NEWS

Savoir Beds has appointed Nicholas Alexandre (exMaker&Son) as MD. Coowner Alistair Hughes will continue to contribute to long-term strategy

The Government plans to strengthen regulation of interest-free buy now, pay later (BNPL) credit agreements. It says lenders will be required to ensure loans are affordable, and rules will be amended to ensure advertisements are not misleading

The All Party Parliamentary Furniture

Industry Group (APPFIG) has appointed Mark Eastwood, Conservative MP for Dewsbury, as chair. He takes over from Mike Wood, Conservative MP for Dudley South

Actona Group has acquired Polish furniture manufacturer SITS, further consolidating the Danish group’s place in the European upholstery sector following its acquistion of Theca six months ago

The National Bed

Federation has created a new membership category for companies whose beds, mattresses and related products are made by NBF members and which sell B2B to UK and Irish retailers

Lenleys Home

(Maidstone) has completed the first phase of a major refurbishment. Further works are planned for the autumn, including a new look for the store’s entrance

The British Furniture

Manufacturers (BFM) attracted over 40 people to its first regional networking event, held at Ercol’s Princes Risborough HQ

MANAGEMENT SHAKE-UP AT BENSONS

Bensons for Beds has made several leadership changes, after CEO Mark Jackson announced his departure after leading the company for three years, which saw him steer Bensons through a refinancing and restructuring deal in 2020 to emerge as a standalone company, backed by Alteri Investors.

The retailer’s chief commercial and digital officer Nick Collard (pictured) has taken over as CEO. Nick joined in July 2021 to lead commercial change at the business after holding board roles at Holland & Barrett International, DFS Furniture and Morrisons, as well as senior roles at Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Taking the role of CFO will be Gordon Brown – replacing existing CFO John Sidebotham, who has decided to step down after completing the restructuring.Gordon joined the business in October 2020 as finance director, having held senior positions in Asda, Jack Wills and Pets at Home.

Ed Preston joins the board to lead the commercial team in the role of chief commercial and digital officer, having held senior positions at Holland and Barrett, TalkTalk and Vodafone. Frankie Haynes, who joined in May as retail director, has been appointed to the Bensons board as chief customer officer. Maxine Blackwell, who has been with Bensons for 12 years, continues on the board as chief people officer, and Mandy Winser, who joined in November 2021, continues in her COO role.

Nick Collard says: “I’m honoured to be asked to lead one of the best-known brands in Britain and take it through the next stage in its transformation. Bensons for Beds has undergone major changes over the past two years and successfully navigated difficult conditions arising from the pandemic and lockdown. We have invested across all aspects of the business, including our stores, distribution, manufacturing and revamping our website, but there is still much work to do, and our focus is now on giving customers the best standards of service possible.”

CHARITY CAMPAIGN EXCEEDS AMBITIOUS TARGET

Furnishing industry businesses from around the UK helped raise a staggering £270,000 for The Furniture Makers’ Company’s Step 2 It campaign, which ran from May 2021 to April 2022, and encouraged companies and individuals to organise sports-based challenges and events in aid of the charity. Throughout the year, hundreds of people got involved, helping the charity beat its £250,000 target. Step 2 It was also heavily supported by several trade sponsors.

David Woodward, The Furniture Makers’ Company’s immediate past master, says: “Step 2 It clearly resonated with the industry, as the support we received was phenomenal. Every month there seemed to be a new supporter-led event going on, whether it be a staff abseil, 24-hour ping pong tournament, fun run, hike, long-distance cycle, danceathon, charity ball, canal walk … we had the lot. Thank you so much to everyone who organised or took part in a fundraiser, or if you sponsored someone who was challenging themselves.”

Members of the livery company are now gearing up for a 300-mile charity bike ride from Hertfordshire to Lancashire this autumn in a bid to raise £50,000 for the charity. Seven people have signed up for the charity bike ride so far, which is being organised by new master Tony Attard OBE DL, and will take place from 12-16th September.

NBF TESTING REVEALS FLAWS IN NON-MEMBER PRODUCTS

The National Bed Federation (NBF) says its latest round of due diligence finished product testing continues to highlight the benefits of the association’s audited code of practice, with several major flammability and trade descriptions issues identified in non-member products – but none in products bought from members.

During 2021, a total of 21 mattresses, headboards, and mattress toppers were purchased – 11 from members and 10 from non-members. The products were tested, opened and examined.

The investigations carried out on the NBF member products showed that there were no major concerns regarding appropriate levels of due diligence testing being conducted for flammability, and no major issues in relation to trade descriptions, states the federation. Some areas for improvement were identified, discussed and resolved directly with the NBF members concerned.

Conversely, the results for the non-NBF member products showed several major failures in both flammability testing results and trade description issues, with some advertised fillings not being present in certain products at all, states the NBF. All results have been shared with the retailers of the non-NBF member company products so they can use this information to conduct their own investigations.

CHAIR SUCCESSION AT ERCOL

Ercol has announced that Edward Tadros (pictured right) is to step down from the position of chairman of Ercol Furniture, with effect from 1st July. Taking over from Edward as chairman will be his son, Henry Tadros (pictured left).

Ercol Furniture was founded in 1920 by Edward’s grandfather and Henry’s great-grandfather, Lucian R Ercolani. Edward joined in 1973, starting in the design department and in the factory. Over the years he worked across all areas of the business, including as production director and MD. He has been ercol’s chairman since 1993.

Henry joined ercol in 2010 and, like his father, began in the factory before working across all departments, as well as founding L.Ercolani, ercol’s luxury brand.

“It is with great enthusiasm that I announce that I have asked my son Henry to succeed me as chairman of Ercol Furniture,” says Edward. “I say enthusiasm, because I am very optimistic about the future of the company.

“Henry has been steeped in the ethos of ercol since an early age and has been fully engaged working for us for the last 12 years, from the shop floor outwards. The team with Henry is extremely good and motivated. For some time we have been managing this transition, and ercol now has a board of directors led by David Finch as MD, working with operations director Ian Peers, creative director Rachel Galbraith, and sales and marketing director Arno Koch, all experienced and committed.”

Edward remains on the board, and will continue to work alongside Henry and the team.

Henry comments: ”It is a great honour to be taking up the role as chairman at ercol from my father. What more can be said, other than he has been an ever-present icon of the company and industry for almost half a century, and will leave an impressive legacy to follow. 102 years after he founded the company as a young Italian immigrant, my greatgrandfather, Lucian, would be very proud of where we now find ourselves and what we have achieved.”

SCOTTISH INDEPENDENT ACQUIRED BY ESTABLISHED FAMILY RETAILER

Retailer Gillies of Broughty Ferry has acquired Grampian Furnishers. Based in a purpose-built 30,000ft2 store in Elgin, Grampian was founded by the Clark family in 1975, and has now been bought by one of Scotland’s oldest furniture and furnishings businesses, which dates back to 1895.

Gillies says trading will continue as normal at Grampian, with all employees remaining with the company.

Gillies, founded by James Gillies in Dundee, recently celebrated its 125th year, and currently trades from retail stores in Aberdeen, Broughty Ferry (Dundee), Inverness, Perth, and two clearance outlets in Dingwall and Montrose. Ownership remains with the fourth- and fifth-generation family members, and this acquisition will take employee numbers close to 200.

Ian Philp, MD of Gillies, says: “The state-of-the art showroom, highly regarded reputation and location of Grampian Furnishers was very appealing to the board of Gillies, and will allow us to expand the reach of our exciting range of home furnishings throughout the area of Moray and beyond.”

Royce Clark, MD and former owner of Grampian Furnishers, says: “It has been without question the most difficult decision of my life, but our longestablished family business being taken over by the Philp family and the Gillies brand is a perfect fit.”

ONE IN FIVE RETAIL WORKERS PLANS TO QUIT, SAYS INDUSTRY CHARITY

A report by the Retail Trust has found that one in five (21%) British retail workers and nearly a third (31%) of people working for the UK’s biggest retailers are planning to quit the sector.

The survey of more than 1500 retail staff found that most of those intending to leave blame concerns around their finances, rising levels of abuse from customers, and deteriorating mental health coming out of the pandemic. More than eight out of 10 (83%) said they have experienced a decline in their mental health in the last year, with retail workers aged between aged 16-29, those working in distribution and warehouses, and employees of larger retailers found to be struggling the most.

The trust also interviewed leaders of 20 household name retailers for its report, and worked with employee engagement platform WorkL to assess the wellbeing of a further 4500 workers. Despite the declining levels of mental health across the workforce, half of the retail leaders the Retail Trust spoke to said they believed the wellbeing of employees had improved over the last year, and nearly a third said they believed it had stayed the same.

The Retail Trust has now partnered with Microsoft, WorkL and business and technology firm BJSS to create the first retail wellbeing and happiness index.

Highgrove Beds

has achieved the UKAS-accredited ISO 9001 standard for Quality Management Systems. The certificate of compliance follows more than 12 months of implementation, with a wide range of new processes and procedures formalised throughout the organisation

The Very Group’s Home revenue was down -20.5% as of the end of Q3 (2nd April), following a record year, as customers “continued to shift away from one-off spend on large home items towards a more typical basket, which prioritised clothing and sportswear”

The National Bed

Federation has launched an industrywide Pledge for Our Planet, asking companies in the bed industry to take steps in unison that will address global environmental damage. The pledge was launched at the association’s annual forum in May, with 15 member companies signed up and a further six making their commitment subsequently

Sleepeezee has selected Romney Marsh Wools as its new supplier of premium, locally sourced wool

Snug’s latest live shopping event, which was in-person and livestreamed, featured noughties pop groups Blue, Five, and Blazin’ Squad, and generated 100,000 user impressions for the sofa-in-a-box brand across social media on the night