Thursday, July 18, 2019
TOP STORIES
Argos, Dunelm and Homebase strike deals to sell Eve Sleep online
Mattress brand Eve Sleep has agreed retail partnerships with three of the biggest names in the sector as it adds to existing tie-ups and replaces exposure lost following the end of trading relations with Dreams.
Furniture retail price inflation eases from recent highs
Consumer price inflation for furniture eased fractionally in June as retailers passed on a softer increase to their customers.
Recliner giant Stressless opens first U.K. brand store
Stressless has become the latest big-name furniture brand to open its own U.K. retail showroom, taking a heavily-trafficked unit on one of London's prime furniture shopping streets.
Like Sofology in years passed, Eve Sleep believes in power of the sloth
Eve Sleep has launched a new television advertising campaign and is following a well-trodden promotional path in the home goods industry, with the use of a fictional sloth.
Takeover by furniture specialist consolidates retail software market
Swan Retail, which majors in providing retail software to the furniture, garden and department store sectors, has acquired rival business Touchretail.
Unwinding container issues aids living, dining and bedroom cabinet imports
Chinese, Malaysian and Vietnamese cabinet imports climbed sharply as the latest HMRC data dump annualised against issues with container ships arriving from Asia.
Victoria resurrects plan to tap bond market amid debt refinancing
Flooring manufacturer and distributor Victoria is dusting off previously-jettisoned plans to launch a corporate bond, following through on comments made last week when it released its full year results.
Fashion goes well at John Lewis, but home slips back
John Lewis & Partners' sales advanced 1.3 percent last week on the back of high double-digit fashion revenue growth which countered weaker figures elsewhere.
Portmeirion pays £9.5m for U.S. home décor, homewares business
Homewares manufacturer and distributor Portmeiron Group has agreed to buy U.S. company Nambé LLC for $12 million (£9.5m) in a cash deal that extends its reach into the North American market.
Retail parks buck wider footfall trend, seeing more people in June
Out-of-town retail parks, home to many of the U.K.'s largest furniture and floorcoverings retailers, saw fractionally more people last month against a wider backdrop of decline for physical store operators.
Owner of Sofa.com, House of Fraser delays results
The release of full-year results from Sports Direct International, which had been due to be published this Thursday (July 18), has been delayed.
First fall in Belgian carpet imports in four months
Belgian carpet imports declined in May for the first time since the beginning of the year. Overall arrivals were still up because of more goods shipped in from Turkey, China and India.
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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Fallen Multiyork failed in its duty to staff, Employment Tribunal rules
Former employees of Multiyork have received a combined six-figure sum after an Employment Tribunal found the upholstery vertical failed in its legal obligation to its staff during the redundancy...
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Britain's biggest carpet maker builds sales momentum as profit growth returns
Sales jumped in high single-digits for Bury carpet maker Cormar in 2017–18 with the company controlling costs to return to bottom line growth.
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International business sings in record year for Savoir Beds
Savoir, whose beds retail for an average of about £25,000 each, posted record sales and a high single-digit net margin in 2018 after it consolidated its presence in key international markets.
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New stores power growth at 78-store lifestyle retailer Oliver Bonas
Oliver Bonas, the British retailer which carries occasional furniture among a comprehensive lifestyle product offer, enjoyed double-digit growth in 2018. Profits declined on cost headwinds.
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U.K. furniture manufacturers feel squeeze as total value of production declines
British furniture manufacturers' collective output declined last year with cabinet furniture producers and sofa makers among those seeing the biggest falls, new figures for 2018 reveal.
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
Key takeaways from 2018 U.K. furniture, beds and floorcoverings production data
The release of 2018 manufacturing data across U.K. industry by the Office for National Statistics leaves us with a complete picture of the key furniture and floorcoverings categories when combined with already-known import/export data.
After 30 years, industry braced for change to furniture fire regs
Loved, loathed or tolerated, Britain's furniture fire regulations are some of the most stringent in the world. Introduced in 1988, they are also in need of a serious overhaul.
New bed boss arrives from outside sector but with highly-relevant experience
The first time I met Steve Freeman, who is stepping down as group managing director at Silentnight, was in rather awkward circumstances.
The common thread, and threat, linking IKEA and elite U.K. furniture independents
On the surface, there is little in common between global conglomerate IKEA and Britain's best independent furniture retailers. But the home furnishings market leader does share one very important trait — a strength which is also a threat.
DATA & LISTS
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Debt Report: Who's owed what by insolvent industry companies — July 12, 2019
Today's list contains six insolvent companies leaving combined debts of £1.3 million. Names all c. 15 creditors owed £10,000 or more.
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Who's Gone Bust: Corporate bankruptcies announced between July 6–12, 2019
Seven insolvencies from within the furniture and furnishings industry were announced in the period July 6–12, 2019.
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Debt Report: Who's owed what by insolvent industry companies — July 5, 2019
Today's list contains six insolvent companies leaving combined debts of £1.3 million. Names all c. 25 creditors owed £10,000 or more.
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Insolvency Report: Corporate bankruptcies announced between June 29–July 5, 2019
Five insolvencies from within the furniture and furnishings industry were announced in the period June 29–July 5, 2019.
TOP STORIES
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Argos, Dunelm and Homebase strike deals to sell Eve Sleep online
Mattress brand Eve Sleep has agreed retail partnerships with three of the biggest names in the sector as it adds to existing tie-ups and replaces exposure lost following the end of trading relations with Dreams.
-
Furniture retail price inflation eases from recent highs
Consumer price inflation for furniture eased fractionally in June as retailers passed on a softer increase to their customers.
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Sofa maker posts sixth straight sales jump, bucking market
Whitemeadow, the U.K.’s largest management-owned sofa maker, booked larger profits on higher sales in 2018 as it outperformed a declining wider market.
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Underlying bed sales down mid single-digits in first quarter, NBF members say
Like-for-like bed sales fell 5 percent in the first quarter of 2019 according to the National Bed Federation's latest State of Trade report, though the volume fall was less severe.
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Mattress imports up at fastest pace so far this year
An upshift in the value of mattresses arriving from Denmark, home to Tempur's European manufacturing unit, helped power imports to their biggest growth since December last year.
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Plumbs' profits jump as restructuring work three years back bears fruit
Profits jumped at Preston based sofa covers business Plumbs as efforts going back to 2016 to prune the company's cost base continued to yield improvements.
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Loss of two key suppliers negatively impacted Harveys and Bensons in first half
Bensons for Beds continued to outgun its sister retailer Harveys as the U.K. household goods division of Steinhoff International Holdings narrowed losses in the six months to end March.
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Chinese sofa imports leap as problems with container arrivals fade
May saw a big leap in the value of upholstery arriving from China as problems with containers arriving from the country a year ago continue to unwind.
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Steinhoff spent €82m on advisory fees in six months to March 2019
Advisors to Steinhoff International Holdings were paid €82 million in fees in the six months to end March as the conglomerate continued "complex and technical work" to complete its financial restructuring and stabilise the group.
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Voluntary HMRC settlement impacts profits at Coach House
A one-off voluntary settlement with HM Revenue & Customs meant reported profits were lower at furniture and home accents wholesale giant Coach House in 2017–18. Its underlying performance continued to improve.
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OTHER NEWS
Recliner giant Stressless opens first U.K. brand store
Stressless has become the latest big-name furniture brand to open its own U.K. retail showroom, taking a heavily-trafficked unit on one of London's prime furniture shopping streets.
Like Sofology in years passed, Eve Sleep believes in power of the sloth
Eve Sleep has launched a new television advertising campaign and is following a well-trodden promotional path in the home goods industry, with the use of a fictional sloth.
Takeover by furniture specialist consolidates retail software market
Swan Retail, which majors in providing retail software to the furniture, garden and department store sectors, has acquired rival business Touchretail.
Unwinding container issues aids living, dining and bedroom cabinet imports
Chinese, Malaysian and Vietnamese cabinet imports climbed sharply as the latest HMRC data dump annualised against issues with container ships arriving from Asia.
Victoria resurrects plan to tap bond market amid debt refinancing
Flooring manufacturer and distributor Victoria is dusting off previously-jettisoned plans to launch a corporate bond, following through on comments made last week when it released its full year results.
Fashion goes well at John Lewis, but home slips back
John Lewis & Partners' sales advanced 1.3 percent last week on the back of high double-digit fashion revenue growth which countered weaker figures elsewhere.
Portmeirion pays £9.5m for U.S. home décor, homewares business
Homewares manufacturer and distributor Portmeiron Group has agreed to buy U.S. company Nambé LLC for $12 million (£9.5m) in a cash deal that extends its reach into the North American market.
Retail parks buck wider footfall trend, seeing more people in June
Out-of-town retail parks, home to many of the U.K.'s largest furniture and floorcoverings retailers, saw fractionally more people last month against a wider backdrop of decline for physical store operators.
Owner of Sofa.com, House of Fraser delays results
The release of full-year results from Sports Direct International, which had been due to be published this Thursday (July 18), has been delayed.
First fall in Belgian carpet imports in four months
Belgian carpet imports declined in May for the first time since the beginning of the year. Overall arrivals were still up because of more goods shipped in from Turkey, China and India.