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LONG OVERDUE

The wait is almost over – the National Bed Federation (NBF) Bed Show will (finally) return to Telford this month, promising to be a safe environment in which to discover all the latest developments from across the sector, explains the NBF’s marketing & membership manager, Simon Williams …

THIS YEAR’S BED SHOW WILL BE ONE TO REMEMBER – FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS

By SIMON WILLIAMS www.bedshow.co.uk

Little did we know at 4pm on 18th September 2019 when the announcement was made that the Bed Show 2019 was officially closed and that we looked forward to welcoming everyone back in a year’s time, that it would, in fact, be two long years.

Another date – the 23rd March 2020 – is now etched in our memories forever, and the intervening period has tested even the most optimistic amongst us. However, things are slowly returning to normal – or the new normal, whatever that is – and we are really excited and looking forward to seeing some familiar faces (and hopefully plenty of new faces) when the 2021 Bed Show opens at 9am on 21st September in the Telford International Centre.

It has been such a challenging time for everyone in our industry – bed retailers were forced to close their doors for months on end, bed manufacturers had to change their way of working to minimise the risk of high infection rates causing them to shut down, and all this at the same time as issues surrounding the post-Brexit fallout, with huge supply chain problems and rocketing costs of foam, timber, steel and freight. Hopefully the worst of these are now behind us and we can look forward to better times ahead.

So, what can you expect to see at the Bed Show? Well, all three of Telford’s exhibition halls packed with NBF members, as well as a handful of carefully selected guest exhibitors offering complementary products or services – from bedroom furniture and mattress protection products through to retail EPoS software, body pressuremapping technology, consumer dispute resolution services and design and intellectual property services.

We are particularly pleased to feature a brand-new NBF Supplier Innovation Zone, where a good number of our component supplier members will be displaying their latest developments – some of which will no doubt go on to become the new ‘must-have’ features within finished bed products in 2022 and beyond.

We can confidently say that all the big UK bed brands will be there, as well as plenty of smaller niche players, making it an event not to be missed for anyone involved in the bed industry.

After much deliberation, waiting for the latest Government advice and surveying our members, we are delighted to be proceeding with the NBF Gala Dinner and Bed Industry Awards on the evening of Tuesday 21st September, kindly sponsored by the Vita Group. To take account of health and safety concerns, we’ve reduced the room capacity, with tables of eight people adequately spaced – but it still promises to be a sparkling celebration of everything that is great about the UK bed sector.

Of course, we continue to closely follow the latest official Covid advice, and will put into place all the relevant procedures that will, as far as possible, ensure the safety of all our exhibitors and visitors alike. We will keep everyone informed on what specific measures they need to take to gain access to the show, whether that’s proof of double vaccination or a recent negative test result.

To help with social distancing, there will be five separate cafe areas spread across the halls, and all visitors and exhibitors will receive refreshment vouchers. The cafes and vouchers have been kindly sponsored by Airsprung, BekaertDeslee, John Cotton and Silentnight.

So, we are keeping everything crossed, but remain confident that this year’s Bed Show will be one to remember – for all the right reasons

INDUSTRY PARTNERS

THIS MONTH, WE’RE ASKING …

Mike Murray (Land of Beds and AIS) Our ecommerce channel was already a priority. Covid has allowed us to focus on this in even greater detail

Henrik Pontoppidan (S2U Design Containers) Not really – other than the use of video-call presentations instead of in-person meetings. But that’s only because my business is targeting one customer at a time – and a project typically takes 6-12 months’ intensive work with a customer before it materialises into business

Adam Hankinson (Furniture Sales Solutions) Yes, we’re now really investing in our website and supporting digital marketing, and everything we deliver has to be digitised, so that is ongoing. Plus we are investing a lot of time and money in LinkedIn

Dids Macdonald OBE (ACID) Yes, we have become much more agile and upskilled because we have had to be. Necessity is a fast track to finding solutions!

Lee Ness (Global Upholstery Solutions) Yes, but we have pulled back on social media efforts – not because of budget, but because of our marketing strategy

Mike & Karen Rowley (Core Products) Yes. However, the transformation was already in progress – it’s just the pace that has been escalated

HAS COVID-19 CATALYSED YOUR BUSINESS’ DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION?

Anne Davies (Room to Grow) Room to Grow has always been an online store, which potentially used to hold us back slightly when competitors had showrooms to invite customers to view their products. Since Covid-19, most of these companies increased their online presence, which meant it was more crucial than ever to have a solid marketing strategy, eye-catching creative, an easy-to-navigate website, etc. Investing heavily in improving the user journey of the website was key, to ensure customers who were being forced to shop online had a good experience when visiting our site. We focused on keeping a balance between advertising costs and exposure to result in a healthy return, allowing us to retain staff and even expand the team during difficult times

Emma Leeke (Leekes Retail) It’s accelerated our plans, for sure

Adam Ashborn (Reborn Marketing & Design) Reborn has supported our customers with their online requirements, plus we are relaunching our own website

Peter Harding (Fairway Furniture) We have had a fully transactional digital offer for over 20 years, but the pandemic has accelerated the changes we had already planned. In addition, we’ve launched a video shopping service, which will play an important role, both now and into the future

Royce Clark (Grampian Furnishers) I think most of us realise that we need to do better with our clicks offering, and the lockdowns have certainly made us invest in our own website, with a new one being launched during the first lockdown – but this past 15 months has shown we need to spend more time and money on it on a regular basis, not just during lockdowns

Andy Stockwell (Gardiner Haskins) No

Steve Adams (Mattress Online) It’s no surprise to hear that we were digitally forward before Covid-19, and we continue to actively reinvest our learnings and market share gains to improve the digital experience for our customers

#384 September 2021

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