Furniture News #335

The essential guide to the UK domestic furniture and furnishings trade #335 Feb 2017 | www.furniturenews.net

Mozart in copper, Highgate Beds

ROARING SUCCESS Simba’s founder on his UK bed-in-a-box

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KEEPING SCORE Feefo on the benefits of online reviews

MIDAS TOUCH Touched Interiors shares its tale of luxury

04/07/2017 02/02/2017 14:16 14:38

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The Carpet Specialists

SERVICE QUALITY VALUE 04/07/2017 14:16

H

aving just welcomed the birth of a new year – Gong Xi Fa Cai! – China’s more savvy retail marketeers are turning their attention to a relatively new opportunity.

Love is in the air, and it hasn’t taken long for Valentine’s Day to become a global phenomenon.

Despite celebrating a traditional romantic festival each August (plus the e-commerce-led Singles’ Day each November), the Chinese have wholeheartedly embraced this Western custom, and, bolstered by the emerging spend of the younger middle classes, Valentine’s Day retail footfall has seen impressive growth in China over the last few years.

Although retailers of jewellery and stationery in particular (set to flock to Birmingham’s Spring Fair this month) will be aware of the potential ‘Valentine’s effect’ on store traffic, I believe that the festival boasts even broader potential. In the middle of what is typically the retail year’s quietest month, might Valentine’s Day offer UK sellers from every sector an increasingly valuable lifeline?

In typical fashion, February 2016 proved a tepid month for UK sellers. Figures from the BRC/ Springboard Footfall and Vacancies Monitor showed a YOY footfall decline of -1.1%, with only retail parks noting an upswing in traffic. However, whether driven by a combination of post-January sales blues or pre-Brexit uncertainty, that lull in consumer confidence did not extend to Valentine’s Day itself, which saw footfall up +6.3% year-on-year.

Although this spike was assisted by the fact Valentine’s Day fell on a weekend at the start of the half-term school holidays, it does appear to reflect a longer-term trend – despite floods and storms suppressing many parts of the country, YOY footfall on Valentine’s Day 2014 was up +1.5%, and rose by +2% again in 2015.

BRC-KPMG’s Retail Sales Monitor found that furniture and home accessories sales growth topped the leaderboard in 2016, closely followed

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by the month’s traditional winners – jewellery and watches, stationery and health and beauty products, respectively. The monitor’s commentators pointed out that an increased focus on in-store presentation and the clarity of gift sets bolstered health and beauty retailers in particular.

Meanwhile in China, footfall growth continues to dwarf these gains, so perhaps there’s even more cause for optimism. In a country where public kissing contests and prayer share a stage with growing consumerism, retailers are reaping the rewards. As they look to Western cultures for business potential, perhaps it’s time the UK started looking further afield for inspiration?

With competition at an all-time high, and technology playing an increasingly important role in shoppers’ purchasing decisions, making the most of promotional opportunities presented by events such as Valentine’s Day has never been more crucial.

With Brexit imminent and inflation on the rise, those looking creatively at themed presentation, promotion and packaging ahead of Valentine’s Day could find themselves in a stronger position to weather the month’s less attractive characteristics.

Please feel free to get in touch and let me know if you’ve found an inventive way of making it work for your business …

Paul Farley Paul Farley, editor-in-chief T 01424 776101 E paul@gearingmediagroup.com Twitter @FurnitureNewsED

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4 | Contents

INFORMATION

Editor-in-chief Paul Farley

7 Partner Comment The Sustainable Furnishings Council discusses how it is working to encourage the elimination of dangerous substances from furnishing products in the US

01424 776101 paul@gearingmediagroup.com Twitter @FurnitureNewsED Editor designate

16 News

Victoria Noakes 01424 776105 victoria@gearingmediagroup.com Twitter @Victoria_FNmag Advertising manager Sam Horscroft 01424 776100 sam@gearingmediagroup.com Twitter @FurnitureNewsAD Advertising executive

Highland Home (54)

26 Interviews Furniture News meets the founder of Simba, the bed-in-a-box mattress brand, and Victoria Noakes discovers more about luxury furniture and furnishings retailer, Touched Interiors

Fiona Jefferies 01424 776100 fiona@gearingmediagroup.com Twitter @FurnitureNewsAD Production manager James Ash 01424 775304 james@gearingmediagroup.com

36 Events Including previews of the London Fabric Show and IFEX, plus reviews of Top Drawer, imm cologne and Heimtextil

Kettle Interiors (62)

Deputy production manager Katie Bate katie@gearingmediagroup.com Production assistant Stephanie Reading stephanie@gearingmediagroup.com Digital Content Nathan Khan digital@gearingmediagroup.com Copy administrator Steve Merrick 01424 776108 production@gearingmediagroup.com Proofreader Keith Fitz-Hugh Editorial director John Legg 01424 776104 john@gearingmediagroup.com Publisher Nigel Gearing Accounts Wendy Williams 01424 774982 wendy@gearingmediagroup.com Subscriptions subscriptions@gearingmediagroup.com Annual Subscription Rates UK-£65 Europe-£85 RoW-£95 Repro, print and distribution Acorn Web Offset Ltd

Gearing Media Group Ltd 4 Red Barn Mews, High Street Battle, East Sussex TN33 0AG ISSN No: 1475 - 3731

© Gearing Media Group Ltd 2017 General information No part of this publication may be reproduced without the specific prior written agreement of the Publisher and may not be stored on any type of retrieval system. Furniture News/ Gearing Media Group Ltd accepts no responsibility for variations in colour reproduction. Special colours (Pantone etc) can be catered for with prior arrangement.

Some elements of the editorial content in this publication are submitted by the trade, however, all efforts are made to ensure that the editorial remains true to fact and unbiased.

Monies may have been accepted to offset the costs of colour reproduction. Gearing Media Group Ltd reserves the right to alter without prior notice any content other than customers’ advertisements. No correspondence will be entered into regarding altered or adjusted editorial content. The editor’s decision is final. All material submitted for inclusion in Furniture News is done so entirely at the owner’s risk and no responsibility is accepted for the safekeeping or return thereof.

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Simba (26)

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Contents | 5

ON THE COVER

The essential guide to the UK domestic furniture and furnishings trade #335 Feb 2017 | www.furniturenews.net

Mozart in copper, Highgate Beds

ROARING SUCCESS Simba’s founder on his UK bed-in-a-box

KEEPING SCORE Feefo on the benefits of online reviews

MIDAS TOUCH Touched Interiors shares its tale of luxury

Front Cover.indd 1

02/02/2017 14:38

The Mozart collection from Highgate Beds (www.highgatebeds. com)

CONTRIBUTORS

7

London Fabric Show (36)

48 Resources Featuring articles concerning digital marketing, the importance of online reviews and identifying the nature of potential buyers

Susan Inglis Executive director, SFC

48

54 Profiles Touched Interiors (32)

Incorporating updates from Highland Home, Bluebone, Heritage, Elstead Lighting and Kettle Interiors

66 Beds and Bedroom

Mike Murray MD, Land of Beds

Sweet Dreams, Highgate Beds, Steens Furniture, Breasley and Silentnight present their latest developments

50

76 Living Room 80 Furnisher Top Drawer (42)

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A round-up of some of the most current decorative furnishing products on the market

Andrew Mabbutt CEO, Feefo

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Partner Comment | 7

What’s it made of?

T

he Sustainable Furnishings Council (SFC) has partnered with the American Sustainable Business Council, the Center for Environmental Health and the Healthy Materials Lab at Parsons The New School to encourage inquiry and improvement, and to encourage the elimination of dangerous substances from furnishings products in the US. We announced the What’s it made of? initiative in October at the SFC’s 10th anniversary celebration during High Point Market, and word of the campaign is now spreading around the globe.

As we commented in the announcement, we are at a turning point for business and our economy, with more and more businesses recognising that they can be financially successful as they also provide social and environmental benefit, and more and more eager to take that responsibility. Transparency about material inputs is key. With this in mind, we are inviting the entire global home furnishings industry to sign a Pledge to ask ‘What’s it made of?’

The pledge reads: “As a business leader I am concerned about the health of our world - my employees, customers, communities, and the global environment. I am committed to reducing the use of chemicals that pose harm to human health and the environment. As a first step, I commit to ask my suppliers about the presence of chemicals of concern like flame retardants, fluorinated stain treatments, antimicrobials, vinyl and VOCs including formaldehyde, that may be present in the products that we produce/ specify/purchase.” The pledge can be signed at the SFC website.

We are calling out these particular chemicals of concern because they are common in furnishings products and because they present well-known problems: VOCs are used in adhesives, finishes, paint, coatings, and many other products to dissolve other chemical constituents – furniture containing composite wood is particularly prone to being VOC-laden – and many of these organic solvents release vapours, some of which are associated with neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity,

and carcinogenic effects; Flame-retardant chemicals have been found to migrate out of furniture products and get into our bodies – some have been associated with endocrine disruption and reproductive, neurologic, and immune impairment, as well as cancer; Fluorinated stain treatments, common in upholstered furniture and carpeting, persist in the environment – in humans, some highly fluorinated chemicals have been associated with kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disruption, elevated total cholesterol and obesity; Polyvinyl chloride, known as PVC or simply as vinyl, is used in rigid and pliable forms in numerous types of furniture, and its production and combustion emits dioxins, a potent carcinogen which is linked to impairment of the immune system, the developing nervous system, the endocrine system and reproductive functions, and, when made pliable with phthalates, these dangers are increased; and antimicrobials such as triclosan and triclocarban, which can be absorbed through the skin and are associated with adverse endocrine, thyroid, and reproductive changes, while their use can lead to resistant strains of bacteria.

SFC is pleased to be beginning our second decade with strong partner organisations that share our concern for a healthy future inside and out.

The pledge to ask ‘What’s it made of?’ starts the conversation between manufacturers and buyers about the dangers currently present and the need to look for solutions. As the initiative is implemented, we will be working to make it easier for consumers to find the products they want, and using our strong educational platform to help the industry better respond to consumer concern, accelerating the search for alternatives. We hope you will join us.

Susan Inglis is the executive director of the Sustainable Furnishings Council (SFC, www. sustainablefurnishings.org), a US organisation dedicated to promoting healthy environments

Media partners

Furniture News enjoys partnerships with a wide range of key global and national institutions and exhibitions …

Exclusive UK member

Furniture News supports the aims and objectives of ACID (Anti Copying In Design) which is committed to fighting intellectual property theft

Official media partner

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NEW!

DISPLAY CABINET WITH LIGHTS

£195.00!

C H O OSE FR OM 3 1 I TEMS C H O IC E OF METAL & WOOD HAND LES N AT URAL OAK FI NI SH

EXTENDING TABLES FROM

£149.99!

SHOWING AT: SPRING FAIR

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Introducing The NT Collection...

In a natural oak finish and with Danish style influences, this collection captures the trend for Scandinavian interior style, made for today’s UK homes. Featuring a choice of wood or metal handles, this is a range for those serious about making their home a stylish place to be.

SLAT BACK FABRIC CHAIR

4 DOOR SIDEBOARD

£42.50!

£199.99!

SHOWING AT: SPRING FAIR

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NEW!

DRESSER TOP WITH LIGHTS

£105.00!

C HO OSE FR OM 1 8 I TEMS F L AG PATTER N G R EY L IME W ASHED OAK TOPS BRA SS EFFECT HAND LES

SMALL SIDEBOARD

£99.99!

WALL MIRROR

£52.50!

3 DOOR SIDEBOARD

£159.99!

SHOWING AT: SPRING FAIR

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Introducing The NR Collection...

With a white paint finish and flag pattern grey lime-washed oak tops, this collection embraces classic country style. A nod towards French provincial style and with brass effect handles, it’s a fabulous way to add traditional glamour to the home.

BUTTON BACK CHAIRS FROM

£45.00!

EXTENDING TABLES FROM

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LARGE MIRRORED 2 DOOR ROBE JUMBO 2 OVER 4 CHEST

£129.99!

£209.99!

4’6 HIGH END BED

£125.00!

3 DRAWER BEDSIDES FROM

3 OVER 4 MULTI CHEST

£29.99!

BLANKET BOX

£125.00!

£57.50!

NEW FINISH

Introducing The WIT Collection

Beautifully crafted pine bedroom furniture with a traditional edge. With a natural wax look finish, this collection features a range of items perfect for smaller bedrooms.

NEW FOR 2017 I 21 ITEMS I NATURAL FINISH I IDEAL FOR SMALLER BEDROOMS

SHOWING AT: SPRING FAIR

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WINGED BACK CHAIR

£59.99!

BUTTON BACK UPHOLSTERED

£45.00!

CURVED BUTTON BACK

WING BUTTON BACK - METAL RING

£55.00!

LUXURY STUD CARVED OAK LEGS

£59.99!

£69.99!

Introducing our Upholstered Chairs These upholstered fabric dining chairs make the perfect luxury accompaniment to any of our oak or painted dining collections.

NEW FOR 2017 I 4 STYLES I 2 FABRIC COLOURS I MIX IN ANY ORDER

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New items for The Wicker Merchant The Wicker Merchant line of wicker storage has been expanded for 2017, with a range of laundry and log baskets, picnic baskets and hampers for strong seasonal sales and all-year round variety.

NEW WHITEWASH FINISH

NEW GREY ASH FINISH

24 NEW ITEMS FOR 2017 I FREE DELIVERY FROM £300 I BULK DISCOUNTS

More than furniture ORDERS FULFILLED FROM LARGE UK STOCKS FOR SPEED AND EFFICIENCY OV E R 4 0 0 I T E M S AC R O SS P I N E , PA I N T E D A N D OA K F U R N I T U R E OVER 100 ITEMS THROUGH THE WICKER MERCHANT BRAND FAST WHOLESALE ORDERS WITH FREE DELIVERY FROM £500 S T O C K I S T D I S C O U N T F O R A V E R A G E M O N T H LY S P E N D O F £ 2 , 5 0 0 CONTAINER DISCOUNT WITH FAST SHIPPING DIRECT HOME DELIVERY SERVICE AVAILABLE ONLINE ORDERING DISPLAY DISCOUNT FOR FIRST TIME RANGE ORDERS

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16 | News

Drawer component manufacturers fined Two component manufacturers have agreed to pay fines totalling £2.8m for illegal cartel activity, following a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation.

Thomas Armstrong (Timber) Ltd and Hoffman Thornwood Ltd have agreed to pay the fines after admitting market sharing, coordinating prices, bid-rigging and exchanging commercially-sensitive information.

The companies, which supply drawer parts, have admitted that they broke competition law by agreeing not to compete on price and sharing out which customers they would supply.

Another manufacturer, BHK (UK) Ltd, confessed its involvement in cartel activity shortly after the start of the investigation.

It will not be fined, provided it continues to co-operate with the CMA, and complies with the other conditions of the CMA’s leniency policy.

Carpetright returns to quarterly sales growth Carpetright has announced an update on trading for the 13 weeks ended 28th January 2017, highlighting a return to quarterly sales growth in the UK, where LFL sales for the four weeks to 28th January 2016 were up 6.8%, and LFL sales for the entire period up 1.9%.

120 stores are now trading under the new brand identity, delivering sales growth above comparable stores in the rest of the estate. The retailer says it is on track to achieve 150 stores by the end of April, in line with its accelerated refurbishment plan.

Two new stores are scheduled to open in the next quarter, in Leeds (Birstall) and Bath.

The Furniture Awards 2017 winners revealed After evaluating a highly-competitive shortlist refined from the greatest number of entries to date, The Furniture Awards 2017 judges have selected their winning suppliers of the January Furniture Show 2017.

Developed by Furniture News in partnership with the show’s organisers, the awards offer the show’s exhibitors the opportunity to put the best of their new products before a panel of expert judges from the world of furniture retail and design.

The awards are co-ordinated and chaired by Paul Farley, editor of Furniture News, and the 2017 judging panel comprised: Malcolm Walker, director of buying for Furniture Village; Diana Celella, award-winning interior designer and president elect of SBID; Rob Scarlett, furniture designer; and Royce Clark, MD of Grampian Furnishers.

This year’s winners were: winner – concept me, Nolte Möbel, and highly commended – Dartmoor, Cottonsafe Natural Mattress (Bedroom Category); winner – Brunel, Bentley Designs,

and highly commended – Varzzy Stories, Evanyrouse (Dining Category); winner – Gatsby, Tetrad, and highly commended – BB, Asiades HK (Living Category); and winner – New Jersey Print, Flair Rugs (Decor Category).

“This year’s edition of The Furniture Awards unearthed a truly impressive selection of winners,” comments Paul Farley. “These stand-out suppliers have proved their ability to deliver first-class, on-trend furniture overflowing with commercial appeal.”

These winners will now be able to employ The Furniture Awards branding across their marketing and retail PoS, helping lend their new releases even greater distinction.

Details of the 2018 competition will be revealed later this year. See next month’s edition of Furniture News for more on this year’s winners.

Savoir appoints sales and marketing director Luxury bedmaker Savoir Beds has appointed Martin Warbrick as sales and marketing director. In this new role, Martin will be responsible for contributing to Savoir’s overall strategy and growth in the UK and globally. Reporting to MD Alistair Hughes, Martin will oversee marketing, strategic business partnerships and sales.

Martin joins Savoir Beds from Canburg, where he was previously sales and marketing director of a portfolio of upmarket interior brands including Smallbone of Devizes and Mark Wilkinson Furniture. Prior to this he was sales and marketing director at Clive Christian during its period of strongest growth in the UK and overseas.

Ikea starts Sheffield store construction Ikea welcomed local dignitaries to the ground-breaking ceremony for its new store, due to open late summer on Sheffield Road, Tinsley.

The store will create 480 local jobs

– 380 in store and a further 100 for the call centre. It will be the retailer’s most sustainable store to date, and will aim to achieve 100% renewable energy. The store will be Ikea’s 20th in the UK.

Sign up to receive the Furniture News e-newsletter at www.furniturenews.net to keep abreast of the latest news, analysis and events

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News | 17

BFM expands legal advice service The British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) has expanded its legal advice service to members. The trade association, which offers a range of benefits to members, has expanded the commercial aspect of its legal advice line service run in conjuction with advice specialists, Croner Consulting.

BFM members now have access to a team of vastly experienced commercial consultants who are are able to advise on a broad range of topics. These include company law, clubs and associations, partnerships, LLPs and sole traders, commercial contracts, involvency, tort law, property and intellectual property as well as data protections, freedom of information and equality act.

Croner also provides a back-up health and safety and employment law advice line if members are unable to contact the BFM’s own experts in this area.

ScS pleased with HY performance ScS has issued a trading update ahead of announcing its interim results for the 26 weeks ended 28th January 2017 on 21st March 2017. The group reports that it has traded in line with the board’s expectations in the first half of the financial year.

The group achieved LFL order intake growth of 2.7% for the 26 weeks, “a pleasing performance against particularly strong comparatives”. Two year LFL order intake has grown 12.5%. Trading over the Christmas and January sales period was also in line with the company’s expectations.

The company remains mindful that it still faces the key Easter and May bank holiday trading periods, and faces “very strong comparatives” during the rest of the year.

New look for Wiemann UK’s website Wiemann UK has redeveloped its website, which now includes an indepth product search, contacts tab, a summary of agents and areas and details of trade showrooms.

Consumers also have access to the stockist search, and can download a full brochure.

MD Simon Hewitt says: “Wiemann is constantly looking for ways of improving communication with its customers and enhancing user experience, and the site does just that - it provides key information for both the public and our trade clients on an easy-to-navigate basis.”

Habitat opens first standalone Mini store Habitat has returned to Leeds with the launch its first new format standalone Mini Habitat store. At 2000ft2, the store includes an edit of over 600 products, with a range of price points across furniture, upholstery, lighting, homewares and textiles.

The retailer is looking to trial

regional touch point stores across the UK to help support its multichannel growth strategy.

Investment in smaller footprint formats is aimed to further both online and offline brand awareness with new audiences as well as increase online shopper confidence.

Kindred Living opens design centre Kindred Living has opened the doors to a new Northern Design Centre at its headquarters in County Durham. The showroom offers an inviting setting for its bedroom furniture collection to appeal to designers and specifiers from across the north of England.

Extending to 3400ft2, the Design Centre features the entire Kindred

portfolio and allows trade professionals to explore the brand through its contemporary and classic themed designs. The centre also includes a 40-seater conference room and several informal areas.

Director David Burchnall comments: “It is so much more than a showroom, with product interaction at its core.”

Sign up to receive the Furniture News e-newsletter at www.furniturenews.net to keep abreast of the latest news, analysis and events

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18 | News

Dreams signs up for Heart radio campaign Retailer Dreams has signed up for a longterm partnership with Heart, which will see sponsored content reach an estimated 9.6 million listeners during targeted times in which the audience should be more receptive to advice on how to optimise sleep.

Co-branded content will be delivered across Heart’s various media channels and the Dreams’ Sleep Matters app. There will be a specific focus on calendar events and seasonality, with reactive content created for relevant moments such as Valentine’s Day. Lisa Bond, marketing director at Dreams, says: “We’ve been looking for the right sponsorship partner to continue to help build and maintain our brand position as the UK’s leading bed specialist and most recommended bed company. With Heart being the UK’s most popular commercial radio brand, we’re confident we have found the right partner for Dreams.”

Baroness Brady joins Spring Fair line-up

Fairway Furniture recognises long-serving staff Plymouth-headquartered Fairway Furniture, the South-west’s largest independent furniture retailer with stores in Plymouth, Tavistock, Newton Abbot and St Austell – has presented long service awards to nine of its staff, who between them have amassed over 250 years’ service.

Receiving awards were Jim Booty, John Brien, Penny Craze, Stephen Cumbers, Anthony De Greeve, Natalie Hover, Mike James, Jane Netherton and Liz Walch.

MD Peter Harding says: “It is such a privilege to be recognising incredible service and dedication to our company from so many staff at the same time, and I would like to thank them all so much for their efforts.

They say that the staff of a business are the

foundations on which its success is built, and I know that this business has continued to succeed and develop over the years through the contribution of these nine fantastically committed people.”

The Sleep Council launches new website The Sleep Council has launched a new interactive website, offering even more tools and guidance on sleep. The redeveloped online hub provides advice on all things sleep for adults and children – including how to create the perfect sleeping environment, seven steps for a better night’s sleep and interactive online polls.

Explains Lisa Artis of The Sleep Council: “We have a completely new look and feel to our website with the aim of providing an all-in-one sleep hub for anyone who visits the site. For bed retailers, our Good-Night

Guide and the Good-Night Guide for Children are also hosted on the new website and can be downloaded free of charge – providing a great resource to which sign-post consumers.

“We’ve also introduced a host of advice and top tip videos which will be featured on the new website, as well as our YouTube channel, and a dedicated section for healthcare professionals. While we are not experts or specialists in the field of sleep disorders, we do provide helpful advice and tips on how to improve sleep quality for children and teens through to adults.”

NBF upgrades bed hub Baroness Karren Brady CBE is the latest high-profile businesswoman to be announced as a keynote speaker at the UK’s largest gift and home trade event, Spring Fair, taking place at the Birmingham NEC from 5-9th February.

Currently responsible for running West Ham United Football Club, Lady Brady also holds high-profile roles at Syco Entertainment and Taveta Investments – the owner of Arcadia. Having received a CBE for her services to business, entrepreneurship and women in business, and excelled in her role as Sir Alan Sugar’s right hand-woman in TV show The Apprentice, Karren is well placed to offer advice on how to be successful in the retail industry – her talk will take place in the Fashion and Accessories Catwalk from 1.55-2.25pm on 7th February.

The redeveloped National Bed Federation (NBF) website now provides information and support in three dedicated sections – trade, members and consumers. For NBF members and those in the bed trade, an education and training section has been introduced, linking directly to the NBF’s training courses, as well as details about the Bed Makers Apprenticeship and the apprenticeship levy, which comes into effect in March.

A database of NBF members sits in the consumer section, where, via the Bed Buyer’s Guide, visitors can search for specific bed and bedding products.

The site also features guidance on the NBF Code of Practice, packaging colour coding, flammability, recycling and advice on sales incentives, plus a portfolio of trade marketing support, whereby manufacturers and retailers can access free marketing tool kits with web banners and artwork.

Following a strategic decision to more clearly separate the main objectives of The Sleep Council and the NBF, all consumer bed information is now hosted on the new NBF site, whilst sleep-related topics will remain with the predominantly consumer-facing advisory organisation, The Sleep Council.

Simon Williams, marketing manager at the NBF, says: “During the development, we amalgamated information and tools from the now defunct Sleep Biz website – which was aimed predominately at retailers – and updated the content which can now be found on the new NBF website. Our aim was to provide a streamlined hub of information.

“Our updated, password-protected, members-only area provides a modernised section whereby member organisations can access consumer research reports, industry sales data, trade name register and details of the NBF Spring Forum.”

Sign up to receive the Furniture News e-newsletter at www.furniturenews.net to keep abreast of the latest news, analysis and events

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News | 19

FIRA opens its doors

Hypnos reports record growth

On 23rd February, the Furniture Industry Research Association and FIRA International is opening to members and non-members as part of a series of open days scheduled for 2017. The event gives delegates the opportunity to visit the testing site in Stevenage and understand more about the research association, and the commercial provider (FIRA International).

Starting at 09.45, the agenda includes an overview of the entities’ work in furniture testing, ergonomics, research services, sustainability and furniture aftercare.

There will also be a tour of FIRA’s UKASaccredited testing facilities, and then the chance to watch a FIRA service technician repairing furniture before the day closes.

Hypnos has released its latest financial figures, revealing growth across the hospitality and retail markets within both the UK and internationally.

The British business, which operates under Hypnos Ltd and Hypnos Contract Beds Ltd, reports an overall turnover for the group of over £62m for the year ending 25th June 2016, an increase of 32% on the previous year. Furthermore, the group has seen a 60% YoY improvement in its underlying operating profit.

Owned by parent company Keen and Toms Holdings, the business attributes its performance to a continued focus on international outreach, as well as a series of new retailer account openings and new refurbishment programmes undertaken

by its hospitality clients. Additionally, the hospitality business has benefited from the lease of its new facility in Castle Donington, which was officially opened in April by Prince Andrew, HRH The Duke of York.

Stephen Ward, Hypnos’ group MD, says: “These are a very pleasing set of numbers to report as they are well in excess of the targets that we set ourselves five years ago.

"We have achieved significant growth in the UK in both retail and hospitality sectors and have started to see real traction in our international activities in both sectors.

"Our new five-year plan, which started in July 2016, is set to deliver continued growth both domestically and internationally, but not at the same rate that was the case in the last five years.”

Charity Everest climb Damian Walters, chief executive of the British Institute of Kitchen, Bedroom & Bathroom Installation (BiKBBI), is attempting to raise £100,000 for The Furniture Makers’ Company, the furnishing industry’s charity, by scaling Mount Everest, starting in April.

Damian says: “The majority of expeditions to Everest last about 64 days, but there is only a few days dedicated to the summit push. The rest of the time is spent preparing physically and mentally for this demanding challenge.”

An experienced member of the mountaineering community, Damian first attempted Everest in 2010 but was forced to abandon the climb at 27,500ft due to severe

Duvalay secures Irish distributor UK bed manufacturer Duvalay has secured a partnership with Irish distributor TCS Imports to support the launch of the Hilary Devey Collection into Ireland. The contract sees TCS Imports have sole distribution rights across the whole of Ireland.

Thomas Small, MD of TCS Imports, says: “The Hilary Devey Collection provides our retail network with the highest quality of mattresses. With each one being made by hand, it provides a wealth of premium features, including hand side-stitched borders and hand-tufting.”

Tom Colleran, sales manager for Duvalay, adds: “TCS Imports is a natural fit for the Hilary Devey Collection as they have a vast understanding of the furniture retail market and the bed industry.”

altitude sickness. He says: “Going back is an absolute must as I see this personally as unfinished business. As a corporate liveryman of The Furniture Makers’ Company, I am a huge supporter of the crucial work that it performs in the areas of welfare and education in particular.

"The opportunity of raising money for the charity is more than enough reason to tackle the mountain again.”

The charity has prepared a number of opportunities for anyone wishing to sponsor Damian’s ascent, including having a logo or name printed on the flag which he will plant atop the mountain.

New commercial director at Harrison Spinks UK bedmaker Harrison Spinks has bolstered its senior team by appointing a new commercial director who will play a crucial role in delivering the company’s ambitious growth plans.

Ruairi Giles has taken on the position after spending more than eight years working at Harrison Spinks in a variety of roles.

This experience has provided Ruairi with a wealth of knowledge in sales, commercial awareness and customer relations within the bed industry. As part of his new role, Ruairi will utilise his extensive knowledge of the business to assist the sales, operations and manufacturing departments in continuing to drive the company forward.

Ruairi says: “In my new role I hope to assist in helping Harrison Spinks continue to grow by maintaining the highest standards for our customers. As a forever-changing,

family-run business, Harrison Spinks has a great ethos and values – there’s a real sense of community and team work. The business is also leading the way in innovation within the bed industry, which is really exciting to be involved in.”

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20 | News

Sealy partners with Olympian Paul Pollock Sealy has partnered with Irish international marathon runner, Paul Pollock, following his impressive performance in the Rio Olympics, where he finished 32nd out of 155 competitors.

Sealy has gifted Paul a top-of-the-range bed, to ensure he gets the best rest possible so he is able to maximise his performance as he prepares for a busy year representing his country in a series of high-profile marathons.

Paul comments: “I have an extremely tough training schedule and often cover over 100 miles a week and due to the pressure I put on my body, it’s important to get a good night’s sleep to aid recovery. I honestly can’t imagine sleeping on any other mattress now that I have

Wade appoints new personnel

Chris Welbourn

a Sealy. The firmness is just perfect and allows me to wake every day feeling refreshed and ready to tackle my training programme.

“A good night’s sleep is absolutely essential for any athlete serious about their training regime so finding a mattress that delivers this night after night is ideal.”

The partnership forms part of Sealy’s World of Sport campaign, which aims to make the connection between an outstanding night’s sleep and sporting excellence.

To date, the manufacturer has worked with a range of sporting legends, from David Haye to Linford Christie, the Wigan Warriors and Burnley FC.

Serene’s sales team changes Serene has announced the departure of longstanding agent Stephen Macalister, agent for the North-east, Yorkshire and Humberside, and has welcomed his replacement on board.

Graham Dickinson is an established agent for over 12 years, having been in the industry for 25 years, during which time he worked in management roles for Joplings of Sunderland and Robbs of Hexham, along with Myers beds.

Serene’s founder Tasleem Tasab says: “Firstly, I would like to thank Stephen for his hard work and loyalty to Serene – he has been instrumental in the growth of the

business, joining from the outset back in 2005, and is well liked by the Serene team and his many customers, in an area that he has developed in to one of the topperforming parts of the country for the business.

“I would also like to welcome Graham Dickinson to the team, who has already conveyed just how keen he is to get to grips with our vast product range and the area he is taking over from Stephen. Graham has proven, well-connected relationships with a number of our existing customers, which I am sure he will develop further on behalf of Serene.”

John Lawson

Owner of the Long Eaton-based Wade Upholstery, JDP Furniture Group, has bolstered its team with two new appointments. Chris Welbourn joins as operations director, reporting to Simon Wade and running production across Wade, Cintique and Parker & Farr. He joins from an aerospace and automotive engineering background and will be working with the production teams to harness the company’s upholstery skills whilst embracing lean manufacturing processes and encouraging efficiency.

The second appointment is that of John Lawson, who has been appointed finance director and is working alongside outgoing finance director David Garner prior to the latter’s retirement. John has a similar background to Chris Welbourn, and joins from Abacus Lighting. Based in Long Eaton, John will be developing systems and tightening accounting processes across the three brands.

Stephen Macalister

Graham Dickinson

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22 | News

New appointments at ScS Sofa and carpet retailer ScS has appointed Farren Murphy its commercial manager. Farren has a wealth of experience in the flooring industry and, working alongside ScS’ national flooring controller, Charles Coombs, and national flooring operations manager, Keith Morgan, aims to further grow this area of the business.

Prior to his role at ScS, Farren held the position of regional manager at Carpetright for more than eight years. and formerly he was also national operations manager at Storey Carpets.Farren started his journey at

Allied Carpets as a warehouse assistant, before working his way up to managing one of the company’s largest stores by the age of 22.

This news follows the recent appointment of Elaine Ray as brand development director for the company’s House of Fraser concession business.

The retailer has also appointed Lacey Hewison as head of operational improvement.

Lacey has extensive experience of managing business improvement projects, working for brands including Orange and Talk Talk, as well as in the transport and logistics industry.

Farren Murphy

Lacey Hewison

Mammoth ambassador awarded MBE Mammoth Technologies ambassador Anne Dickins has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List.

Anne, a world, European and Olympic Para canoe champion, has been an ambassador for the mattress manufacturer since 2014 when she approached the company for help with her recovery from a serious back injury.

“As a physiotherapist I appreciate the importance of sleep and comfort in the healing process.

"Having done lots of research into mattresses, I found that Mammoth was the only mattress to be backed up by science and is incredibly comfortable too.

"The mattress has given me confidence to

know that my body is being looked after while I sleep.”

Mammoth Technologies MD and founder John Tuton says: “Anne’s story is a truly inspirational one and we are proud to have played a small part in helping her achieve her dream of becoming an Olympic and world champion.”

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COINING IT IN A survey of 2000 households by manufacturer Distinctive Chesterfields (www. distinctivechesterfields.co.uk) has found that British households lose an average of £5.77 in loose change in their sofa each year, equating to an estimated £155m across 27 million homes.

Steve Laidlaw, director at Distinctive Chesterfields, says: “Noone likes to lose their hard-earned possessions, but at least having recognised the couch as the most likely culprit, we know where to begin our search!”

Infographic created by wholesaler Manchester Furniture Supplies (www.manchesterfurnituresupplies.co.uk)

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26 | Interview

“Innocent have already transformed the market, changing the way fruit is consumed – we saw strong parallels with what we were doing”

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Interview | 27

National pride From a standing start in 2015 to a global expansion plan that will see it enter a new country every two weeks, London-based mattress brand Simba Sleep is matching the US beat for beat. Furniture News meets the founder of the homegrown bed-in-a-box outfit that just can’t wait to be king …

Words: Paul Farley “The bed market has been monopolised by the big players for too long,” states Simba’s founder and CEO, James Cox. “We want to change that, and improve the way people sleep.”

Established in 2015 and launched months later in February 2016, the British answer to the US bed-ina-box invasion quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with, hitting the £10m sales mark in just seven months and racing ahead of rivals Eve and Casper.

In many ways, Simba’s approach mirrors that of its competitors – one product, dynamic marketing, technological and logistical expertise – but James says it’s the unique elements which have made the difference.

“We’ve always wanted to innovate rather than replicate,” he says. “Tuft & Needle were around long before the likes of Casper, but the ability to reach the consumer with such a clear product story has completely changed the market. We strove for consumer satisfaction, but to achieve this and stand out from the crowd required us to really prioritise innovation.”

James co-founded Simba with the help of founder of Tribesports.com, Steve Reid, and the McClements family, which had been selling thread for mattressmaking since 1979 and helped ground the firm in the specifics of the UK mattress industry.

The team assembled to help Simba fund, explore and deliver its concept comprised backers such as Spark Ventures and The Garage Soho, which were joined by angel investors including Tom >>>

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28 | Interview Teichman (made.com, lastminute.com, notonthehighstreet.com), Nigel Wray (formerly Domino’s, Saracens, Franchise Brands), the founders of Innocent Drinks Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright, and the Jatania Family (formerly Lornamead – Vosene, Yardley).

“We went for industry names rather than venture capitalists, and they’ve definitely helped us shape the brand,” says James. “John Hegarty [founder of global creative agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty] and several others have been great on the marketing side of the business, while David Hickson [founder of tech backer Founders Factory] gave us great advice on what not to do.

“All three of Innocent’s founders have helped from a brand and logistical perspective. Innocent have already transformed the market, changing the way fruit is consumed – we saw strong parallels with what we were doing.”

While its competitors’ models

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exclusively employ foams, Simba’s hybrid throws pocket springs into the mix, more closely reflecting the established preferences of UK consumers.

“Springs have become unfashionable in certain territories, but we saw the need for the comfort of foam and the support of springs,” says James. “It brings a bit more life into the mattress.”

Simba’s mattress comprises five layers of memory foam, supported by 2500 patented conical pocket springs, which says the company, do not compress in a linear fashion, meaning sleepers of different weights are unlikely to experience roll-together. This additional engineering means that they retail for around £50 more than their competitors’ (“but we never discount”, James clarifies).

Simba’s dynamic marketing machine, which employs a mix of “online and offline marketing to reach the consumer appropriately”, is typical of its breed,

but whilst not as prolific as some of its rivals – “go back eight months, and you couldn’t move without seeing Casper’s presence on the London underground” – it places rather more emphasis on product quality.

“We’re the only brand that opens up our mattress to show people what’s inside – making clear what we’re offering, and why it’s better than the rest,” says James.

While a next-day delivery promise – bolstered by a (now-standard) 100-night trial and 10-year guarantee – is undoubtedly a key selling point, product remains at the heart of Simba’s offer, says James. “We don’t sell on the basis that we’re a boxed product,” he says.

“We focus on the fact that it’s a great mattress.”

Simba recently commissioned independent research that studied sleepers’ experiences on its mattresses alongside two key rivals, Eve and Casper.

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Interview | 29 The results were encouraging: Simba mattress sleepers enjoyed an extra 21 minutes of sleep a night than those on the nearest rival (equating to around 16 extra nights’ sleep a year); Simba mattresses recorded the most owners who would buy one again, and none who said they wouldn’t; and 83% of sleepers preferred Simba to their previous mattress, compared to 75% and 67% for its rivals.

Although detractors of the one-typefits-all offer would argue that consumers prefer more individually-tailored sleeping solutions, James is confident that his answer is suitable for most, having worked with the Sleep to Live Institute to compile data from 10 million people.

“From these huge data sets, we developed a model that’s suitable for more than 95% of the UK population,” says James. “Of course, many people make claims like this, but we deliver – the theoretical limit to our returns rate is 8%, but our average is currently just 4.5%.”

This figure has been significantly suppressed thanks to Simba’s lucrative partnership with John Lewis, a highprofile physical anchor for the online brand through which around 250 mattresses are sold each week. While the company’s direct-to-consumer returns rate is 6.2%, it’s less than 2% from John Lewis’ 45 stores, says James.

“Physical wasn’t always part of the plan,” he says, “but early on we were approached by John Lewis, who were looking to launch their own mattress, but just couldn’t justify the costs.

“Other companies hold this partnership against us and say there must be huge margins, but John Lewis were willing to cut the margin significantly to have us on board. We market and promote both the mattresses and the retailer – people going into a store often end up buying more than just a mattress.

“Brick-and-mortar sellers still hold the vast majority of the market, but we’d rather partner with retailers than better them – and we believe John Lewis is the best partner we could have. Now noone is more than 20 miles away from a Simba.”

As well as “ongoing hardware” developments which James refuses to elaborate upon, the CEO’s current focus is very much on bringing Simba even

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“We’re the only brand that opens up our mattress to show people what’s inside – making clear what we’re offering, and why it’s better than the rest” closer to the consumer – on a global level.

Simba is already selling in France, Germany, The Netherlands, Ireland, North America and the Middle East, and James outlines an astonishingly ambitious plan to roll out the brand in 34 countries over 18 months – that’s a new territory every two weeks. Where possible, he will look to mirror the brand’s approach to the UK market, employing local retail partners and delivering mattresses tailored to meet each country’s demands.

“That may seem fast,” admits James, “but we’re actually doing things in a very measured way. I don’t think the market is going anywhere in a rush.

“Thanks to our mattress heritage, we know the supply chain. We work with a number of contributors within the UK, and have production facilities available overseas. But the biggest challenge we’ve yet faced is not knowing how many mattresses we’re going to sell.

When we started out, our supply chain quickly became extremely strained, and we risked becoming a victim of our own success.”

Whilst failing to meet demand is not the worst problem a start-up can experience, it can seriously harm credibility – an increasingly valuable resource within the closely-contested bed-in-a-box sector.

“We’d like to keep things as close to the core model as possible,” says James, who believes that efficiencies in Simba’s online model will allow it to lay down equity for the next 5-10 years and cement these foundations.

Meanwhile, James says he wants to double – if not triple – Simba Sleep’s UK output over the next 18 months. Clearly, the latest industry disruptor feels he has formulated a recipe for success, and the evidence certainly supports his bullish take.

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32 | Interview

Bringing a touch of luxury to the marketplace Touched Interiors, founded in 2009, is a retailer of luxury furniture and furnishings, which traded exclusively online before opening its flagship Manchester showroom in 2014. Victoria Noakes speaks to design director Kunal Trehan to discover more about the company’s philosophy and direction ...

Words: Victoria Noakes

S

tarting out as an interior designer, Kunal Trehan often found that a lack of the right products available in the market would hinder his vision and ability to bring his concepts to life.

It was because of this that he wanted to create a design centre where “everything

Kunal Trehan

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was possible through customisation”, be it with large furniture items, soft furnishings or carpets and rugs. As a result, in 2009 Kunal established luxury furniture retailer and design service Touched Interiors.

“Our vision from the start was to

Venezia high-gloss white bed with black velvet Swarovski headboard

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Interview | 33

Ringo smoke grey silver upholstered curved unit sofa

achieve design excellence by retailing a selection of the finest luxury interior furnishings and furniture. Uniquely, Touched Interiors allows clients to customise and commission their own dream furnishings – our made-to-order items can be customised to any size, finish or upsholstery,” says Kunal.

With the company originally solely based online, Kunal chose Manchester as the place to launch his business’ first showroom in 2014. Kunal believed that the history, style and culture that the city offered helped to encapsulate the originality and prestige of the brand.

The company has recently undergone construction on the facade of the showroom to increase its visual impact.

Touched Interiors offers a wide array of furniture and furnishing products

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for all areas of the home, including upholstery, dining room tables and chairs, beds, cabinet furniture and rugs, as well as accessories such as mirrors, wall art, cushions, clocks and lighting.

The company’s interior design services complement its portfolio, covering a personal procurement service, personal shopping, and bespoke furniture commissioning.

“Only the most luxurious, curated materials are used when producing our items, down to measuring the crystal clarity within our chandeliers and using the highest quality wooden finish on the frames of our artwork,” explains Kunal.

From the outset, Kunal knew the company’s team would not be made up of commission-led retail sales advisors. He envisaged a top quality team >>>

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34 | Interview

Touched Interiors specialises in high quality home furnishings and furniture

that would be made up of expert textile and interior designers, so that clients could sit back and relax, knowing that they were receiving a comprehensive experience.

“We knew an unparalleled personal and elite customer service would be paramount to our success. We wanted to create a company which adapted to the needs and wants of our clients.

"Our brand appeals to the higher end of the market, with our clients eager to experience the unrivalled level of elegance we apply to the retail environment.

"We often work with clients in Cheshire’s Golden Triangle, however we have an extensive portfolio which includes clients in Europe, the US and further afield,” Kunal states.

Over recent years, Touched Interiors’ achievements, customer service and

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designs have gained recognition, and the company has received several accolades.

These include: being named in Three Best Rated 2015’s Top Three Furniture Shops Manchester; gaining Bark’s Certificate of Excellence in the same year; winning in the 2017 Build Awards’ Interior Designers of the Year category, and winning the Luxury Furniture Supplier of the Year category at the 2017 edition of the Innovation and Excellence Awards.

In order to keep up with the needs of a rapidly-changing market, Touched Interiors keeps a close eye on developing trends and consumer habits and desires, whilst maintaining the sense of luxury and sophistication it is known for. The company works very closely with its production houses across the EU to ensure it always offers its clients the best quality furnishings possible.

“We approach each project with an optimistic injection of style and passion.

We think the best way to match the needs of the evolving market is to listen, create and innovate,” says Kunal.

Looking to the future, as the business continues to grow and attract clients from around the world, one of Touched Interiors’ long-terms plans is to expand its physical retail presence with a new flagship showroom in central London, alongside further retail locations in key affluent cities across the US. Kunal adds: “Aside from expanding our physical presence, we have been in talks with major national and international retailers with the aim of bringing the glamour and creative imagination we are renowned for into their stores, which is something we are really excited about.”

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36 | Events

PREVIEW

BRINGING FABRIC TO THE FORE New and returning exhibitors will be displaying an impressive selection of designs and colourways at the London Fabric Show this year, taking place at the Chelsea FC football ground at Stamford Bridge, London on 27th and 28th February.

H

osted by the British Furniture Manufacturers Association (BFM), the show brings fabric producers from Belgium, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the UK together to provide UK upholstery and soft furnishing manufacturers with an opportunity to select and customise fabrics.

BFM MD Jackie Bazeley says: “We are looking forward to the best show yet in 2017. Our exhibitor list is outstanding in the world of textiles, and our advance registrations already contain a healthy list of personnel from major UK upholstery and bed manufacturers.

Over 35 exhibitors will present designs in jacquards, wools, velvets, cottons, chenilles, leathers, faux leathers and highperformance polyester fabrics, among others. Backing fabrics and fire-retardant treatments will also be on display.

Well-known British producers including Abraham Moon & Sons, Art of the Loom,

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British Velvets and Warwick will be present, alongside Adoksan and Tesseme from Turkey and Interfabrics and Antecuir from Spain. Belgian heavyweights Symphony Mills, Escolys, Van Neder, and Greenstreet Textiles will also be present.

Much of the Belgian contingent will be present at the show under the auspices of Fedustria (mark.vervaeke@fedustria.be) and Flanders Investment & Trade.

The textile industry of Belgium, the heart of which is located in Flanders, has been a prominent part of the country’s industry for centuries. Employing around 20,000 people in total, the sector remains one of Belgium’s major employers – the total turnover of the some-700 textile companies in Belgium amounts to around €5.1b and accounts for 12% of the EU’s textile exports.

Belgian upholstery and furnishing fabrics, carpets and rugs, bed linen, kitchen and table linen, mattress ticking, terry towelling articles, trimmings and wallcoverings all benefit from this long history of textile production. Visitors to the show will be able to see many of the country’s top producers.

London Fabric Show’s venue adds interest to the show. Held in Chelsea’s executive boxes overlooking the pitch, the show takes on a dimension of sporting spirit and grandeur.

“Most shows are held in large venues that lack personality,” says Jackie. “The London Fabric Show is a large venue bursting with personality, and it provides a great backdrop for exhibitors and visitors.”

Visitors can register free on the show’s website.

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40 | Events

PREVIEW

IFEX TO HIGHLIGHT GROWTH OF INDONESIAN FURNITURE INDUSTRY The Indonesian furniture market is constantly developing and innovating, with The Indonesia Furniture Industry and Craft Association (HIMKI) optimistic that the industry will continue to contribute more to the country’s economy.

T

he Indonesian furniture market currently contributes around US $1.902b to the worldwide furniture industry. There is a great potential for growth in the country, which requires support from all stakeholders including the government.

The country’s access to many natural resources provide the tool to support the industry’s growth. The Indonesian furniture and craft industry employs around 2.5m workers, direct and indirectly.

One of HIMKI’s flagship programmes to promote Indonesian furniture and craft products to the international market is through the Indonesia International Furniture Expo (IFEX), which is one of the biggest business-to-business exhibitions in South East Asia. IFEX is scheduled to take place from 11-14th March at the JIExpo Kemayoran.

The exhibition will gather local furniture and craft players with thousands of buyers, distributors, and agents from all over the world, including Europe, the US, the Middle East, Australia and Asia.

One of the highlighted product areas at IFEX is rattan-based furniture and craft products. Indonesian rattan products are natural and environmentally-friendly

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products and are unique, representing the craftsmen’s skills. This is one of the reasons that Indonesian rattan products are perceived as luxury products and highly desirable in Europe, the US, Asia and Africa.

There is potential to introduce rattan products to the wider global marketplace.

Rattan-based products are one of the leading furniture and craft products for the Indonesian market, in addition to wood and bamboo-based products.

Indonesia is known as the world’s largest rattan producer, with the current production of Indonesian rattan around 622,000 tonnes per year with 350 rattan species. Regions with the highest rattan production in Indonesia are Kalimantan, Sumatera, Sulawesi and Papua. Meanwhile, regions for rattan industry products can be found in Cirebon, Surabaya, Sidoarjo, Gresik, Jepara, Kudus, Semarang, Sukoharjo, and Yogyakarta.

For this year’s event, a major extension of Jakarta International Expo exhibition halls will allow IFEX to be bigger and more vibrant than before. IFEX 2017 offers international buyers quality product, more participants, more space, and more participating countries to expand business into new horizons.

Moreover, IFEX will introduce a new entrance gate at Hall B3 to increase accessibility to the show. The new entrance is located near the west parking area and can be accessed from Gate 6 of Jakarta International Expo. This entrance will support the existing entrance gate at Hall D2 and the Trade Mart Building.

More than 80% of the exhibition space has now been booked.

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42 | Events

REVIEW

TOP DRAWER KICKS OFF UK EXHIBITION CIRCUIT IN STYLE Leading UK design-led homeware and gift event Top Drawer kick-started the 2017 buying season last month, presenting more than 1000 key brands at London Olympia.

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etailers and contract buyers took full advantage of the chance to source from an impressive roster of exclusive products and new launches from key UK and international brands at Top Drawer, most of whom were exhibiting exclusively at the London event.

Top Drawer’s core principles of quality, selection and high standards of presentation were evidenced across the core areas of Home, Gift, Fashion and Craft, as the event reflected increasing demand for premium design-led products from retailers. As the first UK trade show of the new year, Top Drawer was the ideal place to scout fresh trends and influential brands for 2017.

Over 200 homeware and interiors

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brands presented new and innovative products across the world of Home.

Covering the breadth of Contemporary Interiors, Interior Accessories, Kitchen & Dining, Furniture and Lighting and Outdoor Living, Home provided everything from statement pieces to original new designs with an expert selection of leading international brands.

Olympia provided an ideal setting to peruse new interiors products from the likes of PR Home, Coach House, LSA International, Orla Kiely Home, Bliss Home, Bluebell Gray, Alessi, Garden Trading, Grand Illusions, Umbra, Bloomingville, Linum, Bronte, Voyage, Pad Home Skandium and Skagerak.

These brands sat comfortably among newcomers to Top Drawer including

04/07/2017 14:17

Events | 43 Emko Furniture, scandi lifestyle brand Design Letters and new UK lighting company Haberdashery.

Garden Trading had a wealth of new inspiration to offer at the show, expanding its popular Planter and Garden Furniture collections to include materials from steel and wirework to wood and rattan. These collections offer a wide variety of textures and colours, creating a robust offering.

UK-based surface pattern designer Annabel Perrin’s collection includes fabrics, wallpaper and home accessories in eye-catching colours and patterns.

Annabel displayed her new collection at the show, with designs inspired by California, featuring sunset brights, striking pastels and bold textured motifs on furnishing fabrics, scatter cushions and lighting.

Lithuania-based furniture design and home accessory company EMKO presented its award-winning pieces which incorporate striking aesthetics, smart design, quality and craftsmanship, whilst Erstwhile displayed a range of exclusively licensed reproductions of mid-century wall maps and rare vintage botanical and zoological charts.

What’s more, Coach House made an

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impact with its selection of design-led furniture, accessories, lighting, cushions, mirrors and clocks, maintaining that it continues to provide the industry with one of the most comprehensive inventories of top-selling lines.

Six key trends were introduced for the most recent edition of the show - Honest Simplicity, Happy, The Blues, The Tribe Vibe, 70s Remix and Echoes of Deco.

From the soft and warm tones of Honest Simplicity to the bright colours and dynamic patterns of 70s Remix, these six key aesthetic trends could be seen throughout the show. Reflected through a large range of products on offer, buyers could source with confidence the trends their customers will be buying in the seasons ahead.

Academy Live was full of expert voices on stage, with insider knowledge and fresh thinking from the likes of M&S, Liberty, John Lewis, Design Museum, LivingEtc and the V&A. The keynote speakers captivated large crowds, eager to learn about emerging trends in business for 2017.

The Autumn Winter edition of Top Drawer takes place at Olympia London from the 10th - 12th September 2017.

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44 | Events

REVIEW

IMM COLOGNE GARNERS INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION imm cologne and LivingKitchen achieved a record number of visitors to this year’s event, breaking the 150,000 mark. Nearly 50% of visitors to this year’s edition came from outside Germany.

D

irk-Uwe Klass, MD of the Federal Association of the German Furniture Industry, says: "imm cologne was a wonderful summit for interior decor. The German furniture industry is completely satisfied with the event. It was the ideal start to 2017, which will no doubt be an excellent year for the industry.”

On behalf of retailers, the president of the German Federal Association of Furniture, Kitchens & Furnishing Retailers, Hans Strothoff, said: “The trade fair met retailers’ expectations. The quality of the exhibitors was high – a large number of new launches were on show, and visitors had a chance to experience attractive product presentations. This makes a visit to the trade fair well worth its while. It’s why retailers also see the trade fair as a fantastic way to launch the 2017 furniture year.”

Of the 104,000 trade visitors, around 56,000 came from Germany and approximately 48,000 from abroad, an increase of 4%. Within Europe, increases in visitor figures were recorded in particular from Spain (up 25%), Russia (up 26%), Italy (up 19%) and the UK (up 13%). Visitor numbers from the Netherlands and Poland also increased.

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Numbers of overseas trade visitors rose, in particular visitors from China (up 5%), South Korea (up 12%) and India (up 5%). A rise was also recorded in visitor numbers from the Middle East (up 19%), with particularly strong growth from the United Arab Emirates. With these promising numbers of foreign visitors, the two trade fairs will boost exhibitors’ exports.

Initial evaluations of the results showed that the trade visitors included large numbers of the global top 30 retail chains, such as John Lewis, Home Retail Group, Harveys Furniture −all from the UK − as well as Conforama from France and Nitori from Japan.

The major industry players in online retail − including Amazon and the Otto Group − also used the event intensively for their businesses. With these results, the trade fair duo has confirmed its importance for the interior design industry’s global commercial operations on a national and an international level.

In parallel with imm cologne, the international kitchen event LivingKitchen took place this year. For the seven days of the event, 200 exhibitors from 21 countries − including around 50 firsttime and returning exhibitors − showed how much innovation the industry has to offer and how high its standards of design and quality are. This year’s LivingKitchen not only followed on seamlessly from its success in 2015, but significantly improved on the key figures in many areas.

The next imm cologne will take place from 15th to 21st January 2018 in Cologne, co-located with LivingInteriors.

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46 | Events

REVIEW

HEIMTEXTIL’S UPWARD TRAJECTORY In spite of bad weather conditions for the duration of the event, almost 70,000 trade visitors from across the world attended the trade fair for home and contract textiles, Heimtextil. Visitors were met with high standards of quality and a wide variety of products as well as the trends of the new season.

H

eimtextil’s growth was driven primarily by Brazil, China, the UK, Italy, Japan, Russia, the US and United Arab Emirates.

A total of 2963 exhibitors from 67 countries –as opposed to 2864 last year – presented their new textile products and designs across 20 halls and appeared to be satisfied by the orders they received and business contacts they made.

It is not just the feel of a material that determines its appeal – something that was made obvious at Heimtextil with the level of interest shown in textile design.

The colourful fabrics and varied designs by well-known designers and young talent were very popular and attracted a lot of attention.

It was not just designers that showed interest in the globally unique design offer at Heimtextil. Exhibiting companies also used the creative hotspot to acquire new designs for their upcoming collections.

The enthusiasm for striking and highquality textiles not only brings trade visitors together, but also numerous celebrity guests.

At the opening of Heimtextil, model

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Eva Padberg talked with Detlauf Braun about the trends of the coming season, the interest of end consumers in sustainability and the common ground between fashion and interior design.

A meeting point for stars continued to be the Marburger Tapetenfabrik on the first day of the trade fair. Harald Glööckler presented his new collection, Glööckler Imperial, which bore the signature of the designer with its usual luxurious style.

Musical accompaniment and a good atmosphere was provided by singer Dynelle Rhodes from the Weather Girls as well as Frankfurt radio presenter and DJ Felix Moese. Designer Michael Michalsky also presented his new collection of wallpapers in person in cooperation with A.S. Création.

Home textiles seem to be celebrating their comeback in private homes, with curtains, carpets and decorative cushions bringing a personal touch to the home.

After nutrition and fitness, sleeping will be the next big lifestyle theme. This was proven by the numerous innovations seen in the bed segment. Mediflow from Hamburg, for example, presented an improved version of its water pillow capable of full adjustments for firmness and supportive effect.

At the sleep campaign stand, visitors and exhibitors alike were able to inform themselves about the four things that can influence sleep. Heimtextil will continue to focus on the topic of sleeping over the coming years.

The next edition of Heimtextil will take place from 9-12th January 2018 in Frankfurt am Main.

W heimtextil.messefrankfurt.com

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Wood

Hope you saw us at the Show!

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48 | Resources

SEO, when approached correctly, could see your e-commerce website occupy prime Google real estate. Get it wrong, and you could lose thousands of pounds in poor decisions, writes Mike Murray in the second part of his series on digital marketing …

WHAT A RETAILER NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT SEO

Ever since I joined my family business in 2008, I have been working with our in-house web developers and digital marketeers to develop our SEO strategy. That diligence paid off when Land of Beds was Highly Commended at the NBF’s 2013 awards in the E-tailer of the Year category. Since then, our turnover has increased year on year – in 2016-17 we are set to hit £6m for the first time ever, and much of that can be attributed to online sales.

“Black-hat tactics are all quick fixes that can temporarily help you climb the page rankings, but these cheats are also the quickest ways to get your website banned

by Google” To make sure your business is seen at the very moment when customers search on Google for the things you offer, you can invest in Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, which is also known as Google AdWords.

You only pay when they click to visit your website.

Google AdWords allows you to measure the return on your investment very effectively. You can track every action a customer takes – from the webpages they click on, to the items they put in their virtual cart, to the amount they spend at the checkout.

Because you set your own budget, which you can reduce or increase in real-time, it’s also an effective way to monitor and control your spending. However, as soon as your campaign is turned off, your ads – and with them, the shop window they create for you – disappear.

A more cost-effective strategy in the long term is to invest in the time and expertise it takes to get your website listed prominently on the first page of free suggestions that Google presents to customers when they search for the items or services you sell. Every webpage has a Google ranking, which is determined by the number of links going into it. The higher your webpage is ranked, the more authority it has.

THE AUTHOR Mike Murray (jnr) is the MD of Land of Beds, a third-generation family-run retailer based in Cheshire.

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So-called black-hat tactics such as paid links, duplicate content, posting spam backlinks in forums and stuffing your web text with keywords are all quick fixes that can temporarily help you climb the page rankings, but these ill-advised system cheats are also the quickest ways to get your website banned

by Google, which is becoming increasingly more sophisticated to eradicate this.

Like any other search engine or service industry company, Google wants to give users the best possible experience. Its aim is to help the customer by rapidly signposting them to the experts on whatever search term they have entered, and to list the websites according to their level of authority.

For example, if a consumer enters the name of a product, Google will most likely suggest the manufacturer’s website first, followed by the retailers who sell it. Increasingly, Google wants to reward high-quality, trustworthy websites that answer real questions to increase the level of user satisfaction.

My best recommendation, therefore, is to build your website around real customer issues. By doing so, ultimately, you can become a trusted expert – a Google-recognised authority – on that subject.

Instead of battling to stuff your pages with key words, talk knowledgeably and answer real questions that customers want help with, for example, what the best mattress is for a bad back. They are more likely to stay on your website and return to it again and again – creating a snowball effect in terms of web traffic.

It’s in Google’s best interests to support companies to produce great web content that provides a good service to their customers. That’s the backbone of any search engine, and that’s why I routinely get advice from Google themselves – why we adhere to their best practice guidelines, and why we invest time to learn from their research forums.

My top tip for 2017 is to also think about the way people talk – the language they use in the questions that they ask – and whether your web copy reflects that. It’s going to be extremely important as consumers increasingly move towards natural language voice searches through applications such as Apple’s Siri and Amazon Echo.

In summary, you need to choose between the shortterm measurable benefits of PPC advertising (Google AdWords), or the long-term SEO gains from becoming a Google authority. Designing an SEO strategy that blends both – and keeping up to date with the latest Google research and developments – is the key to increasing your e-commerce sales.

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50 | Resources

In today’s mobile and ‘want it now’ retail environment, busy shoppers make the decision to purchase based on a range of factors, and online reviews are becoming increasingly important. In this article, Feefo’s Andrew Mabbutt explores their role in the buying process, and how they can help – and hinder – the buying process …

MAKING REVIEWS HELP, RATHER THAN HINDER, THE BUYING PROCESS

Despite retailers and consumers placing a lot of focus on price, there are far more reasons that influence the consumer’s decision to part with their money.

Although the price is undoubtedly a significant factor, a very cheap deal is often considered too good to be true, or assumed to be a con or poor quality, and consumers search for the hidden catch. Providing slashed prices, minimal margins and exceptional offers alone is not enough to boost business.

Instead, trust is one of the most influential deciding factors. As the investment required by the consumer grows, in terms of initial payment outlay or commitment to ongoing terms, so the need for trust increases.

Common questions include, who is this brand that they will enter into a relationship with? Do they have prior experience? If so, how was it? If not, from whose experience can they learn?

One growing factor is a company’s online reviews, which provide people with one of the most efficient and direct ways to convey the experience of shopping with a brand.

In fact, 75% of consumers say good reviews would persuade them to buy a product. Reviews that are displayed clearly on a company’s website and across social channels are most effective, and provide reassurance and insight that a brand is worth trusting with a purchase, that products are of the quality expected and the service will deliver.

Reviews are a great tool for consumers, particularly for those people trying out a new supplier or product, to give them a real idea of what to expect. The biggest selling factor for reviews, from the perspective of the consumer, is that they are outside the realm of the sales brochure – they are communicated from one shopper to another to tell the unadulterated and unmotivated truth.

But are reviews always a godsend for the purchase process? Should business owners be wary about reviews? After all, they can’t control what is said about

THE AUTHOR Andrew Mabbutt is CEO at reviews and customer analytics company Feefo.

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their brand, and quite often people are more motivated to vent their experiences when they’ve been bad.

The truth is, while a bad review never makes for a pleasant read, these can actually work in the business’ favour – in some cases, even more than a positive one.

The average consumer doesn’t expect to see a five-star rating and spotless record. After all, nobody is perfect.

They expect mixed reviews, but most importantly they measure a brand on how they handle customer feedback.

Interestingly, 95% of unhappy customers will return if an issue is resolved quickly and efficiently, according to the National Association of Retail Marketing Services. A respectful, appreciative and sensible response speaks volumes about the company behind it, and the way that they view and treat their customers – it’s easy to say thank you for a glowing review, less so for one that is more challenging.

If a company can show that it listens to and values these insights, and acts upon them where necessary, they will earn a myriad of Brownie points when it comes to new business.

Another cause for concern felt by both businesses and consumers is the legitimacy of reviews. Review abuse can come in many forms, from competitors, business owners themselves, or even disgruntled exemployees, purposely leaving either very positive or slanderous reviews in an effort to alter the perception of the company. This is a big problem, and skews people’s trust toward a company, which may suffer as a result.

Many companies are beginning to take a stand on fake reviews, and it should always be considered when selecting a reviews platform. The only way to turn around this hindrance is to eradicate the risk altogether by ensuring that review requests are only sent to people that have actually made a purchase with the company.

That way a business can be confident that customers will not be hindered by false reviews, and all those undertaken will come from genuine customers with real experiences to share.

To conclude, reviews are clearly an imperative part of the decisionmaking process and should not be underestimated. Their level of influence is huge, and, when leveraged correctly and transparently, can be one of the most effective tools a company can deploy to boost business and build brand reputation.

04/07/2017 14:17

SUCCESS STRATEGY 5 ESSENTIAL WAYS TO MAXIMISE YOUR SALES AND PROFIT

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52 | Resources

Most salespeople, sell in the same way that they like to buy, states author Paul Avins, who also places himself in that category. After all, it’s what works for them, so why wouldn’t it work with other people? Unfortunately, there will always be certain customer types that just seem impossible to connect with or win over, and are not receptive to your sure-fire approach – what if you could identify their specific demands at the outset?

IDENTIFY BUYING ENERGIES TO TRANSFORM YOUR SALES

Imagine if you could quickly and easily tell what type of buyer you were dealing with – how to build trust with them, and the way they liked to be communicated with. Imagine knowing in advance what sales triggers would get them to take action, and the deal dangers that could stop your sale in its tracks. How much more successful could you be?

Recent studies tell us that over 50% of a buyer’s decision can be based on the sales experience they received – whether they felt a salesperson told them the truth, and trusted them in return.

The evidence supports this, with researchers from the University of Houston, the Singapore Management University, finding that: trust was the strongest predictor of a consumer’s purchase intention; followed by perceived benefit of the product or service; followed by a level of personal risk – the higher the price, the higher the risk (potential to lose money, time or face).

So, if trust is the number one predictor of a customer’s intention to buy, shouldn’t we be asking ourselves how we might build more trust with customers?

The answer in our overly-complicated world is simple – add more value to customers before we ever ask for the order. However, the challenge can be to understand that buyers don’t all see, feel or experience value in the same way.

There are four distinct buying energies, and you

"Recent studies tell us that over 50% of a buyer's decision can be based on the sales experience they received" THE AUTHOR Paul Avins is author of The Authority Guide to Trusted Selling, published by SRA Books as part of the Authority Guides series.

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will naturally build trust with the ones closest to yours, or about 25% of customers.

“There are four distinct buying energies, and you will naturally build trust with the ones closest to yours, or about 25% of customers” Knowing this opens up a huge opportunity for you to convert the other 75% – but only if you can read their buying energy, gain their trust and position your products’ value the way they recognise it and are prepared to pay for it.

The four buying energies are Dynamo, Blaze, Tempo and Steel. Each one asks different questions, writes different e-mails and will behave very differently in meetings or sales presentations. So to help you sell more, here are my top five tips to get you started.

1. Is your client fast-talking, and likes zipping from subject to subject? Mirror that same dynamic vitality – talk ‘big picture’, and be enthusiastic. Dynamos love results.

2. Is another very friendly, chatty and relaxed? Make good eye contact, establish a personal relationship, and make your sale fun and friendly. Blaze buyers want variety and good relationships.

3. So, some buyers listen more than they talk? Be sure to take time to go through the details of your offer. Be ‘present’, and don’t use fast sales speak. Tempos need time to build trust, reflect and buy.

4. Frustrated by a cautious buyer wanting to know every little detail of how it works before they buy to feel they have made the right decision? Don’t rush them, present detailed product knowledge and data to demonstrate a proven return. Steel buyers like to act on fact and hate wasting time, money or energy.

Get to know the four energies of your customers, and sell the way they like to buy – it will have them returning to you again and again.

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54 | Profile

HD contemporary cabinets in antique wax solid pine, with chairs from Core’s Aspen collection

FLAT-PACK SPECIALIST TAKES THE HIGH ROAD Stuart Wallace, director of Core Products, introduces the company’s new business, Highland Home Furniture …

What are the brand’s fundamentals?

Highland Home Furniture is our new business developed specifically to service retail-based furniture shops with readybuilt cabinet furniture at value-for-money prices.

What exactly does the collection comprise?

We have researched what our retail customers want, and from this determined our product offer. Covering bedroom, living and dining, the ranges offer a selection of key pieces, rather than a confusing variety. Materials used include pine, hardwood, oak veneers and painted MDF finishes. By concentrating on bulk production of key lines we are able to ensure the best possible use of materials and pricing.

Where is it manufactured, and how might that affect its rollout?

We have collaborated with suppliers of fittings, finishes and components that we have worked closely (and successfully) with for many years when producing our existing furniture ranges.

During the past two years we have taken the concept, analysed every single product, part and component needed and determined the best supply route – the ensuing result being a compendium of products built both overseas and, where more practical and economical, here in the UK. The first ranges are being launched at the January Furniture Show, and production has already commenced to meet anticipated initial demand.

Are those local manufacturing measures a reaction to Brexit?

The impact of Brexit has been somewhat disruptive to our

FN 335 Pages.indd 54

short-term planning as currencies have been so volatile – but more significant has been the overall growth in enthusiasm in the UK we have noted over the past couple of years.

When was the brand conceived, and what were the thoughts behind its creation?

For several years now we have noted increasing inflationary and production costs across the Far East. During this period we have seen a period of stability here in the UK which has led to our decision to reopen our facility in Glenrothes.

We will be offering seven ranges initially. Whilst some will be fully produced in an overseas facility, many items will be built here in the UK. How does the brand complement Core’s wider offer?

Whilst it could be argued that there is an element of self competition, we find the majority of retailers either sell flatpacked furniture or do not – having a dedicated offer which suits retailers who want a ready-to-go offer seems a logical way to further develop our furniture business.

How large is the team behind the brand?

The full resources of Core products are behind the new business, so the distribution and administrative systems are already proven, whilst the management and development team have many years’ experience in the furniture trade, so this new venture is in safe hands. This is all supported by our dedicated team of agents who maintain regular contact with customers in their areas.

T 01738 630555

04/07/2017 14:17

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56 | Profile

Bluebone has introduced three new bedroom ranges this year

BLUEBONE’S CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT Now in its 20th year of trading, Bluebone once again brings a distinctive mix of furniture and homewares to the market with some notable additions.

Building on the success of last year’s Soft Industrial collection, new for 2017 are three new mango ranges. The Birdcage and Mid Century designs both incorporate dining and living pieces, and Ripple adds some quirky design features on living furniture.

Mango Lounge sees more additions mixed with steel. Featuring the same finish, all ranges can be easily combined.

Nordic Coast, a new theme for 2017, brings rustic and reclaimed textured timbers and a cool colour palette of greys and white. Oslo, Titanic Evolve and Storm Grey all feature in this look.

Bluebone has introduced three new bedroom ranges this year- Cottonwood, Storm and Soho Bedroom – all of which complement the living and dining counterparts and each contain crossover pieces and accessories to complete the stylishly-curated eclectic Bluebone look. The new 2017 Stylebook is now available, full of striking lifestyle photography.

W bluebone.co.uk

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Mango Lounge

04/07/2017 14:17

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Cottonwood

RE-Engineered

UK River Mill II, Park Road, Dukinfield Cheshire SK16 5PD. TEL.: 0161-330 8959, FAX.: 0161-330 8949 E-mail: sales@bluebone.co.uk Northern Ireland 3 Main St, Ballynahinch, Co.Down BT24 8DN TEL.: 028 9756 1812, FAX.: 028 9756 4435 E-mail: sales@bluebone.co.uk

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bluebone Looking for something different?

Unique and Exclusive Designs, Industrial, Retro & Vintage Furniture and Accessories, Bestselling Cottonwood, Retro Oak

British Vintage

Titanic 04/07/2017 14:17

58 | Profile

Branford

Corbett oak

Moda oak

HERITAGE’S SHOW SUCCESS One of the UK’s go-to cabinet furniture suppliers, Heritage Furniture, enjoyed a promising January Furniture Show last month, with new and existing ranges performing well.

Heritage Furniture took a larger stand at this year’s January Furniture Show, and made an impression on visitors to the event with its increased portfolio. The company received recognition from new and exsiting customers, and garnered positive feedback on the quality and value of its products.

Existing ranges Wardley oak, Osby oak and Earlswood oak performed well at the show.

A new area Heritage has ventured into is painted bedroom and living room furniture, and its diverse Branford painted bedroom range and Alstead living and dining furniture take inspiration from Shaker style furniture. Branford features a grey paint finish that will blend with any decor and a waxed oak top that adds a touch of warmth. The designs are simple, with clean lines, elegant tapered legs, curved edges and rounded corners.

There is a choice of wooden and metal door and drawer handles.

The collection incorporates beds, bedside cabinets, wardrobes, chests of drawers and pieces for the living and dining room.

Heritage’s Corbett oak bedroom range follows on from the

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success of the company’s Wardley oak living range. The range combines timeless appeal with modern practicality, featuring oak and premium oak veneers, tapered legs, rounded corners.

What’s more, the Moda oak living and dining range made a great comeback, crafted from American white oak with a soft lacquered finish. The clean lines of the design mixed with a natural finish and the light tones of the wood give the range a modern feel. This proved to be particularly popular at the show.

The company left the event with a healthy order book and strong sales leads. With a strong investment and growth programme in place, plans are already underway for more striking ranges, taking into consideration the requirements and demands of its clients. Heritage’s show van with the new ranges was put out on the road immediately after the event.

Heritage Furniture looks forward to supporting old and new customers in 2017 and will continue to provide a high level of customer service and design led products.

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Balance table lamp

Provence table lamp

ELSTEAD LIGHTS THE WAY The new Balance range from Elstead Lighting is partially made, wired and assembled in the company’s UK factory The Balance table lamp has a chic retro style, making it well suited for both modern and transitional settings. The range also includes pendants, a chandelier, a wall light and a floor lamp. The Balance table lamp is available in white with polished nickel accents and a rich mocha brown with polished brass highlights.

Elstead’s Balance floor lamp comes in white with polished nickel elements and includes a table lamp, five-light chandelier and single pendant. It is also available in mocha brown with polished brass elements.

Another addition is the Provence table lamp. Available in a polished copper finish, this task light is suitable for any lounge or study room, and also comes in polished nickel, aged brass or old bronze.

Finally, Elstead presents another new Tiffany-style table lamp from Quoizel, which offers attractive hues of ruby red and buttery creams that come together with an imperial bronze finish. The intricate details on the base all combine to create a strong frame for its hand-crafted shade.

Elstead Lighting offers one of the widest ranges of decorative lighting in the country, supporting and accessorising both furniture and interior design showrooms as well as leading

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lighting specialists.

With a collection of more than 2500 models, including portables and mirrors, chandeliers and wall lights, along with a large selection of bathroom and outdoor lamps, Elstead is renowned for bringing unparalleled levels of choice and style to dealers and consumers. This is backed by over 150,000 fittings in stock, enabling high levels of availability and customer service.

The company offers a 708-page master catalogue, and dealers can also access A5 consumer versions to assist with sales. Additionally, the company recently launched a stylish freestanding lectern that helps promote the full ranges available by being placed in store.

Three years ago the company invested more than £1m in building a 9000ft2 showroom to present its entire range in an inspirational manner.

Elstead welcomes trade customers to Alton, Hampshire to choose product and engage with the facility as a training platform – Elstead offers a full factory tour, providing a detailed insight as to what goes into the production and quality management processes in place.

W elsteadlighting.com

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IAFP.i

Go global Are you looking to develop business overseas?

The International Alliance of Furnishing Publications (IAFP) is a 20-yearold association comprising the leading trade publications – based on editorial quality and circulation – from 19 countries worldwide.

Its aim is to assist its members, and their advertisers, to better communicate with foreign markets. When promoting or seeking information from abroad, the IAFP network is the one to trust.

Furniture News has been the UK member publication since 2012, and has since helped its readers and advertisers reach high-quality foreign information, contacts and readership.

Contact Samantha Horscroft on (+44)1424 776100 to find out more.

www.iafpalliance.com

Member publications

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Upholstered dining chairs

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NT Dining collection

NR collection

KETTLE’S TREND-LED INTRODUCTIONS Kettle Interiors’ launches for 2017 continue the momentum of the launches of its AB and TT collections last year.

Unveiled at the January Furniture Show, Kettle’s new styles come in the shape of NT, a Scandinavian-style light oak range, and the NR painted collection with flag pattern grey limewashed oak tops. Both offer a unique look and contribute to variety for the company’s portfolio of value-driven furniture.

Sales director Simon Ainge says: “While we are famed for ranges that fit a broad spectrum of interior styles, it’s also important that we provide retailers with furniture that follows trends, exemplified in this year’s very different NT and NR launches.”

The obvious Danish influences found in the lines and curved edges of NT are ideal for the popular Scandi look that is growing in appeal. In contrast, NR has a classic feel with flag pattern grey lime-washed oak tops and brass-effect cup handles adding details to reinforce this feeling.

Sitting at different ends of the style spectrum, the new ranges help retailers fulfil widening purchaser needs without having to move away from the attractive service on offer from Kettle Interiors. The same rule applies to the new upholstered chairs too, which can be ordered in any quantity as part of the supplier’s mixed approach.

“We have certainly seen widening taste among consumers shopping for furniture and this brings a new series of complications for retailers. With NT and NR, as well as last year’s AB and TT, our range is now suited to dealing with these.

Retailers can enjoy the benefits of buying furniture from Kettle Interiors across more trends than ever before,” says Simon.

Joining existing pine, painted and oak collections, these new ranges are now available through wholesale, stockist

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and container delivery schemes. The wholesale service allows retailers to enjoy an assortment of furniture with competitive pricing and free delivery from £500. Stockist takes a similar approach, but instead drops pricing for an average monthly spend of £2500.

For retailers seeking good value, commitment to a container will see some of the lowest like-for-like prices around.

Wholesale and stockist orders are fulfilled from UK stocks leading to fast delivery and good efficiency.

Benefits include real-time online ordering, direct home delivery and dedicated customer support from a UK-based team.

Kettle Interiors has also launched a range of upholstered chairs in four different styles available in grey or beige fabric.

Co-ordinating with the company’s oak and painted collections, the chairs add a touch of luxury to the dining room. With three button-back looks and a style with carved oak legs and stud detailing, modern and traditional tastes are covered adding a luxurious feel to homes.

The chairs are available as part of any wholesale, stockist or container order. This is the first time that Kettle Interiors has stocked this style of item at its Vietnam warehouse facility, making it possible for any upholstered chair to be mixed with oak or painted dining ranges as part of container orders.

The result is an extremely attractive proposition for retailers looking to enjoy bulk discounts. The Upholstered Chair collection is available now from UK stocks and with fast delivery to retailers across the UK. T 01536 444960

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BEDS & BEDROOM •••

Paralympic gold medallist Hannah Cockroft, MBE, attests to the recovery properties of her Ava mattress

PROMOTING THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP The January Furniture Show saw the launch of Ava Sleep, a manufacturer of mid- to high-end mattresses that operates from Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire …

Ava Sleep offers “independently-verified, award-winning, innovative, smart, body-adaptive, high-performing, luxurious and ridiculously affordable mid- to high-end mattresses” across four collections.

Ava is the first UK bed company to have secured FIRA’s Ergonomics Excellence Award for its Science to Sleep mattresses, and is the only UK bed company to have developed comprehensively researched and independently-verified High Performance Advanced Medical Class Foam Technology, giving its mattresses proven health benefits.

The founder, Ilyas Ansari, followed a systematic approach to create his mattress collections, exploring how the product’s health and wellbeing benefits might be maximised, ergonomics, plus the advantages of independent validation.

In pursuit of the latter, he joined forces with sleep scientist Professor John Groeger of Hull University and ergonomics authority Levent Caglar of FIRA.

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Ava has also developed its own Ergobatic High Performance Advanced Body Support Core System and ErgoPlus High Performance Pressure Relieving Body Support Core System for application across its domestic mattress range.

“I wanted to give consumers the most advanced mattresses, guaranteed to improve the quality of sleep, comfort and support, whilst countering the fake imitation mattresses which inundate the market,” says Ilyas.

Ava’s range is made up of the Endurance Collection, the MindBody Collection, the Synergy Collection and the Statement Collection.

These technologically-advanced yet affordable collections are the culmination of some 20 years of work by Ilyas, who is now looking to commission agents to assist in the distribution of the brand.

T 07719 495599 W avamattresses.co.uk

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Ava A

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66 | Beds & Bedroom

Hampton wheat

SWEET DREAMS IMPRESSES AT THE JANUARY FURNITURE SHOW Sweet Dreams is best known for its own-manufactured beds and mattresses and Pocket Air collection of divans, relaunched with entirely fresh models last September, which again came to the fore at the January Furniture Show last month.

One of the models exhibited at the event was Hampton 4000.

In common with all divans from the collection, the spring system features alternate shortened pocket springs to provide a sensational, flexible feel as the springs contract and the volume of air increases. The sleeper’s weight is evenly distributed for comfort and together there are 4000 pocket springs.

In Hampton, the mattress cover contains soft-touch Tencel, part botanical and renowned for softness and strength. Wool is contained in the fillings to both sides of the springs. The damask border comes in two colourways – wheat and nickel – to match the divan base.

All Pocket Air beds come in three sizes – 135, 150 and 180cm – and a wide range of storage options to the base, including three styles of ottoman. Mattress and base alike are enhanced with quality finishing.

Several new bedframes from Sweet Dreams were on display at the exhibition, including wooden Grant, available in wild cherry and white. The frame is mainly pine and features a traditional extra-wide slatted base.

It boasts a low solid curved footend and the curve is matched in the slatted headboard. Grant comes in three sizes – 135, 150 and 180cm. A matching bedside cabinet is also available.

W sweetdreamsuk.com

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Grant

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Excel Furniture is a UK Manufacturer of mid to high end chesterfield 3 piece suite sofas, chairs and custom made corner sofas. The business also manufactures, wholesales and imports fabric and leather recliners. Excel deals in contract work such as pubs, restaurant seating, and contractors. Excel also makes Chesterfield in fabric or leather with the option for diamond crystal. Excel Furniture is a new business, established in January 2016 and have thousands of fabric’s to choose from.

HANDRCAFTED ELEGANCE AND STYLE The Pennine collection is a luxurious range of mattresses and beds, designed and handcrafted using only the finest of fabrics to give the optimum elegance and style to our customers.

Deluxe Beds offer our stockists full support with product marketing and knowledge from an experienced sales team.

For more information on our range of products or to become a stockist, contact us on: +44 1484 427 373, or email; enquiries@deluxe-beds.co.uk.

3+2 SET ONLY 450+VAT SELECTED FABRIC REGULAR MINIMUM 2SET FREE DELIVERY

www.deluxe-beds.co.uk CONTACT MUBARAK ON

07841 328504 FOR MORE INFORMATION

T: 01254 433970 • E: info@excelfurnituredirect.co.uk • www.excelfurnituredirect.co.uk Excel Furniture Direct Unit 6a Elco Building, 89 Montague Street Blackburn, BB2 1EH

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Don’t lose sleep worrying whether the beds you sell are legally compliant and everything they claim to be.

Buy from an NBF Approved Member and all the ‘red tape’ is done for you.

Sleep comes easy when you sell beds approved by us.

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Now that’s comforting.

Find out more and for an up to date list of NBF Approved members visit:

bedfed.org.uk

04/07/2017 14:17

68 | Beds & Bedroom

Kernow 1500 in black

Mozart 8000 in teal

Puccini Ascot in denim

HIGHGATE BEDS SPREADS THE WORD Brand establishment is something that Highgate Beds has been focusing on extensively over the last 12 months. The company’s aim is to ensure that its philosophy and direction are recognised.

Highgate Beds has been working to promote its Healthopaedic and Zero Gravity brands through a variety of means, such as shirt sponsorship and advertising in non-industry media platforms.

Much of this can attributed to the company’s sales director Zahid Ayub, who is often found on the factory floor working with his team checking the quality of the goods, and carrying out random spot checks on the mattresses.

Product development is a major part of Zahid Ayub’s ethos.

Persistently aiming high, the company intends to be at the forefront of the industry for years to come. Zahid’s goal is to always have at least one new product idea at each show every year.

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Currently in the development stage is the company’s 2nd Generation Zero Gravity mattresses and pillows. The new pillow is filled with Zero Gravity foam, to give a soft and luxurious feel whilst offering neck support, whilst the new mattresses are also filled with the same foam. Both of these new products were presented last month at the January Furniture Show.

With consumer tastes changing rapidly, Highgate Beds prides itself on having a variety of on-trend fabrics and colours available, meaning there is something to suit a range of tastes.

The company’s show van is out on the road again this month, and every month of 2017, to ensure that its new beds can be seen by those unable to attend the January Furniture Show.

W highgatebeds.com

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MlilyV

The

legend

of

Comfort

mlily.uk

Thank you for making the January Furniture Show 2017 a record breaking show - record orders, record new accounts and a fabulous response to the Global partnership with Manchester United.

Dont miss out!

Contact us now on 01582 400604 or email bob@mlily.uk to join the success story that is MLILY

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70 | Beds & Bedroom

Steens announced its partnership with Décor Ltd at the January Furniture Show last month

NEW DELIVERY AND DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIPS FOR STEENS This year, flat-pack furniture specialist Steens has reviewed its UK and Irish distribution networks and made changes to suit the company’s requirements.

After consideration of its transport needs, Steens has appointed Denmark’s NTG its delivery partner for the UK and Ireland.

Steens UK MD Alan Cozens says: “For some time we’ve been looking for a partner that can deliver on our ambitions to be consistently recognised for prompt, reliable deliveries without subsequent problems caused by damaged goods.

“In the recent past, we haven’t always been able to deliver on these fundamental requirements at all times – but are now looking forward to working with such a highly-respected delivery business as NTG. Trials have been running for a little while, and NTG have started as we expect them to continue – superbly!”

Key benefits of the partnership include guaranteed twiceweekly deliveries into the UK, facilitating lead times of seven-10 days for larger direct deliveries, and stock collected from the Steens factory is controlled by the same driver on the same lorry, so there is no breaking down of loads leading to reduced handling.

What’s more, all transfers into the UK are via the Eurotunnel freight service, avoiding the unreliability of North Sea crossings, plus deliveries can be made either direct to the warehouse/shop or consolidated in Northampton when smaller quantities are involved. Steens has the exclusive use of a fleet of

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its own vehicles for smaller deliveries and there is no use of a pallet service, reducing the risk of damage.

In another significant development, Steens has appointed Décor Ltd as its exclusive sales and distribution partner for Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI).

Steens has for some time been reviewing how best to serve and support its customers in both NI and the ROI. It became obvious very early on in this review that the best way forward was to find a partner with extensive experience and knowledge of the NI and ROI retail furniture markets.

Steens was looking for a distributor be able to provide customers with a high level of service based on prompt and reliable deliveries from stock held locally. Having considered a number of options, Décor was an obvious choice.

Steens will retain its sales manager for both NI and the ROI, Chris Lester, who will work closely with Décor to support and develop sales with existing and new customers. However, the main point of contact for all orders, deliveries and support will be with the Décor team. The team will be touch in the near future regarding product ranges, pricing, deliveries and key contacts.

E sales@steens.dk W steensgroup.com

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END OF LINE SECONDS RETURNS

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 MFA.BID

EX-DISPLAY OLD STOCK PROTOTYPES

04/07/2017 14:17

72 | Beds & Bedroom

Uno Vitality

BREASLEY’S UNO MATTRESS STEALS THE LIMELIGHT The new Uno mattress collection clearly defines the next generation of vacuum packed mattresses from Breasley, replacing its existing rolled mattress ranges including brands such as Flexcell, Postureform and Viscofoam.

Having spent the last 12 years innovating and developing the vacuum packed market, Breasley feels that it now has a definitive range of mattresses, honed from extensive manufacturing experience.

The collection of 11 models includes some of the latest technology in springs and comfort fillings, plus Breasley’s unique ergonomic profiling. Each model also has the added benefit of specialist cover finishes such as Adaptive to keep the user comfortably cool and dry, and Fresche Bioscience which provides long term protection against bacteria, fungi and odours.

Fresche is recognised as one of the world’s most advanced non-volatile antimicrobial treatments and also inhibits the development of house dust mites to provide a clean and safe sleep environment.

Breasley is so confident in its new Uno collection that it is offering a 10-year guarantee throughout the range. From the

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Uno Junior entry level mattress to the Uno Memory Pocket 2000, each model has its own USP and is quality assured.

The Uno Vitality Plus for example, features up to 60mm of ergonomically-profiled memory foam to provide support in all the right places, plus a removable, washable cover benefiting from both the Adaptive and Fresche finishes.

Most important for Breasley’s retail partners is the range of marketing tools that has been developed to support the Uno collection. Along with a new website, there is a full range of product videos available – one of each mattress – and an image library which can be accessed by customers through the Trade Media Centre on the brand’s website.

Bricks and mortar retailers can also take advantage of a free Uno display stand holding nine rolled mattresses, plus bespoke Uno foot mats and pillow cases.

T 01629 821510 W unomattress.co.uk

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10

ye gu ar ara nte e

Junior | Deluxe | Deluxe Firm

Revive | Vitality | Vitality Plus

Pocket 1000 | Pocket 1000 Ortho | Pocket 2000

Memory Pocket 1000 | Memory Pocket 2000

A big thank you to everyone who visited our stand at the January furniture Show!

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MADE IN UK

No turn

Made in the UK

5 year guarantee

www.unomattress.co.uk

Memory foam

10

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74 | Beds & Bedroom

E

Studio by Silentnight mattress in slate grey

STUDIO BY SILENTNIGHT TO OPEN THIRD STORE Studio by Silentnight – the fresh, contemporary bed and mattress brand from Silentnight – will be opening a pop-up shop at Leeds Trinity Centre.

Featuring the Studio out the Box concept from Studio by Silentnight’s London pop-ups, the shop will display the brand’s new mattress, available in three comfort choices, plus a collection of minimalist upholstered bedframes designed with style and storage to suit any lifestyle.

The aim is to encourage consumers to experience Studio by Silentnight for themselves, to design the bed and top it with the mattress comfort to suit them.

The shop will promote an easy customer experience, featuring an interactive online bed builder and highlighting the convenience of the rolled and boxed mattress. A bed can be designed in four easy steps and customers can test out which comfort matches their sleep, plus a few extra features will be

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revealed.

Having received positive feedback from the previous pop-ups, Studio by Silentnight is keen to offer more consumers a chance to get to know the brand. The Studio Trinity shop is expected to open mid-February for a month, allowing customers to experience the brand and its products. Beds and mattresses will be available to order direct for delivery, or receive the chance to take away a mattress that same day.

For those who can’t visit the shop, there is a chance to see some interesting digital, social and outdoor activity on the brand’s website.

T 01282 850000 W silentnight.co.uk/studio

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THANK YOU We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers and associates for visiting our stand and making the January Furniture Show a great success.

EARLSWOOD OAK - Living and Dining Collection

OSBY OAK - Living and Dining Collection

MODA OAK - Living and Dining Collection

BURNHAM OAK - Bedroom Collection

WARDLEY OAK - Living and Dining Collection

BRANFORD PAINTED - Bedroom Collection

Heritage Furniture UK Ltd. Prospect Mill, Walter Street, Blackburn BB1 1TJ T 01254 660777 F 01254 694611 E sales@heritagefurnitureuk.com

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LIVING ROOM •••

NT collection, Kettle Interiors

Presented at the January Furniture Show, the NT collection is the latest furniture range from Kettle Interiors (01536 444960). Capturing Danish styling influences, NT brings unmistakable Scandinavian style to homes, presented in a great value light oak dining and occasional collection.

With 31 items, NT provides impressive variety and includes items to suit large and small rooms alike.

Furniture featuring drawers or doors are supplied with a choice of metal or wood knobs, allowing customers to put their own unique touch on this range. The NT collection will be available from UK stocks in March and with fast delivery to retailers across the UK.

This year saw the launch of four new sofa and accent chair designs from Wood Bros (01920 469241) – Malham, Arncliffe, Ripley and Pickering.

Arncliffe comprises a sofa and accent chair and is in the style of a traditional gentleman’s smoking chair which has piped scroll arms and a curvaceous scrolled back.

The Pickering chair is a stylish and feminine accent chair with flowing arms that link through to the back. It features

Arncliffe, Wood Bros

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Pharmore (pharmore.co.uk) was established in 2006 and is one of the leading manufacturers, importers and distributors of mirrors, furniture, rugs and home accessories supplying to retailers in Europe and beyond.

It is committed to sourcing, creating and supplying innovative and quality products that are designed and commissioned by its in-house design team.

Its head office, showroom and warehousing facility is situated in the north-west of England. There are also offices and quality assurance teams in China, India and Turkey to ensure consistency in the high level of quality products the company offers.

A dedicated and experienced sales team incorporates all of the UK and Ireland within its remit, providing excellent customer service, working to deliver a personable, efficient service. The company works to provide its customers with a great retail sales experience, and client satisfaction and loyalty is at the top of its agenda.

Pharmore supplies mirrors, furniture and other home accessories

distinctive pleating and buttoning details as well as an enveloping back shape.

The new upholstery designs have been presented with a striking collection of 100% wool fabrics from the English woollen mill, Moon.

The Moon swatch comprises over twenty complementary fabrics from traditional plaids and tartans to understated plains and twills.

Pickering, Wood Bros

04/07/2017 14:17

Interfu

National Account Manager required by an innovative and growing supplier of quality wooden indoor furniture.

We are a UK owned and managed business with offices in the UK, Hong Kong and Vietnam. We design, develop, source and supply quality wooden indoor furniture, manufactured in Vietnam, to customers in the UK by direct container load.

Our customers are major retailers, wholesalers and importers You will be responsible for pro-actively identifying and opening new retail & wholesale accounts, working closely with your clients to forge strong long term relationships, presenting new designs, conducting range reviews, developing individual ranges, identifying growth opportunities within your accounts and achieving your agreed sales targets.

With the autonomy to work on your own while being guided by strong leadership, this is an excellent opportunity for a hungry and motivated individual. You will report directly to the business owners.

Successful applicants will need recent experience in selling furniture, homewares, soft furnishings or similar into national retail accounts.

Requirements: • Recent experience in selling furniture, homewares, soft furnishings or similar into major retailers.

• Strong new business winner • Demonstrable track record in achieving sales growth with both new and existing clients • Excellent account management skills • Excellent written and verbal communication skills • Creative • Strong inter-personal skills • Pro-active and highly self-motivated • Positive and enthusiastic approach • Happy to be out on the road covering a large area • You will probably be located in Central England, although we are flexible on this

Package: Salary: £50,000 plus commission Benefits: Company Car, Mobile, Laptop

Please send your CV and cover letter to Gearing Media Group, 4 Red Barn Mews, High Street, Battle, TN33 0AG, quoting box number 1234 and referencing National Account Manager job.

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78 | Living Room

Crest Leather can supply a range of colours of leather

LUXURY LEATHER REQUIREMENTS SOLVED Crest JMT Leather is a global producer of high quality leathers for contract and domestic upholstery applications. It owns and operates its own tannery in Vestenanova, Italy, which allows the business to ensure strict quality control at all stages of production, whilst utilising local and traditional skills to ensure its leathers meet the most demanding of requests.

Crest Leather, with tanneries in Italy, Thailand and Brazil, is a UK-based tanning group with Italian DNA. Its newest plant is in Italy, whilst its largest is in Brazil, and the business is constantly expanding into new markets. Crest keeps up to date with market trends is enjoying continued growth.

Crest’s cowhide is sourced from reputable slaughterhouses.

The leather is a by-product of the meat industry, as the animals are not reared for leather initially, but for meat. Flexibility is offered to customers, with as little as 1 cowhide or as many as 1000 available to purchase at one time.

The company’s tanneries are regulated and reputable chemicals are used. Arizono is the Italian centre of leather making, having been awarded a certification for excellent leather making. Shipments are straight from Italy, therefore orders can be turned around from processing to bespoke in four weeks.

The company expanded and in 2005, with the Brazilian plant opening the same year. Over 700 employees work in Parana, the Brazilian tannery and plant, and they continue to consolidate and build on growth.

There are four different production stages involved in the production of high quality leathers – raw hide, wet blue, crust and finished leather. The raw materials are cheaper and more readily available in Brazil, and the Brazilian processing plant takes the raw hide through the wet blue and crust stage. The leather is then transferred to the finishing plant in Thailand.

Crest is committed to improving its environmental stance, and during the past year it has focused a lot of attention on improving its environmental standards. During 2006, the company was awarded ISO 14001 certification for its tannery.

The business endeavours to continously reduce the

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environmental impact of all of its activities, and it maintains strictly regulated procedures designed to minimize any potential damage to the environment, which are updated and monitored regularly.

As part of its ongoing commitment to improved environmental reponsibility, Crest also signed up to the Leather Working Group, an industry-led initiative being facilitiated by the BLC Leather Technology Centre. This initiative brings together many leading retailers, tanners and brands from around the world to promote sustainable and appropriate envionmental business practices within the leather industry.

Following guidelines set out by the Carbon Trust, the business is also ensuring that it is doing everything possible to prevent or recycle waste in its offices and warehouses. Crest believes it is not only the big gestures that matter, so it is looking at the impact of everything it does and uses – from the light bulbs in its offices to the transportation methods it uses to deliver its goods.

Maintaining quality is important to Crest, and that is why it tans its leathers in an ISO 9001 environment. However, the company is conscious of the fact that quality products are only a part of what it provides, so Crest also works hard to make sure that it also provides a high level of customer service.

The business’ sales teams are knowledgeable in all aspects of leather and leather production, and can help with varied professional requirements.

There is a noticable trend in buyers and manufacturers moving away from vinyl and using leather, due to its longer life expectancy. Crest Leather is proud to be within the top five tannery groups in the world and a leading tannery in the UK. W crestleather.com

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www.crestleather.com

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sales.uk@crestleather.com

Tel: +44 (0) 1706 643 121

Fax:: +44 1706 643 133

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FURNISHER •••

Ambassador Textiles achieved a positive

The Wicker Merchant (01536 444960) recently presented 24 new items at Spring Fair exhibition, including products in new whitewash and grey ash wicker finishes. Among the new lines there are laundry and log baskets, a willow planter and gardeners’ baskets, along with a collection of picnic baskets and hampers, each containing a full complement of accessories.

Along with these new items, The Wicker Merchant also displayed some of its most popular existing lines, demonstrating its depth in all-year-round and seasonal lines.

The Wicker Merchant’s expanding product line is testament to the success of the brand since its launch last year, with retailers appreciating the added value the complementing accessories and storage lines can bring to furniture stores.

With new items to broaden diversity within the collection, The Wicker Merchant is still offering its reliable and fast delivery service from UK stocks and with discounts for bulk orders.

reception at the January Furniture Show

Ambassador Textiles (www.ambassador-textiles.co.uk) enjoyed a successful January Furniture Show, receiving positive reports, and the company expects a busy year ahead. Upholstery businesses new and old expressed interest in Ambassador’s extensive marble velour and wool fabrics, and there was also a great deal of attention paid to the company’s faux fur collections, including Katrina Hampton.

Flair Rugs’ (01457 850660) best-selling Infinite Splinter collection introduces new shading options for the SS17 design season. Infinite Splinter features an abstract, geometric look created in-house by the Flair Rugs design team. For 2017, the popular range has been extended, adding of-the-moment charcoal and putty tones to sit alongside the existing ochre, orange, red, teal and teal/green.

Produced in high quality polyester for a hardwearing yet soft finish, Infinite Splinter not only presents new shades in 2017, but also a deep rich pile. It is available to purchase in four sizes ranging from 80cm x 150cm to 200cm x 290cm.

Backed by a striking new 2017 brochure, a series of new developments have been made to the Simplicity by Flair collection, cementing its position as the go-to portfolio for retailers looking for value-driven rug designs.

Two new collections now adorn Simplicity – Sparkle, a silky soft polyester produced in shaggy pile featuring a shimmering sparkle thread, and Verona, an on-trend hardwearing polypropylene that caters to increased demand for flatweave rugs. Dovetailing the new introductions will be updates made to exisiting collections, with Splendour and Nordic among those selected for a colour injection this year.

Handcarved, a best seller in 2016, will continue to hold sway

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New items presented by The Wicker Merchant at Spring Fair

Cosmos, Flair Rugs

Infinite Splinter, Flair Rugs

with its new Stream, Cosmos and Shatter designs, while Brights sees no fewer than five looks added to its already vibrant stable.

Florence has also experienced a revamp, adding three grey flatweaves - Anzio, Latina and Tivoli - for a trending touch, while the Element collection sees new additions including Plaid, Essence and Retro.

The 40-page brochure is available now through Flair Rugs representatives. All Simplicity products are supported by Flair Rugs’ first-class service provision, with multiple sizes in all designs ready for immediate delivery.

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ORGANISE

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Contact Steely for brochures & prices

0161 702 7002 sales@steelyproducts.co.uk

Ask for leaflets

Designed to work... Built to last.

T: 0044 7810 748 605 E-mail: Dora@murong.co.uk

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EXPERIENCED PRODUCTION MANAGER Excellent ÂŁPackage plus benefits This key position has been created to assist the senior management team in the smooth running of our manufacturing operation.

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For everything you need to know about

furniture

Reporting directly to the Managing Director, the successful applicant will implement LEAN processes and procedures while at the same time make sure that our production lines are running safely, smoothly and to maximum efficiency.

Previous Bed Manufacturing experience is preferred, but not essential for this position.

If you’re well organised, a good leader and can make the right decisions quickly while under pressure, then this could be a role for you.

If you would like to be considered for this position, please send your CV to

careers@highgrovebeds.co.uk www.highgrovebedsgroup.co.uk

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Find out how membership of the Furniture Industry Research Association can benefit your business

www.fira.co.uk/membership T: 01438 777 700 E: info@fira.co.uk

04/07/2017 14:18

On the web this month The Furniture News website is constantly updated with fresh stories. Browse www.furniturenews.net on your desktop of mobile to access the latest content, or sign up for our newsletter

Further Reading Do you have a story to share?

To contribute, call the editorial desk on 01424 776105 or email victoria@gearingmediagroup.com

Are you looking to place product before the UK’s buyers?

To advertise or submit product information, call the sales team on 01424 776100, or email sam@gearingmediagroup.com

Do you wish to receive a copy of the magazine every month?

You can subscribe to receive the magazine monthly by emailing subscriptions@gearingmediagroup.com.

News: January sees mixed picture for consumer confidence

Keep up to date You can also sign up to receive free access to the digital edition each month, as well as the twice-weekly Furniture News e-newsletter, via the specific links at www.furniturenews.net/magazine – or email sam@gearingmediagroup to be manually signed up for the digital services.

Don’t forget to follow the Furniture News Twitter feeds, @FurnitureNewsED and @Victoria_FNmag, to keep up with the latest news and opinions from the team.

News: ScS pleased with HY performance

Furniture News is an invaluable resource for those operating in the UK domestic furniture and furnishings sector – but it’s just one of the titles published by Gearing Media Group.

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Events: Singapore Design Week’s anchor event returns

Those involved in the contract furnishings market should take a look at Hospitality Interiors magazine (www.hospitality-interiors.net), while anyone seeking furniture manufacturing machinery or supplies should check out Furniture Production (www.furnitureproduction.net).

In next month’s issue: January Furniture Show Review | The Furniture Awards 2017 winners FIRA’s Statistical Digest summarised | Mike Murray on making your website marketing-ready

Further Feb 17.indd 1 FN 335Reading Pages.indd 82

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