Friday, September 18, 2020
TOP STORIES
How John Lewis booked £560m loss but still ended up with £953m more cash
For the first time since 1953, John Lewis Partnership says it will not pay its employees a bonus. If that proves to be the case, it will not be because it lacks the resources to do so.
Furniture sales continue ascent as shoppers pivot spend to home
Consumers continued to divert more of their discretionary spend towards home goods as retailers enjoyed further growth in August, according to official retail sales figures.
Double-digit half-year home sales slide at John Lewis
Home sales fell sharply at John Lewis & Partners in the six months to July 25 as ecommerce tailwinds failed to counter the impact of store closures through the pandemic.
Next begins Home and Beauty pilot in four stores next month
General merchandise retailer Next will next month open four new large-format Home & Beauty stores as part of a pilot programme.
Wayfair to repeat and extend promotional event in U.K.
Furniture, home and garden retailer Wayfair will next week host its annual Way Day promotion, the second running of the sales event in the U.K. market after it debuted in 2019.
Half million pound gain for East Mids. ecommerce furniture retailer
Ecommerce retailer My Furniture, the pan-European company based in the East Midlands, made a third straight bottom line gain in 2019–20 as it eliminated its prior earnings deficit.
Italian furniture brand discloses lighting company takeover terms
Italian furniture group Calligaris has for the first time disclosed the detail behind its late autumn 2019 buyout of high-end lighting company Luceplan.
IKEA store operator increases verticality after buying up remainder of installer
The owner of the bulk of the IKEA worldwide store estate has bought the remaining shares in a kitchen installation business it first invested in two years ago.
Turkish, Chinese shipments narrow mattress import decline
Imports of foam and sprung mattresses into the U.K. declined at the height of summer despite a leap in the value of goods shipped from Turkey and China.
Hillarys owner told to sell at least 51% of home furnishings retailer 247Blinds
Furnishings conglomerate Hunter Douglas has been told to divest at least 51 percent of its shares in window dressings etailer 247Blinds after a ruling by the U.K. competition watchdog.
Recliner company builds giant factory to serve domestic Chinese market
Man Wah Holdings, owner of the Cheers recliner brand, has built a mammoth new factory to bolster production in the Chinese market.
ScS creates hundreds of new jobs after order upswing
National sofa and carpets retailer ScS says it hired 150 new employees last month and has a similar number of vacancies still available as it looks to scale up headcount to cope with demand.
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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Ex-Relyon, Steinhoff U.K. Beds sales director takes senior post in return to trade
Paul Little returns to the beds industry today (Sep. 1) by becoming group managing director at CPS Group, a key partner to the U.K. beds and furnishings sectors.
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Sealy U.K. factory nears salvation as licensee backed by brand owner closes in
One of the world's largest mattress manufacturers and a longtime Sealy licensee is close to a rescue of the Sealy U.K operation at Aspatria in a deal backed by the U.S. based brand owner.
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Contingency planning saw Fenwick agree multi-million pound debt facility
Fenwick, the privately-owned department store retailer and a sizeable vendor of furniture, moved to build flexibility into its financing requirements by agreeing access to tens of millions of pounds of...
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Sofa Workshop buyout expands distribution for 'Amazon antidote' Timothy Oulton
The Sofa Workshop business and brand clearly has enduring appeal. Since its creation in the mid-1980s, it has had multiple custodians, with the Halo Group and Timothy Oulton soon to become the latest.
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Headlam books £24.6m net loss for first half of 2020
The mandated closure of its operations and customer base left Headlam Group, Europe's largest flooring wholesaler and owner of 67 autonomously-run business units, nursing a hefty deficit for the...
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
How John Lewis booked £560m loss but still ended up with £953m more cash
For the first time since 1953, John Lewis Partnership says it will not pay its employees a bonus. If that proves to be the case, it will not be because it lacks the resources to do so.
ScS answers the question vexing many across the sofa trade
Furniture retailers with a few spare pennies to invest have been watching ScS and DFS closely since lockdown.
Sofa Workshop buyout expands distribution for 'Amazon antidote' Timothy Oulton
The Sofa Workshop business and brand clearly has enduring appeal. Since its creation in the mid-1980s, it has had multiple custodians, with the Halo Group and Timothy Oulton soon to become the latest.
Casper's U.K. exit couldn't have been worse timed
The decision to wind down European operations was completed by Casper Sleep in the second quarter of 2020 with the decision, through no fault of its own, appearing to be ill-timed.
DATA & LISTS
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Bad Debt: Companies owed cash by insolvent furniture entities: Sep. 18, 2020
Three companies left combined debts of £12 million with 30 companies owed £10,000 or more.
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The Insolvency Report: Filings in the week to September 18, 2020
Four insolvencies from within the furniture and furnishings industry were announced in the period from September 12–18, 2020.
TOP STORIES
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How John Lewis booked £560m loss but still ended up with £953m more cash
For the first time since 1953, John Lewis Partnership says it will not pay its employees a bonus. If that proves to be the case, it will not be because it lacks the resources to do so.
-
Furniture sales continue ascent as shoppers pivot spend to home
Consumers continued to divert more of their discretionary spend towards home goods as retailers enjoyed further growth in August, according to official retail sales figures.
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Next forecasts 57% leap in supplier-delivered furniture orders
Furniture companies are benefiting from Next allowing its customers to book bulky-goods deliveries directly via suppliers' networks, according to the general merchandise giant.
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DFS launches Halo Luxe line across selected stores, online
Upholstery market leader DFS has launched a new programme of leather sofas and chairs in collaboration with Halo Group, the multinational furniture business to whom it has just sold Sofa Workshop.
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Furniture makers gird for multiple waves of cost price inflation
Furniture prices at the factory gate inched forward last month ahead of manufacturers facing the impact of a spike in raw material prices this autumn.
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Furniture giant Calligaris bullish as post-lockdown trade recovers
Calligaris Group, the contemporary Italian furniture maker whose products are sold in over 100 countries worldwide including the U.K., says the medium-term outlook is positive despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Pandemic has shifted consumer attitudes towards British-made furniture
The British Furniture Confederation's Buy British Furniture Event goes live this weekend amid a heightened public desire to support home-grown producers.
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U.K. sofa, mattress makers hit with "aggressive" foam price increases that will have to be passed on
Britain's furniture and bedding retailers should brace for imminent price increases with sofa and mattress makers here coming under intense raw material price pressure, particularly for foam.
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Eve Sleep gifting range to roll out across 446 Boots stores
Mattress company Eve Sleep will take a bigger step into the ancillary sleep products market after striking a partnership with Boots, the national health and beauty retailer.
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Luxury retailer RH timelines planned first U.K. gallery
The CEO of RH, the luxury furniture and home goods retailer that has in the past described the U.K. as a billion dollar revenue opportunity, has outlined the planned opening timeline for its first British gallery.
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OTHER NEWS
Double-digit half-year home sales slide at John Lewis
Home sales fell sharply at John Lewis & Partners in the six months to July 25 as ecommerce tailwinds failed to counter the impact of store closures through the pandemic.
Next begins Home and Beauty pilot in four stores next month
General merchandise retailer Next will next month open four new large-format Home & Beauty stores as part of a pilot programme.
Wayfair to repeat and extend promotional event in U.K.
Furniture, home and garden retailer Wayfair will next week host its annual Way Day promotion, the second running of the sales event in the U.K. market after it debuted in 2019.
Half million pound gain for East Mids. ecommerce furniture retailer
Ecommerce retailer My Furniture, the pan-European company based in the East Midlands, made a third straight bottom line gain in 2019–20 as it eliminated its prior earnings deficit.
IKEA store operator increases verticality after buying up remainder of installer
The owner of the bulk of the IKEA worldwide store estate has bought the remaining shares in a kitchen installation business it first invested in two years ago.
Turkish, Chinese shipments narrow mattress import decline
Imports of foam and sprung mattresses into the U.K. declined at the height of summer despite a leap in the value of goods shipped from Turkey and China.
Hillarys owner told to sell at least 51% of home furnishings retailer 247Blinds
Furnishings conglomerate Hunter Douglas has been told to divest at least 51 percent of its shares in window dressings etailer 247Blinds after a ruling by the U.K. competition watchdog.
Recliner company builds giant factory to serve domestic Chinese market
Man Wah Holdings, owner of the Cheers recliner brand, has built a mammoth new factory to bolster production in the Chinese market.
ScS creates hundreds of new jobs after order upswing
National sofa and carpets retailer ScS says it hired 150 new employees last month and has a similar number of vacancies still available as it looks to scale up headcount to cope with demand.
Living, dining and bedroom furniture imports slacken
The value of case goods imports into Britain weakened from every major source nation in July, new Government figures show.