Leaders in LED lighting technology Philips

Marpak are a specialist polythene extrusion and conversion company operating in the UK and Europe. By working closely with our customers and suppliers, we have established ourselves as market leaders in pallet protection and blown fi lm extrusion. Marpak are also able to manufacture and supply a vast range of bespoke polythene mattress and furniture covers for use in storage and transportation.

• Pallet covers • Polythene fi lm & sheeting • Food grade polythene & dolav liners • Mattress & Furniture covers

sales@marpak.co.uk Tel: 0843 289 0237 International: +44 (0)113 277 5518 www.marpak.co.uk @MarpakGroup

costs and really looked at the profitability by product and customer. We took a proactive approach to each sector and realised that we needed to move our product offering upwards in each market, even though we were already producing beautiful, bespoke beds.”

Mr Ward continued, “There was no point in us competing at the lower end of the market, as our beds and mattresses are not manufactured in an automated manner, so the middle/upper segment of the market was far more suited to our quality product and its price point.” This strategic assessment has worked well ever since, with the company’s retail sales growing by 52 per cent in the past three years and its contract division, which is dedicated to beds and mattresses for hotels, maintaining its position as the market leader.

Hypnos Limited has two clear areas of growth expected in the coming years. In the UK, it predicts continued success in both the retail and contract markets, with its understanding of the trends affecting each market key to its achievements. Mr Ward said, “Our aim is always to help our customers – the retailers and the hoteliers – to help their customers to have a wonderful night’s sleep that lets them wake up completely refreshed and revitalised. We use natural and sustainable fillings like wool, cotton, cashmere and silk to help regulate the body temperature and provide comfort and support.”

Sustainability is integral to the “The Hypnos Way”, the company’s philosophy that governs its short- and long-term decision-making. Not only are all beds and mattresses manufactured in the most sustainable, environmentally-respectful manner, but all are designed to be recyclable at the end of their lives. Hypnos also provides a unique landfill-avoidance disposal and recycling service, where the company happily collects any old and used beds, then de-constructs them, creating recycled raw materials for reuse in other industries.

Working alongside customers to create bespoke beds and mattresses is an important area of growth and differentiation for Hypnos Limited. In the UK, it has a very successful partnership with hotel chain Premier Inn, for whom it developed a unique bed, which is the key feature of their current advertising campaign.

Better sleep worldwide

For export growth expectations, Hypnos Limited is also focused on the two areas of retail and contract. As many hotel chains that the company already has a strong partnership with in the UK continue to expand both in Europe and worldwide, it has formed exciting licensing and supply chain partnerships in countries such as India, Dubai, China, Indonesia, USA, Russia and Canada. Mr Ward added, “Outside of Europe, we have carefully chosen manufacturing partners that can make our hotel beds and mattresses to our very exact, high-quality specifications. We keep a very tight quality control and have a team that travel all over the world to work with our partners to maintain our standards. We’ve got two areas of activity here too, with both the bedroom refurbishment and bed replacement business every seven or eight years, as well as all the new hotels that are being built in emerging markets. Shipping is not an issue as products are manufactured locally.”

Hypnos Limited also has a rapidly expanding worldwide retail business, with all the beds and mattresses for this unit authentically manufactured by hand in workshops in the UK. Mr Ward continued, “We have a terrific UK-based export sales team with multilingual staff currently selling to 35 retail outlets outside of the UK. We expect this division to double within the next three years as the demand for our British-made, bespoke beds and mattresses is incredible.” n

LEADERS IN LED LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY

Philips is a global leader in lighting technology and complete lighting solutions. Philip Yorke takes a closer look at the world’s foremost lighting company and how its latest cutting-edge LED technology is benefiting consumers and retailers worldwide whilst helping to protect the environment.