Wednesday, August 21, 2019
TOP STORIES
First Sofology store outside U.K. mainland among five new planned units
Upholstery retailer Sofology — which tonight premieres a new television advert with film star Owen Wilson — says it will open five new stores by the spring of 2020 including a first in Northern Ireland.
Free TV exposure for Harrison Spinks, but all of bed industry benefits
Rival bed makers to Harrison Spinks, who might be a tad green with envy this morning, will not feel any better when they read the following story.
First depot in Scotland for bed delivery specialist
Keen & Able, the two-man home delivery company that specialises in beds, will this autumn add a fourth U.K. depot and a first in Scotland.
H&M takes furniture and home concept store to England's second city
Swedish multinational Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) is to expand the geographical scope of its H&M Home store concept in the U.K. with the launch of a store in Birmingham.
Negative home sales streak continues for John Lewis
Sales of home merchandise fell at John Lewis & Partners for the fourth straight week with the chain relying on growth in its electricals category to limit the impact on total revenue.
Annualising summer heatwave last year boosts July furniture sales
Upholstery, cabinets and bed sales all ticked up year-on-year in July as retailers annualised weak comparatives following the heatwave and men's football World Cup last year.
Profits jump three-fold for under-the-radar independent retailer
Profits topped half a million pounds for emerging living, dining and bedroom cabinet furniture retailer in 2018–19.
Tariffs: Vietnam 'in the crosshairs', furniture CEOs told at U.S. summit
Shifting furniture production away from China to other nations in Southeast Asia to avoid tariffs is a strategy laced with risk, according to a senior former U.S. Government official.
John Lewis to sell Casper mattress brand in 24 stores and online
Department store retailer John Lewis & Partners has agreed to sell Casper products in its stores and online in the first U.K. retail partnership secured by the American mattress company.
Why highest mattress inflation in three years is slightly misleading
The highest factory gate mattress inflation for nearly three years was the principal reason furniture producer price inflation ticked up in July, according to new Government figures.
Longtime Leeds furniture store director retires
Howard Sudall, store director at renowned Yorkshire furniture store Christopher Pratts, retired earlier this summer after nearly 50 years with the retailer.
Wayfair raises $825m through private convertible bond placing
Home furnishings retailer Wayfair has raised new capital through a private convertible note offering. It says it will use the funds for working capital, capex projects and possibly to fund acquisitions.
INTELLIGENCE
Market Data
Detailed market information about each of the Upholstery, Beds, Cabinet Furniture and Floorcoverings sectors at suppliers' prices.
Discover the up-to-date value of:
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UK production
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Imports
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Exports
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Key Trading Partners
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Total UK market size
BEST READ IN THE PAST MONTH
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ScS trading well, closes in on 100 stores with planned Scottish expansion
ScS, Britain's number two upholstery retailer, will expand its Scottish footprint later this year as it takes store numbers to three figures. It also said yesterday that it is trading ahead of...
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Croll family, owners of Millbrook Beds, sell Healthcare division
Millbrook Healthcare, the largest division in the family-owned group that includes Millbrook Beds, has been sold to a specialist private investment firm. The bed manufacturing unit is unaffected.
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Silentnight cleared residual owner debt in what proved tougher year
Silentnight Group, Britain's largest beds manufacturer and a key bellwether for the sector, posted lower sales and profits in 2018–19. It remained cash generative and cleared the last of its...
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Acquisitive flooring group completes buyout of Spanish tileco
Distributor and manufacturer Victoria has bolstered its roster of ceramic floorcoverings businesses with the acquisition of Spanish tile company Ibero in a deal worth up to an estimated £14 million.
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Number of mattresses recycled annually doubles in four years
The bed industry's efforts to reduce the amount of end-of-life mattresses ending up in landfill is paying off with recycling numbers having doubled in the past four years, new research suggests.
INTELLIGENCE
Retail Sales
Up-to-date monthly UK retail sales data spanning total furniture and lighting sales PLUS detailed breakdowns for each of the Upholstery, Beds, Cabinet Furniture and Floorcoverings sectors.
Proprietary granular data covering:
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UK retail sales value and y/y delta. Monthly and annual
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Breakdown by product category
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Historical data
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Monthly and annual figures
OPINION & ANALYSIS
Free TV exposure for Harrison Spinks, but all of bed industry benefits
Rival bed makers to Harrison Spinks, who might be a tad green with envy this morning, will not feel any better when they read the following story.
Tariffs: Vietnam 'in the crosshairs', furniture CEOs told at U.S. summit
Shifting furniture production away from China to other nations in Southeast Asia to avoid tariffs is a strategy laced with risk, according to a senior former U.S. Government official.
Why Natuzzi and other global furniture makers might build or buy U.K. factory
Upholstery giant Natuzzi announced a new business plan is on the way to mitigate the impact of tariffs imposed on China-made goods arriving into the U.S.
Furniture giants build wall between themselves and Trump's tariffs
The acquisition of a majority stake in a large Vietnamese case goods factory by Samson Holding was the latest indication of the impact on the global furniture trade President Trump has had since he was sworn into office.
DATA & LISTS
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Debt Report: Who's owed what by insolvent industry companies — August 16, 2019
Today's list contains six insolvent companies leaving combined debts of c. £1.35 million. Names all c. 25 creditors owed £10,000 or more.
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Insolvency Report: Corporate bankruptcies announced between August 10–16, 2019
Six insolvencies from within the furniture and furnishings industry were announced in the period August 10–16, 2019.
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Debt Report: Who's owed what by insolvent industry companies — August 9, 2019
Today's list contains ten insolvent companies leaving combined debts of c. £2.5 million. Names all c. 35 creditors owed £10,000 or more.
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Insolvency Report: Corporate bankruptcies announced between July 26–August 9, 2019
14 insolvencies from within the furniture and furnishings industry were announced in the period July 26–August 9, 2019.
TOP STORIES
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First Sofology store outside U.K. mainland among five new planned units
Upholstery retailer Sofology — which tonight premieres a new television advert with film star Owen Wilson — says it will open five new stores by the spring of 2020 including a first in Northern Ireland.
-
Free TV exposure for Harrison Spinks, but all of bed industry benefits
Rival bed makers to Harrison Spinks, who might be a tad green with envy this morning, will not feel any better when they read the following story.
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Lars Larsen, JYSK founder and 'Danish king of duvets', dies aged 71
Lars Larsen, founder of the eponymous group that he built into one of the biggest furniture businesses in the world with annual sales north of €4.2 billion, has died. He was 71 years old.
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Cabinet wholesaler Kettle finds sales growth amid challenging conditions
Underlying sales grew for Northamptonshire cabinet furniture retailer and wholesaler Kettle Interiors in 2017–18 despite a backdrop of trading headwinds.
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Half-year sofa profits up for Alstons, Ashley Manor owner as sales trend improves
There was an improving sales trend in the second quarter of 2019 for the Thai owner of British sofa makers Ashley Manor, Alexander & James and Alstons, negating weaker first quarter top-line figures.
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Multiyork administrator close to resolving claim against foam supplier
Duff & Phelps says "progress has been made" in its bid to claw back cash from a foam supplier for the benefit of creditors of fallen upholstery chain Multiyork.
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AHF expands store footprint with Homebase tie-up
Furniture chain AHF has extended its footprint into southwest England after opening its first two concessions inside home improvement retailer Homebase.
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High-end Internet furniture retailer hires new CFO ahead of investment round
Houseology, the Glasgow-based etailer of prestige furniture and accents, has hired former Dobbies Garden Centres executive Laura Jamieson as chief financial officer.
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Investment and output climbed at retail giant Next's upholstery plant
General merchandise retail giant Next expanded the output of its Yorkshire sofa manufacturing plant in 2018–19 but cautioned that activity remained in the developmental phase.
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Furniture retail price inflation jumps to 17-month high
Consumers paid considerably more to buy furniture in July after inflation in the category climbed to its highest level since February 2018.
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OTHER NEWS
First depot in Scotland for bed delivery specialist
Keen & Able, the two-man home delivery company that specialises in beds, will this autumn add a fourth U.K. depot and a first in Scotland.
H&M takes furniture and home concept store to England's second city
Swedish multinational Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) is to expand the geographical scope of its H&M Home store concept in the U.K. with the launch of a store in Birmingham.
Negative home sales streak continues for John Lewis
Sales of home merchandise fell at John Lewis & Partners for the fourth straight week with the chain relying on growth in its electricals category to limit the impact on total revenue.
Annualising summer heatwave last year boosts July furniture sales
Upholstery, cabinets and bed sales all ticked up year-on-year in July as retailers annualised weak comparatives following the heatwave and men's football World Cup last year.
Profits jump three-fold for under-the-radar independent retailer
Profits topped half a million pounds for emerging living, dining and bedroom cabinet furniture retailer in 2018–19.
John Lewis to sell Casper mattress brand in 24 stores and online
Department store retailer John Lewis & Partners has agreed to sell Casper products in its stores and online in the first U.K. retail partnership secured by the American mattress company.
Why highest mattress inflation in three years is slightly misleading
The highest factory gate mattress inflation for nearly three years was the principal reason furniture producer price inflation ticked up in July, according to new Government figures.
Longtime Leeds furniture store director retires
Howard Sudall, store director at renowned Yorkshire furniture store Christopher Pratts, retired earlier this summer after nearly 50 years with the retailer.
Wayfair raises $825m through private convertible bond placing
Home furnishings retailer Wayfair has raised new capital through a private convertible note offering. It says it will use the funds for working capital, capex projects and possibly to fund acquisitions.
Rug supplier gets major third-party logistics boost but Homebase CVA hit sales
One of the U.K.'s biggest rug and floormat suppliers said the downsizing of home improvement chain Homebase had a negative impact on sales last year.