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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The value of furniture and flooring supplier invoices processed through Associated Independent Stores' central paying agent jumped sharply last year in a further sign elite retailers bounced back strongly out of lockdowns.
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- ECOMMERCE
Ecommerce retailer The Very Group is reorganising its category management structure including an adjusted brief for the boss of the merchandise unit taking in furniture and other home goods.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
IKEA chief digital officer Barbara Martin Coppola is to leave the home furnishings conglomerate to run Decathlon, the €11.4 billion turnover sports retailer headquartered in France.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Retail giant Next is to remodel its Watford superstore into a next-generation format combining all its product categories for the first time.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Colefax Group, owner of multiple high-end furnishing fabric brands and prestige Devon sofa maker Kingcome, booked profits up by more than a third on higher sales in the six months to October 31.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Flooring conglomerate Headlam Group says it is close to naming a new chief executive, ending a four-month hunt for a successor to Steve Wilson.
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- CASE GOODS
Diversified Yorkshire cabinet furniture maker and sheet materials supplier Decorative Panels doubled profits in 2020/21 on wider margins. Group sales were flat.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Privately-owned retailer Sussex Beds is planning to open a new store every quarter for the next three years before accelerating its pace of growth in the period thereafter.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The Government agency responsible for ensuring the designs framework enables rights holders to protect designs and enforce their rights has launched a call for views ahead of a review.
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- CASE GOODS
Cabinet furniture manufacturer Qualita has taken over production and distribution rights for Winsor Furniture's bestselling Stockholm range.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Emerging floorcoverings retailer Flooring Superstore plans to grow its store footprint faster this year having opened 17 showrooms through 2021.
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- REGIONAL
Historic furniture, department and garden centre retailer Oldrid & Co said it expects to return to profit on the back of pent-up demand and the closure of loss-making parts of its business.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Financial metrics for the privately-owned company behind the ecommerce beds brand MattressNextDay climbed to record levels including a seven-fold rise in cash.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
German furniture maker Hülsta has confirmed the permanent closure of its store in the Marylebone area of London, leaving it with two of its own retail showrooms in the U.K.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
IKEA's long-planned and delayed Hammersmith inner-city store will open next month, the retailer has confirmed, almost a year later than originally hoped.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Nobia, the Swedish kitchen conglomerate and owner of retail chain Magnet, has named XPO Logistics as the sole U.K. transport provider for all its British-based brands.
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- UPHOLSTERY
The company behind Far East upholstery giant Kuka Home says profits doubled in a year bookended by planned manufacturing investments totalling the equivalent of more than £400 million.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Ecommerce-led home, garden and lifestyle retailer Home24 was profitable by some measures last year as sales jumped by more than a quarter driven by strategy and Covid tailwinds.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The company behind furniture search website ufurnish.com has raised seven-figure funding through the sale of newly-created shares.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Furniture conglomerate Lars Larsen Group booked net income of 5.14 billion Danish kroner (£581m) last year as it benefitted from both organic growth and acquisitions powering top line growth.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
U.K. flooring contractor Designer Contracts has taken on a new cohort of apprentice fitters as part of a continuing plan to directly employ more fitters amid industry-wide shortages.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The National Bed Federation (NBF) has relaunched its Introduction to Beds course, a fast-track learning module targeting new industry entrants or those looking to enhance or refresh their knowledge of the sector.
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- UPHOLSTERY
South Wales sofa maker Ashwood Designs booked record sales last year amid investment in additional manufacturing capacity and frame production.
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- REGIONAL
Work is underway to transform a former printworks into a second store for independent retailer Hafren Furnishers, which already operates one of Wales' largest grossing furniture stores.
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- EVENTS
Proposte, the northern Italian textiles exhibition popular with sofa makers and other buyers of furnishings fabrics, has rescheduled its spring 2022 edition by a few weeks.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
The Swedish investment group that acquired U.K. furniture wholesaler Julian Bowen last year has tapped debt investors for more cash to fund further buyouts.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Consumer confidence took a hit in January as the prospect of Covid restrictions being eased was outweighed by the spectre of higher living costs, according to GfK, the polling company.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
National bed specialist Bensons for Beds says it has returned to profit at the EBIT line and outlined plans to maintain new-store opening momentum this year.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The value of furniture and lighting sales declined on both a one and two year basis in December according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as lower volumes outweighed the inflationary impact of higher prices.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Upholstery retail and wholesale brand The Lounge Co has opened a second standalone showroom in London as it looks to boost its business in the capital.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Natural wool mattress and bedding company Woolroom has agreed a six-figure funding package as it looks to build a bigger international business after breakout profitable growth last year.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Dunelm Group, the out-of-town home and furniture retailer, has appointed payments expert Kelly Devine to its board as a non-executive director.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Colour Marketing Services (CMS), which supplies a diversified range of sampling services and products to the furniture, flooring and interiors sectors, has appointed Caroline Adams as sales and marketing director. It has also moved into larger manufacturing premises.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Furniture and furnishings test house FIRA International has rescheduled its planned winter Open Day events to the spring, citing visitor and staff wellbeing.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Home department store retailer Leekes will start clearing £5 million of furniture from its Llantrisant flagship on Thursday morning as it begins a multi-faceted refurbishment programme that will transform the South Wales store.
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- ECOMMERCE
Home and gift sales trended downwards in the final weeks of 2021 for ecommerce group N Brown, operator of brands including JD Williams and Home Essentials.
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- DEALS & FINANCE
More details on late 2021 buyout of remaining shares in upmarket interior design and furniture retail company.
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- CASE GOODS
Legislators in Vietnam imposed some of the most severe Covid restrictions worldwide last year with widespread factory shutdowns, but they are yet to materially damage furniture exports to the U.K.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Eve Sleep says early 2022 trading is ahead of what were challenging comparatives as it targets a break-even position for its U.K. and Ireland business this year.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Consumer price inflation for furniture reached record levels for the fourth straight month in December according to figures released Wednesday morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Foam and sprung mattress imports have climbed for the first time since the early summer according to new figures, ending a five-month stretch of year-on-year declines.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Upholstered furniture giant Man Wah Holdings has made its second major land acquisition announcement inside a week, this time for a vast plot of land in Mexico on which it plans to build more factories.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
The total value of carpets imported into the U.K. fell for a third month in a row in November according to new HM Revenue & Customs data.
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- EVENTS
Invite-only trade exhibition BFM Fabric Show London 2022 will take place at a new venue, the ILEC Conference Centre near Earls Court, when it returns this spring.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Fast-expanding furniture chain NCF Living is to open its first store in Wales and its 14th nationwide as it looks to more than double revenue in its current financial year.
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- UPHOLSTERY
U.K. retailers and wholesalers imported more upholstered furniture into the country in November than in any other single month in history, new official data shows.
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- EVENTS
The next edition of Salone del Mobile (The Furniture Show) in Milan will take place in the summer after organisers canned the traditional April show dates because of Covid.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Bedding and linen retailer Julian Charles has opened a new concession at Tong Garden Centre in West Yorkshire, and says it is targeting up to ten in all over the next year.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of Heimtextil, the international trade fair for the textiles industry held annually in Frankfurt, have rescheduled the cancelled event for the summer of this year.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Shareholders at Simba Sleep have backed plans to balance purpose with profits as the direct-to-consumer and wholesale company looks to put its commitment to sustainability alongside financial reward.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Fast expanding floorcoverings distributor Likewise Group has completed its previously signposted takeover of Valley Wholesale Carpets and installed a longtime industry executive to run the business.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Italian upholstered furniture conglomerate Natuzzi has appointed Giuseppe Cacciapaglia as replacement for Vittorio Notarpietro pending a search for a new permanent chief financial officer.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Man Wah Holdings, the Hong Kong listed upholstery producer, is to build a new factory in Wuhan, China that will becomes its manufacturing base in the centre of the country.
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- LEGAL & RESTRUCTURING
The future of garden, outdoor leisure, lighting and home ecommerce brand True Shopping (trueshopping.co.uk) is uncertain after restructuring advisors were drafted in to run its operating company.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
U.K. furniture manufacturers' combined turnover climbed for the ninth month straight in November, new figures released Friday morning show.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
A corporate reorganisation encompassing Karndean's global interests has revealed the floorcoverings supplier to be far larger than previous disclosures had indicated, and value the group north of £400 million.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The chairman of the Furniture Industry Research Association says the not-for-profit organisation expanded its membership base last year, giving the trade a bigger voice in shaping its own destiny.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Strong post-lockdown demand and unwinding its large order backlog last year put Tempur U.K. on track to recover sales lost to the early months of the pandemic.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of the Scottish Interiors Showcase, an annual trade furnishings event dating back 14 years, says the 2022 edition will take place as scheduled next month.
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- EVENTS
Associated Independent Stores (AIS) says all of its planned winter show series, including its INDX Furniture event which starts in 10 days' time, will go ahead under current Government guidance for large indoor events and trade shows.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The business unit encompassing furniture delivered growth on both a one and two-year basis in the 13 weeks to January 1, retail giant Marks and Spencer Group (M&S) said Thursday.
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- CASE GOODS
The chairman of Ercol Furniture, which on Wednesday night featured on the BBC's Inside The Factory programme, says the manufacturer has recovered all the sales lost to the early period of the pandemic and continued to find bottom line gains.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Hydeline Furniture, the Buckinghamshire upholstery producer and distributor, has appointed Jonathan Burrage as its new managing director, succeeding Harvey Roberts in the role.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Home goods retailer Dunelm said furniture was a standout category in the three months to Christmas as it enjoyed the first benefits of its soon-to-be fully-operational new furniture distribution hub.
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- DEALS & FINANCE
Nobia, the kitchen manufacturing and retail conglomerate and owner of British kitchen chain Magnet, has agreed to buy Superfront, a Sweden-based direct-to-consumer business that already sells to U.K. buyers.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
An increased participation of Habitat-branded products and deliberately fewer promotions helped Argos find margin expansion in pre-and-post Christmas trading, according to parent company J Sainsbury, the grocery and general merchandise retailer.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Sales jumped by more than a quarter for furniture and design retailer Heal's in the year to September 2021 despite long periods of enforced store closures. It also enjoyed a big turnaround in profitability.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Upholstery group DFS has named the new managing director for its Sofology retail chain, succeeding the brand's CEO Sally Hopson, who left after retiring last year.
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- ECOMMERCE
Lapping pandemic-driven peaks meant home sales fell for digital retailer The Very Group, owner of the Very.co.uk and Littlewoods brands, in the period taking in Black Friday through to Christmas Eve.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Paul Myerscough has been promoted to managing director at North Wales upholstery manufacturer Westbridge Furniture, a major supplier to national, DTC and independent retailers.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Kent bed maker Sleepeezee has taken centre state in a mini-documentary as part of a new TV campaign from the joint Natwest and ITV Backing Business Initiative.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Pandemic restrictions meant sales almost halved for three-store beds and department store retailer Daniel of Windsor in 2020/21, ahead of it resolving to buy out two shareholders.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Furniture importer and wholesaler Seconique found sales, margin and profit expansion amid unprecedented demand last year, enabling it to generate cash and deleverage ahead of schedule.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Retailers will need to be agile and resilient to fight demand challenges prompted by rising living costs, according to the head of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the industry trade body and lobby group.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEoHK) has directed Samson Holding, once one of the largest suppliers of cabinet furniture to the U.K. market, to conduct a review after criticising its internal control procedures.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The National Bed Federation (NBF) is calling on bed manufacturers and retailers to support its annual National Bed Month awareness campaign, and is providing a range of multi-media tools to enable them to do so.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The group behind the Selfridges, De Bijenkorf, Brown Thomas and Arnotts retail brands recorded a nine-figure deficit as multi-territory mandatory store closures clipped its ability to trade last year.
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- ECOMMERCE
Consumers pivoting online helped the ecommerce company behind the Not On The High Street home and gift retail brand deliver a big turnaround in profits in the year that saw a controlling stake sold to U.S. investment firm Great Hill Partners.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Upholstery, cabinet and accessories ecommerce retailer Furniture Box has agreed to occupy a large build-to-suit warehouse facility as it looks to build on rapid growth achieved through the pandemic.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The U.K. arm of Dunnes Stores, the Ireland headquartered food, fashion and furnishings retailer, generated positive cashflow despite recording an £8.1 million net accounting loss in its just-reported financial year.
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- EVENTS
Preview22, the planned online bridge for retailers and suppliers ahead of the live trade show period, is to become The Online Furniture Show instead and will run later this month, organisers have announced.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
North East living, dining and bedroom wholesaler Baker Furniture has moved into its new 50,000sqft distribution centre ahead of beginning to deliver goods to customers from the purpose-built facility.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Legislators have criticised a leading accountancy body after it confirmed the £13 million fine handed to KPMG for its conduct in the sale of Silentnight a decade ago will not be used to compensate pensioners impacted by its insolvent restructure.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Fashion-to-furniture retailer Next has upgraded profit expectations for the fifth time in the past year after strong pre-Christmas trading, but cautioned that continued buoyancy for discretionary spend is uncertain.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Designer Contracts, the national floorcoverings contractor that majors in supply to the housebuilder market, has invested £500,000 to support its strategy of holding more stock.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Furniture retailer Made.com Group (MADE) says self-help measures instigated in the second half of last year will soon result in shorter lead times against a backdrop of industry-wide supply chain issues.
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- ECOMMERCE
The company behind the Furniture and Choice ecommerce furniture retail brand saw revenue more than double during the height of the pandemic. Margins widened and profits also rose sharply.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Furniture, flooring and furnishings insolvencies jumped both sequentially and on an annual basis in the final quarter as state support measures such as the furlough scheme were brought to an end.
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- UPHOLSTERY
West Midlands upholstery manufacturer ACL 2002 built on a return to profit last year but says it is facing intense cost pressures and labour shortages because of Covid-19.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Just one in 20 consumers is unsatisfied with the comfort and quality of their just-purchased mattress, according to the latest National Bed Federation (NBF) biannual consumer survey.
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- DEALS & FINANCE
Pan-European ecommerce-led furniture retailer Home24 has agreed to buy direct-to-consumer home accessories chain Butlers in a move that diversifies its product offer and expands its physical store footprint.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Barker and Stonehouse, the North East headquartered independent furniture retailer, booked higher profits in 2020/21 ahead of investment in logistics, technology and its store network.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Liquidators finalising the affairs of a mattress company that filed for bankruptcy late 2020 owing millions to creditors say a number of matters warrant further investigation.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
North West retailer and contractor Mears Flooring maintained a double-digit net margin in 2020/21 despite the first lockdown clipping both its top and bottom lines.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Courier company DX Group has added two new warehouses for its DX Freight division, which specialises in both one and two person deliveries of larger goods such as furniture and beds.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
A distributor of underlay and other carpet and flooring accessories has suffered a serious fire at its premises in Tiverton, Devon.
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- REGIONAL
Family-owned retailer Cousins booked a large increase in sales and profits in the period after it acquired flagship assets of the now-defunct Alan Ward furniture business.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Furniture and homeware company Swoon has become the latest third-party brand to have its products offered on the platform of DFS, the U.K.'s upholstery market leader.
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- ECOMMERCE
Home and garden ecommerce platform Wayfair is expected to build distribution capacity in Scotland and has been recruiting ahead of opening a new asset in a key location.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Sales climbed by more than a fifth for London based rug distributor and wholesaler Asiatic Carpets last year as it benefited from higher home spend among consumers.
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- DEALS & FINANCE
3G Capital, a global investment firm and private partnership, is to acquire a controlling stake in Netherlands based furnishings conglomerate Hunter Douglas, owner of multiple U.K. companies including window dressings giant Hillarys.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Rise-and-recline upholstery producer Celebrity Motion Furniture says it is optimistic it will clear the remainder of its CVA debt in the next year, saying the business has continued to prosper since its restructure.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
An emerging finance partner for furniture and flooring retailers more than halved losses at its U.K. operation as the pandemic hit, despite dampened demand for credit.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
ScS, the national upholstery and flooring retailer, has relocated its Doncaster store to a different retail park in the South Yorkshire town.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Tapi Carpets & Floors booked the smallest full year loss in its short history last year and by some earnings measures was profitable for the first time as higher sales and lower costs boosted the challenger flooring retailer.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Large upholstery retail warehouse Vine Mill Furniture is clearing stock ahead of its planned closure with owners instead to focus on the group's wholesale operations supplying other companies.
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- DEALS & FINANCE
Recticel shareholders have green-lighted the disposal of the company's mattress division to Aquinos, the Portuguese upholstery and bedding manufacturing conglomerate.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
A successful project reorganising and galvanising the delivery operations of a prominent bed retailer has led to the launch of a new large-parcel one-man furniture delivery business called Solo Home Delivery.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Omnichannel furniture and homeware retailer Loaf plans to expand its store footprint into Scotland for the first time with the opening of a ninth showroom next year.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Kidderminster carpet maker Brockway swung back to profit as lower costs outweighed the impact of a decline in turnover ahead of a new managing director joining in the autumn.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Natuzzi has announced the resignation of chief financial officer Vittorio Notarpietro after 20 years service with the Italian upholstery maker and retailer across two separate spells.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The Weston family have confirmed plans to sell retail group Selfridges to a joint venture between Thai conglomerate Central Group and Austrian property company Signa.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
International furniture brand Timothy Oulton has in the past few days expanded its London store footprint with the opening of two further showrooms while its eponymous owner is now majority shareholder in Andrew Martin International, the high-end retail and wholesale company.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Upholstery retailer Sofology has revealed two further new store locations for its 2022 pipeline as it continues to reconfigure its national network.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The U.K.'s largest hardwood furniture retailer Oak Furnitureland will diversify its product offer with the launch of a new programme of bespoke floorcoverings across four new-format stores from Boxing Day.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Homewares importer and distributor Sabichi saw profits jump 63 percent in the past year as it beat its revenue target by more than £4 million.
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- EVENTS
More U.K. home and interiors exhibitions have been delayed as a result of either Government restrictions or the threat of them being introduced amid concerns over the spread of the Omicron Covid variant.
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- LEGAL & RESTRUCTURING
The near term future of a decades-old furniture retailer that once traded from six South East stores is secure after a rescue buyout immediately after its predecessor company was placed into administration.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Yorkshire mattress maker Highgrove Beds said the global increase in raw material costs eroded gross margin last year but it still posted class-leading profits and further built its cash pile.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The lull in U.K. residential property transactions following the end of the stamp duty holiday in September proved short-lived, with the number of deals climbing sharply again last month.
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- ECOMMERCE
National bedding and linen retailer Julian Charles says its online business has exploded after heavy investment in its digital proposition under its new owner.
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- EVENTS
The return of the January Furniture Show will be delayed by a further three months after organisers rescheduled the dates amid concerns over the Omicron Covid-19 variant.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Store sales halved for retail chain Mattressman in the year to end March but it still managed to find double-digit growth as its customers pivoted online. Profits climbed sharply.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
A franchisee behind a number of prominent flooring stores in the North East booked large seven-figure profits in 2020/21 despite Covid restrictions inhibiting its ability to trade.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The rebuild of Feather & Black's store footprint has gathered pace with two new showrooms opening this past weekend to double the size of the bedroom retailer's physical estate.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
The effect of mandatory store closures was stark for privately-owned Devon retailer Austins in 2020/21, with sales almost halving compared with the previous year.
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- REGIONAL
Staff at Oldrids of Scunthorpe are said to be advising customers of the department store's planned permanent closure early in the new year.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Southern Italian upholstery manufacturer Incanto group will next month reintroduce its upmarket Incanto Italia brand to the U.K. and Irish markets after a multi-year absence.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The CEO of Tempur Sealy International's longtime Sealy Australia, Asia-Pacific and now U.K. joint venture partner is one of two new senior independent board members at the world's biggest bedding company.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the U.K.'s antitrust watchdog, has has provisionally found that Dar Lighting has broken competition law by preventing retailers from offering discounts online.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Moffett and Sons, the company behind the diversified upholstery, bed and cabinet manufacturer and wholesaler Balmoral Furniture, says it is on target to return to growth in 2021/22 after seeing sales and profits fall in the past year.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
SATRA, the research and testing organisation, has appointed Tristine Hargreaves to lead its furniture and flooring section as divisional manager. It also announced a new tie-up to provide services to the National Bed Federation (NBF).
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Consumer confidence declined in December as the emergence of the new Covid variant Omicron impacted shoppers' outlook on the economy, spending and their own personal finances.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
U.K. furniture and lighting sales regained upward momentum last month according to figures released Friday by the Office for National Statistics. They were also up on a two-year basis.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Wolf Components, the South Yorkshire pocket spring maker started three years ago by two former Leggett & Platt executives, almost doubled sales in the past year and says it is on target to deliver again in 2021/22.
- Details
- ECOMMERCE
The ecommerce group behind the Houseology and Olivia's furniture and homeware brands saw revenue surge ten-fold ahead ahead of a seven-figure equity fund raise earlier this year.
- Details
- MANUFACTURING
A lack of skilled workers has forced furniture production wages higher, according to the British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM), the industry trade association.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
Upholstery and beds company HSL has strengthened its retail presence in the North West of England, with a new unit opening Thursday to the north of Manchester.
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- MANUFACTURING
Foam and industrials group Greiner is for now pressing ahead with plans to acquire what will remain of Recticel even though the Belgian company has agreed deals to dispose of two sizeable chunks of its business.
- Details
- UPHOLSTERY
North West upholstery and curtain fabrics wholesaler Fryett's widened gross margin in 2020/21 as it increased its market share in the supply of cut length products.
- Details
- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
The combined profits of nine of the world's largest shipping lines have increased eleven-fold in 2021 so far as demand and prices for ocean freight have surged as the pandemic has progressed.
- Details
- DEALS & FINANCE
Furniture company Fritz Hansen has acquired Skagerak Denmark in a deal that takes the design group into the outdoor furniture market for the first time.
- Details
- MANUFACTURING
The price of raw materials and inputs used in the production of furniture rose to another record level in November according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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- REGIONAL
Furniture and home department store retailer Housing Units found top and bottom line growth in 2020/21 with its CEO saying more is to come as it unwinds its strong order book.
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- DEALS & FINANCE
Challenger flooring wholesale group Likewise is to make its biggest acquisition yet after lining up a deal for one of the U.K.'s largest family-owned flooring companies.
- Details
- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Home, garden and leisure retailer The Range has agreed to lease a 475,000sqft warehouse that until last year was one of the largest furniture warehouses in the country.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
The effect of enforced factory shutdowns across Vietnam finally outweighed high U.K. demand for its goods in October as the value of wood furniture imports fell for the first time this year.
- Details
- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Foam and sprung mattress imports fell for the fourth straight month on an annual basis at the start of the final quarter of 2021, according to HM Revenue & Customs figures.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Upholstered furniture import growth slowed at the beginning of the final quarter despite continued robust figures from both China and Poland, the U.K.'s largest trading partners.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Town planners have approved proposals for a new warehouse for Alliance Flooring Distribution, a division of international floorcoverings conglomerate Victoria.
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