresses to fully recycled components at the core of new products. This is fantastic and long may it continue. Alongside product innovations, businesses are also adapting new ways of working to make their operations greener. In the third instalment of our series, we explore what some of the bigger retailers are doing in this area as we focus on IKEA, Dreams and Carpetright.

IKEA

When it comes to the subject of sustainability, Swedish giants IKEA do not shy away from publishing their achievements, targets and methods. Sustainability is an integrated part of the IKEA business and is led from a holistic perspective with an aligned overall direction. Each IKEA business within the IKEA franchise system contributes to the total IKEA sustainability agenda, which is set and governed by the Strategic Sustainability Council. Key sustainability objectives are monitored and reported on in totality in the IKEA Sustainability Report. Taking a closer look at its most recent report for the financial year of 2021, which was released at the beginning of this year, there are plenty of goals IKEA is striving towards as part of its IKEA 2030 commitments. This mini-report focuses on some of them. Last year, IKEA’s total climate footprint

IKEA

decreased by 1.6 million tonnes of CO2 compared to baseline FY16, a reduction of 5.8%, while IKEA sales surpassed previous highs. This is mainly due to a more energy-efficient IKEA range and more renewable energy in production, with the latter reaching 100% renewable electricity in 10 additional IKEA markets. Other key achievements include a forest positive agenda for 2030, with the aim to enhance biodiversity, support livelihoods and mitigate climate change. More than 99% of the wood used is now FSC certified or recycled wood.

IKEA also introduced SOLHETTA LED bulbs to replace other LED bulbs products. These last about 25,000 hours and are, on average 35% more energy efficient than previous IKEA LED bulbs. The business launched an air purifier to generate cleaner energy, while also launching an interactive online circular design tool based on learnings from the assessment of 9,500 products in the IKEA range. On products, IKEA has tried to make it easier to prolong product life too, offering more than 18 million spare parts (FY20: 14 million), as well as launching an online ordering solution globally.

During the period, 73% of the material sourced for the IKEA range was renewable or recycled, with the company reaching 56% renewable and 17% recycled materials. IKEA has also started phasing out plastic from consumer packaging solutions. The phase-out will happen in steps, starting with all new range by 2025, and running range by 2028. Currently, less than 10% of the total volume of packaging material used annually by IKEA consists of plastics. Jon Abrahamsson Ring, CEO, Inter IKEA Group, concluded: “We continue the work to make our offer more sustainable and affordable. We are phasing out less sustainable products and materials and are introducing new options. One good example is replacing virgin polyester with recycled polyester, resulting in a reduced climate footprint from polyester use by 45% in FY21.”

DREAMS

National beds retailer Dreams commitment to sustainability focuses around recycling, energy consumption and its product offer. On recycling, Dreams is committed to supporting the environment and actively promotes its recycling service to customers so they can responsibly dispose of their old mattress when their new one arrives, with 1 in 5 of customers taking advantage of its service. In 2022 alone, Dreams helped customers to recycle 127,063 mattresses, while over 1.5 million items, including bed bases and frames, have been recycled since its

We are phasing out less sustainable products and materials and are introducing new options.

”

customer take back program started in 2014. Furthermore, all waste is tracked, collected and reported by its recycling and waste management partner, Circom. This means that no waste goes to landfill. Of all the waste Circom collected from Dreams in 2022, 52% went to energy recovery and 48% was recycled.

Since June 2021, 100% of the energy used across all of Dreams’ 208 stores and 12 sites is from renewable electricity. As for vehicles, which cover 4.5 million miles a year, the company utilises its route planning tool to optimise delivery schedules, reduces the number of miles and increase the number of customer drops per van. Combined with its in-cab telemetry, which measures how safe and efficient its drivers are, this results in more efficient route planning, a reduction in transport miles and any unnecessary vehicle mileage. Dreams said it continues to replace delivery vans every five years to ensure they have the most fuel-efficient vans.

Every year, Dreams crafts 290,000 mattresses and over 200,000 divan bases and headboards at the Dreams’ Bed Factory in Oldbury, West Midlands. Making much of its range in the UK significantly reduces the mileage products have to travel and in turn, the carbon footprint from delivery. “We continue to explore more local manufacturing options to further lower our carbon footprint,” Dreams said. “We are also at the exploratory stage of circular recycling. This involves exploring how the different elements of our beds can be separated, individually recycled, and then reused in future product development. We no longer use polystyrene in packaging for any of the products we make. We are continuing to work towards removing all polystyrene from bought in products and from our Feather & Black product ranges.” Furthermore, with 8 million tonnes of plastic entering the ocean every year, Dreams offers its exclusive eco-friendly mattress range called Revived. Aimed at trying to reduce plastic in oceans, each king-size mattress is

made with yarn from over 200 recycled plastic bottles. The mattress covers are made with SEAQUAL® YARN, which contains upcycled marine plastic.

Jo Martin, Chief Marketing Officer at Dreams, added: “Being a force for good is core part of our brand. We want to do right by our colleagues, the communities we touch and the planet. We’ve made some progress in these areas but we know we need to go further and faster - and we are committed to doing just that.”

CARPETRIGHT

Carpets and beds retailer Carpetright also publishes its sustainability ambitions. Not in as much depth or detail compared to IKEA, but does allow for a quick digest of its core aims. These include using less energy by using alternative electricity technology in its efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. In fact, since 2003 the company bought 10% of its energy from renewable sources and they are “always looking for ways to increase this figure”. On waste, the business has reduced waste by nearly a third, as well as identifying stores with high water consumption, rectifying these issues and achieving a reduction of water usage by up to 85% per store. Then there’s fuel. Carpetright is reducing the distance products are carried to minimise pollution and congestion, reducing its fuel use in the process. In addition, all of its drivers have undergone fuel efficiency training, which has contributed to making a “tangible and significant reduction in fuel over the last few years”. To further boost this area to substantially reduce carbon emissions, Carpetright has started a trial with the use of electric trucks.

Carpetright has also introduced a number of energy saving initiatives across its stores, including the reduction of electricity consumption by introducing LED lighting and motion-senor technology into a number of newly refurbished stores to ensure lights are only being used when needed. In terms of products, Carpetright also offers the People and Planet collection, which features a broad range of carpets, underlay, and cork flooring, all of which are sourced carefully to ensure they are sustainably and responsibly made. For example, the sustainable carpets are made from planet friendly materials like fabric scraps, recycled fishing nets, recycled plastic bottles or pure sustainable wool. “We accept our responsibility to continually improve our environment performance. We have an Ethical and Environmental Code of Conduct to ensure that we have an ethical supply chain and require our suppliers to sign up to the code. The code prohibits, for example, animal testing, the use of timber from non-sustainable sources and the use of certain chemicals which may be harmful to customers,” the company added.

www.ikea.com - www.dreams.co.uk - www.carpetright.co.uk

Celebrating

years 75

‘The heart of your home since 1947’ is the tag line for long-established soft furnishings multi-channel retailer Julian Charles. Since its inception from a small Lancashire business, manufacturing ready-made curtains, to the retailer with over 70 outlets across the UK today, Julian Charles has continued on its path of evolution, with this year marking its 75th anniversary.

Specializing in a wide range of soft furnishings, including bedding, ready-made curtains, luxury cushions, cozy throws and on-trend home decor

accessories, the business was first set up by Julian Greibach back in 1947, operating as a textile converter, selling fabric by the metre or by the roll.

Roll on to the 1990s, and following the success of the ready-made curtains, the company changed its name to Rectella Ltd and expanded into three locations, situated in Chorley, Tyldesley and Preston. Over the years that followed, Julian passed away in 1997, with his son’s Charles and Francis inheriting the business. Charles took charge in 2017 and bought Francis out, then in

2014 the business was relaunched as Julian Charles.

In 2020 Charles decided to retire and the company was acquired by SKG Capital, who invested significantly in its online platform, extending the ranges and continuing its growth and legacy.

In present day, Julian Charles turned 75 earlier this year and has been celebrating ever since. Simon Peck, Managing Director at Julian Charles, said: “We decided to turn it into a yearlong celebration. ”

Simon Peck, Managing Director at Julian Charles, reflects on the businesses 75th anniversary milestone.

“We wanted to celebrate by giving back to our customers who have kept us going all these years. One of the things we decided to do was include scratch cards inside online orders that give discounts and prizes. The top prize is a £250 bedroom makeover. We also gave £75 vouchers out to customers as nice surprises in our stores and online too.”

Alongside the scratch card giveaway, the business has introduced an anniversary bedding design, named Paisley Chambray, which launched at the start of September, and plans to host an anniversary event. Simon said: “We plan on having a store event later in the year, on 29th October, to celebrate and we have just launched our limited edition 75th anniversary bedding design”.

“Earlier this year we asked our customers to tell us about their dream bedding. More than half of our customers favoured our jacquards with Paisley being a firm favourite. Blue was voted as the favourite colour and the end result was this gorgeous Paisley Chambray Blue Luxury Jacquard design.”

The Paisley bedding special has a range of coordinating accessories including pillowcases, cushions, bedspread and a throw, whilst also being available in silver, blush, white, natural, duck egg and charcoal.

Simon added that there is more in line later in the year with its Christmas ranges soon to be launched, although remaining tightlipped on this for now, while also paying tribute to staff as being a core reason behind the company’s longevity.

“We are extremely proud to have reached this amazing milestone. Our employees have made Julian Charles what it is today and family values are exceptionally important to us.

When we asked our team what the best thing about working at Julian Charles was, they said the people they work with, and that is something we are extremely proud of. Several of our staff have worked for the

business for over 30 years and grown alongside the company over the years.

“We are pleased with business this year and we will continue to grow.”

Our employees have made Julian Charles what it is today. ”

The real life impact of the Made Smarter adoption programme on furniture manufacturers

Since Made Smarter, the movement to increase the take up of digital technology among manufacturers, launched its adoption programme in the North West in 2018, it has supported more than 2,500 businesses.

to when they receive a sample of their bespoke design, with many touch points along the way.”

After engaging with Made Smarter, Panaz was able to invest in a game-changing end-to-end custom design and digital printing solution. Bespoke software allows clients more freedom and flexibility to choose from an extensive library of Panaz print designs and artwork from around the world, customise the pattern, scale or colour.

This is then produced on a new wide width digital printer which will allow it to print not only 300cm wide fabrics, but also two 150cm fabrics side by side. Meanwhile, a new wide width calendar heat transfer machine will then be used to produce the digitally printed design onto fabric before it is sent to the customer.

The right-first-time, automated process has reduced the touch points between Panaz and the customer, making the business massively more efficient, and increased its speed to market. The investment has doubled production capacity,

By offering expert, impartial technology advice, digital transformation workshops to help manufacturers take their first steps, and matched funding to invest in technology, 140 SMEs in the furniture sector have embraced the benefits of digitalisation. Many of those are using technology to solve business challenges and meet increased demand. Here are a few grasping the opportunity:

Over the last 35 years Burnley-based Panaz have evolved into one of Europe’s leading suppliers of high-quality decorative fabrics and wallcoverings for the hospitality, healthcare, workspace and contract sectors. Custom design is a growing part of the business. But Panaz found that their traditional process was long-winded and insufficient resources meant they struggled to keep up with demand.

Rollie Attard, Chief Executive Officer, explained: “While each project is unique, it could take typically two weeks from our first contact with a customer, designer or specifier,

reduced waste and enabled their highly skilled design resource to focus on more complicated design and range work.

Rollie added: “We see Panaz as being at the forefront of innovation within its industry and, as a consequence, need to keep pushing the boundaries when it comes to technology investment. There is an ever-increasing number of competitive importers from China and Europe entering the UK marketplace and competing for UK business.

“It is essential that we stay ahead of the competition and this necessitates a proactive approach to technology for the retention and growth of turnover and the protection of jobs. Without the Made Smarter funding we would not be able to make this level of end to end investment and would have to compromise on some of the project reducing its overall impact and effectiveness.”

Furniture manufacturer Starlight Bedrooms, based in Bolton, had a good foundation in terms of machinery and a strong reputation in the marketplace, but they lacked digitalisation across its operations.

Through Made Smarter’s digital transformation workshop - a fast and fully-funded diagnostic of the business’s product, services, processes and people - Starlight identified key challenges and opportunities, including: establishing data and systems integration, improving its design and ordering process; and optimising part of its production process.

“Our biggest challenge was our outdated, manual and paper-based processes, and a lack of digital connectivity between any of our business operations,” Rob Langford, CEO, explained.

With the support of Made Smarter, Starlight embarked on a project to create an integrated Customer Management System which connects CAD design and production software, and its sales and marketing operations. Data from site surveys can be used to rapidly generate room layouts and furniture and fittings configurations in a new CAD system. These configurations are linked into a costing, materials and workflow planning and management module. Meanwhile, instructions are sent straight to Starlight’s production plant and real time data is available for planning and progress to ensure clients and fitters are informed of the correct installation date.

By capturing vital data, connecting key systems and giving the whole team full visibility of the complete sales and production pipeline, the business has streamlined processes, removed bottlenecks, reduced errors and waste, and become more efficient, productive and profitable. The new system puts improving customer experience at the heart of its plans, reducing the design and quoting process, from a week to just one day.

Rob added: “Working with Made Smarter has been incredibly valuable. The experience of creating a digital transformation roadmap and the subsequent support and expertise has given us a lot of confidence to invest in the tools and technology we need to take Starlight Bedrooms to the next level.”

Made Smarter is now keen to reach more SMEs across the furniture and home goods supply chain. They have produced a free guide to help demystify digitalisation and drive technology adoption. To download the free guide visit:

https://www.madesmarter.uk/resources/guide-digital-technology-in-the-home-goods-andfurniture-manufacturing-sector/

www.madesmarter.uk

Leekes celebrates 125 years

Leekes was founded back in 1897 from the family’s terraced house in the Welsh Rhondda Valleys. Since then, their retail operation has grown to become multi-award winning and also one of the UK’s most successful independent retailers now selling “everything for your home under one roof”. Leekes trades out of four home department stores in Wales, the West and the West Midlands, two furniture stores in Cardiff and in Bristol (under the Park Furnishers fascia), while also retaining its builders’ merchants in Tonypandy where the business began 125 years ago.

The retail business is also part of a much larger Retail & Leisure group which includes the Vale Resort (4-star 143-bedroom hotel with two championship golf courses and the largest spa in Wales), which includes the wedding and function venue Hensol Castle with its 23 bedrooms and houses their newest venture, a gin distillery and bottling plant in its cellars. It’s fair to say that Leekes has come a long way from a shop in the terraced house.

“It’s a great achievement to reach 125 years,” Emma said. “We remain a family-owned business, established by my great grandfather as an ironmongery in the front room of the family home. We’ve been celebrating our milestone birthday throughout the year.” On these celebrations, Emma continued: “The Xmas events we hold at each of our stores will be 125-year themed, and we also hold an annual awards dinner which recognises long service, premier sales

consultants and the best teams and individuals, which will also celebrate our anniversary.

“We also held a Welsh themed Gala Dinner at the Vale Resort for 250 of our suppliers and professional advisors on 29th September and raised £16k for the NSPCC, which is our family and corporate charity. I have been on the board of the NSPCC appeal board in Wales for 15 years, during which time we have raised over £0.5m as a business and £15m as a board.”

As Emma and the company prepares its final birthday party celebrations during the festive period, she shared an insight into some key milestone moments and challenges the business has faced over the years. “We have expanded the retail division significantly in recent years including the purchase of the Coles of Bilston business, which took us into a new geographical area- the West Midlands and the purchase of the Park Furnishers business in Bristol, which we later moved from its home in Bedminster to the Eastgate Retail Park next to IKEA on the outskirts of the city centre.

“Earlier this year we started the refurbishment of the first of our home department stores in Llantrisant, South Wales, with the first phase – the creation of a 2-storey furniture studio –due to open in the spring. The store has our largest turnover and we are delighted to be making a multi-million-pound investment to ensure it is a true flagship store for our brand.”

Emma Leeke, Managing Director - Leekes Retail, reflects on the company’s 125th anniversary, some key highlights and the secret to their ongoing success.

On the challenges being faced currently, Emma continued: “In the 125 years of the business we have operated during two World Wars, and whilst I wasn’t around to compare, managing the business through the recent coronavirus pandemic was challenging. There were different restrictions applying to different stores (the Welsh and English rules varied), and to different departments (our builders’ merchants departments were allowed to trade throughout), as well as the additional complexities of operating in-store restaurants as well as our hotel division. However, we were delighted to be able to ensure that all our suppliers were paid in full and on time throughout this period, which is a testament to the strength of our business.”

Emma added that like other retailers, they are up against the strong comparatives from Easter onwards when businesses reopened after being in lockdown during the Winter Sale. That said, comparatives against pre-pandemic levels are good although they have definitely started to see evidence of headwinds to come. However, that hasn’t stopped the company investing for the future.

“The multi-million-pound investment in our Llantrisant store is the biggest investment, however it doesn’t stop there. We have a smaller refurbishment of our Bilston store planned for March which will see the creation of some new branded furniture studios and for our Cross Hands store next September. We are close to launching a new transactional website with improved functionality, which will go live preXmas and are also currently installing solar panels across our estate to help with escalating energy bills as well as making a £1m investment in vehicles,” Emma said, adding that they are committed to sustainable practices too. “We

are zero to landfill and are converting more and more of our fleet to electric vehicles. We have environmental champions in all locations who share best practice across the business and promote our activities in this area to our stakeholders.”

They also keeping careful tabs on consumer behaviour. Emma revealed that they are seeing a distinct move from leather upholstery to soft upholstery, partly as a result of leather price inflation caused by the historically high rates for shipping seen over the last two years. And with it, comes a “change from muted tones to brighter colours like yellows, pinks, greens and blues”.

So, what’s the secret to ongoing success? Emma said: “Our diversity – and the experienced and committed team we have working with us. We are fortunate to have so many long serving members of our team across the business enabling us to share this experience and knowledge with our loyal customers.”

FEATURES

Prepare for RELAUNCH: HESTIA Living

Furmanac, a major manufacturer of adjustable beds and motion bed frames in the UK, reveals the re-launch of their luxury Hestia brand.

With over 50 years’ experience of producing premium hand-made adjustable beds, Furmanac has held a consistent presence in the bed industry. Based in the West Midlands with around 200 employees, Furmanac prides itself on delivering superior quality, innovative design, such as their Motion Intelligent beds to relieve minor aches and pains, and constant development in its operations.

“Our beds are available in hundreds of premium fabric options paired with mattresses filled with rare fibres and thousands of pocket springs to suit every customer,” the company said. “It was just a matter of time before we branched out into luxury upholstered divans and headboards in 2009, which saw the launch of our HESTIA brand. We started our journey with luxury upholstered bed frames to provide people with stylish lifestyle furniture and the best possible sleep.”

Furmanac have been a market leader in Motion Intelligence furniture since 1968 and are currently the UK’s largest manufacturer of adjustable beds and motion bed frames.

Fast forward to today, and coupled with an immense amount of hard work and hundreds of hours spent creating one of its best adjustable and upholstered beds on the market, Furmanac will be re-launching the HESTIA brand as HESTIA Living by the end of 2022.

“Hestia Living comes to life as a unity between lifestyle products offered by Furmanac,” the company continued, adding: “Hestia Living will be inclusive of our range of existing occasional furniture and sofa beds currently branded as MiSofa. The goal is to simplify our range and make it much easier for customers to navigate through our range of high-end products, made all in-house, at our Kingswinford factory.”

Leading into 2023, there will be some very exciting changes to Furmanac’s ranges and with even more new products coming out under Hestia Living. “We aim to establish a very strong presence in the upholstered furniture market. MiBed range of Motion Intelligent adjustable beds will also be experiencing slight changes with customer needs in mind, so watch this space!”

www.furmanacgroup.com

New Products

George Smith

Upholstered furniture manufacturer George Smith has expanded its furniture collection with the launch of its new beds range. The new beds collection features four styles that can be personalised through classic George Smith upholstery detailing, and is available as full beds or headboards. The collection is fully customisable, offering a variety of colour and upholstery detail combinations with a choice of over 300 George Smith in-house fabrics.

www.georgesmith.com

Sweet Dreams

Bed manufacturer Sweet Dreams has announced the launch of its new exclusive Eden Online Mattress range. The new range features 18 mattresses, which are made to order, and offers a wide range of price points and features, from starter mattresses to high quality hand side stitched FR Chemical free mattresses. The Eden range is complimented by a fully FSC certified divan range featuring non-storage, drawer, side and front ottoman bases with matching headboards in 16 luxury fabrics.

www.sweetdreamsuk.com

Siren Furniture

Upholstery supplier Siren Furniture have announced the launch of their most comfortable sofa range to date –Freya. A modular range, Freya is easily configured to suit any shape and size of room and is offered with a wide range of fabrics to suit most tastes. Those that have experienced Freya so far have said that the comfort is unrivalled. Fillings and components have also been sourced with a keen eye on sustainability and the complete package makes Freya one to seek out.

www.sirenfurniture.com

La-Z-Boy UK

The La-Z-Boy Harrison is a contemporary off-the-floor power recliner range, which will be unveiled at the January Furniture Show. The Harrison blends a stylish design with the luxury and comfort consumers associate with the La-Z-Boy brand. Its chic, low silhouette is ideally suited to modern urban living but it also includes a hidden footrest which curls out whenever you want to relax and an adjustable headrest which can be raised and tilted to find the perfect position. As well as a chair and sofa, the range includes a corner unit.. www.la-z-boy.co.uk

Tetrad

The Tetrad Liberty is a classic chesterfield style sofa which emanates elegance and charm. The chunky scrolled arms are beautifully finished with a choice of hand studding, cord trim or self-pipe. The Liberty is available in an eclectic mix of fabrics and leathers that create a signature statement piece in your home. www.tetrad.co.uk

Sealy

New and revolutionary mattress range launched by the world’s number one bed brand, Sealy. Developed with the International Orthopaedic Advisory Board, Sealy Posturepedic mattresses are designed to maintain correct spinal alignment and support during rest, reducing muscular tension and strain aiding skeletal health and well-being. The new range forms two collections; Elevate and Elevate Ultra, which feature a multitude of unique technologies exclusive to Sealy. This includes their Sense and Respond spring system made from the patented AlignSupport® coil - twice-tempered to offer deep down support and durability you can depend on. All Sealy Posturepedic mattresses deliver the genuine support that everyone can feel and the true comfort that everyone deserves. And every Sealy Posturepedic mattress is made to be trustworthy, resilient and durable - night after night… year after restful year.. www.sealy.co.uk

THE BIG QUESTION

This month we’re asking retailers, are you running a Christmas campaign?

Louis Kerry, Mattressman

As mattresses don’t always lend themselves well to Christmas shopping, we decided that instead of Christmas we’re doing a campaign focused around the world cup titled ‘3 Lie Ons’. We are offering tiered discounts on mattresses. The bigger the price tag, the bigger the discount, which will mean we can have some fun with our branding and marketing too.

Vic Smith, Vic Smith Beds

We are running a Christmas campaign via the usual social media, local radio (and waiting for TV to come back with a quote). This will be along the lines of if the pandemic has taught us anything, spending time with loved ones, families and friends should not be taken for granted or cut short. If they stay over, is your spare room and bed up to it? Or do you need to invest in a new bed for you and put your old bed into the spare room? Think about family, think about where they are sleeping on the run up to Christmas. Pre-Christmas delivery is also guaranteed with us.

George Sinclair, Nimbus Beds

We are indeed running a Christmas campaign. The focus this year is we are selling real quality Christmas trees. We are also running a Santas grotto in our new store. Although beds is our business, we thought to do something a little different this year.

Joseph Shenton, Joseph James Furniture Outlet

Jan Morgan, Hafren Furnishers

We’ll be having a Winter Sale pre-Xmas across both stores –across all leading furniture brands.

The short answer is no. Everything we sell is in stock, meaning there is no need to run a ‘guaranteed Christmas delivery’ promotion. Further, we don’t run any special discount for the period, except Boxing Day. We have avoided running any prolonged sales throughout the year for a couple reasons: 1) It is something I think customers associated with cliché sleazy part of furniture sales. 2) Our prices are already highly discounted so we feel that a further price reduction isn’t necessary. Despite this, December has always been a strong month for us as we find customers coming to us for that last minute instant delivery.

Dean Morley, Linthorpe Beds

Every year at Linthorpe Beds we like to do our part to offer a helping hand to our community and 2022 is no different. We understand that this year people are tightening their purse strings due to the current economic climate, the cost-of-living crisis and raising taxes. Yet, we know that people still want to play their part to help those less fortunate especially as we enter the period of giving and goodwill to all men. That’s why this year we wanted to think outside the box when it came to creating our charity drive and that idea was to put something inside the box!

I think many of us can relate when it comes to those pesky tins, cans, packets and cartons bulging out from the back of our pantry. We bought them in good faith to make that seemingly simple Nigella Lawson chicken dish yet had second thoughts when we trawled the supermarkets in vain looking for those allusive ground annatto seeds?! Or we won a tin here and there from the tombola table at our local school fate or decided against that fad diet after spending a small fortune on tinned Californian prunes. What I’m trying to say is, we all have those spare tins that could be given to someone in need. That’s why this month we are running our ‘Donate a Tin, Don’t Bin’ Campaign. We’re after your tins of beans, peas, sweetcorn, tuna etc. as well as dried foods such as pastas, rice, grains and pulses. All we ask is that they are in date and unopened. Each of our 3 stores located in Portrack Lane Stockton, Darlington and Bishop Auckland will have designated drop off points.

We will be donating all foods to local food banks and charities for them to distribute among their users. With the public’s input we can help make Christmas a little easier for those less fortunate, so this year why not donate tin instead of putting it in the bin?

Last Word with Man Wah

David Barnes, Sales Director at Man Wah (Global) Macau Ltd.

The biggest problem furniture importers have had to bear in the last couple of years is the horrendous freight rate. In 2020, and even into 2021, most retailers will agree that business was great as early in the lockdown stay at homers upgraded their houses. Then the proverbial hit the fan. Freight charges rocketed as carriers cashed in. Freight jumped from $3k for a container from China to $20k at its peak. Retailers could no longer afford to pay more for freight than for the stock that was in the containers.

Warehouses were full in China as factories were not getting goods away as their customers wouldn’t pay the crazy freight rates. Shipping plummeted and now with recession on the doorstep the shoe is thankfully on the other foot. Fierce competition has seen rates dropping week by week.

At Man Wah we ship up to 10,000 containers every month all over the world so obviously freight is a very important matter for us.

We have been working hard to find reliable Shipping Agents that will give us the best deals.

I’m pleased to say that for November (and hopefully December) we have secured extremely low rates of just $1995 (about £1735) China Port to Southampton.

As we have committed to high take up at this price, I’m able to offer readers the opportunity to ride on our backs so to speak.

If anyone is interested kindly contact me and I will put you in direct touch with the shipping company and you will deal directly with them. For ancillary charges and inland haulage, they will quote you separately.

This, at last, will bring prices back to a sustainable level on imports from China.

For further information, please contact me via this email: davidbarnes@manwahinternational.com