Sterling appoints new CEO

Hydeline Furniture has appointed Mark Jeffery (exDFS, Furniture Village, Studio Moderna) as its head of operations

Loom Loft Furniture and Interiors plans to open its third furniture store in early August, once an extensive refurbishment of the former Global Interiors premises in Astley Bridge, Bolton is completed

The National Bed Federation has revealed that Yorkshire-born comedian Maisie Adam will host its Bed Show gala dinner and awards

Recticel has signed a binding agreement to sell its Engineered Foams activities to US-based Carpenter Co, subject to customary closing conditions, including anti-trust clearance. It signed the divestment of the two UK Comfort Foams facilities to GIL Investments in April

Vogue Beds Group has appointed Marc Cotton (ex-ScS, Lebus, Vida and Julian Bowen) as its national sales manager

Ekornes, purveyor of the Stressless brand, has appointed Tine Hammernes Leopold as its new CEO. She boasts more than 20 years’ experience in Nordicbased branded consumer goods companies

IFHS, which returns to Dublin from 2nd-4th July, has announced the appointment of TV presenter Amanda Bone as the head judge of its Irish Furniture & Home Awards

Scotland’s Sterling Furniture Group has appointed John Pattison as its CEO, as it marks its 50th year in business. John will take charge of the Tillicoultryheadquartered home furnishing group next month. Originally from Glasgow, John has operated as a board director for more than 20 years, having most recently spent almost four years as commercial director at ScS.

John joins Sterling at a milestone moment in the company’s history, with the transition to the Sterling Home brand ongoing across the group’s 10 showrooms in Scotland, and a new generation of founder George Knowles’ family becoming company directors. The company has begun a large programme of investment in relaunching its flagship store at Tillicoultry under the Sterling Home brand, and is also investing significantly in digital, an area in which John is skilled.

Lesley Graham, Sterling’s deputy MD, says: “After a rigorous recruitment process where we interviewed a breadth of excellent candidates, we feel we’ve found absolutely the right person for our new CEO role in John Pattison. A highly experienced retail leader, he worked his way up from the shop floor to boardroom roles at major national firms, including ScS, Londis and Booker Retail Partners. We were very impressed by the way he dedicated a significant amount of time getting to know the business during the recruitment process, visiting each of our stores in person multiple times. Like us, John believes in the massive potential to make Sterling a recognised national brand once again and he’s brimming with exciting ideas to help us make that happen.”

Current MD Gordon Mearns will work closely with John during his initial months in the post, to ensure a smooth transition. Gordon is stepping down from Sterling after two decades at its helm.

Big Shots raises £35,000 for industry charity

The 28th edition of Big Shots, the clay pigeon shoot organised in aid of The Furniture Makers’ Company, has raised £35,000 for the charity. The fundraiser, which is supported by Furniture Village, took place on 7th June and was again held at Holland & Holland in Northwood, Middlesex. Around 150 attendees made up the 36 teams.

Jonny Westbrooke, CEO of The Furniture Makers’ Company, says: “This generous contribution will have a great impact on the lives of those entering and already involved in the UK furnishing industry. We extend our thanks to all the sponsors who played a vital role in the success of the event, with special recognition to Furniture Village, our principal sponsor and event supporter.”

Charlie Harrison, MD of Furniture Village, says:

“Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped raise a tremendous £35,000 for our industry charity – it provides vital help to people from our fabulous trade who may have fallen on tough times. Furniture Village is delighted to support the Big Shots event and we look forward to helping make the event bigger and better next year, so make sure to save the date in your diary.”

The full results were: Top Team – Clay Crackers (pictured); Runner-up team – Ocee & Four Design; Top Flurry – Clay Crackers; Top Novice Shots – The I Deal Boys; Top Male – Christopher Shaw; Top Female – Lizzie Shaw; Top Gun Novice – Darren Walpole; Lowest Male shot – Ian Hiscock; and Bottom Team –Tempurmentals. The 29th Big Shots will take place on 12th June next year.

New members elected to NBF council

Following its AGM in May, the National Bed Federation (NBF) has appointed four new members to its council, with the resignation of four.

Stepping down were past presidents Tony Lisanti (CEO of Airsprung Group), David Moffitt, (CEO of Kaymed), and Ebrahim Patel (MD of Vogue Beds), along with Elite Beds’ Greg Winston.

Tony is the longest-serving member, having been appointed back in 2008 and serving as president from 2017-20. He has also chaired the Circular Economy Committee, and intends to remain on it for the moment. Ebrahim has been on the council since 2012 and was president in 2015–17. David joined in 2018 and led the NBF from 2020-22. Greg was elected in 2020 and has now stepped down following the closure of his family’s bed manufacturing business.

Current president Jim Gerety says: “We are immensely grateful to all our departing council and board members for their service to the NBF and the bed industry – long or short. Without their willingness to give up their time and their wise council, the NBF would not be the respected organisation it is.”

In their place, the NBF welcomed four new council members: Nick Harland-Smith, MD of Handy; Steve Warren, MD of Sleepeezee; Mike Holmes, MD of Leggett & Platt (Kayfoam Woolfson/Kaymed); and Angela Moran, ESG director at Silentnight.

“Our new council members will, I am sure, bring a fresh new perspective to our strategy going forwards,” says Jim. “With Tristine Hargreaves replacing Jessica at the helm as executive director, it really does feel like a new era has begun!”

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