Industry News & Analysis
The latest industry news and analysis—across all categories—listed in chronological order, with the most recent articles first.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
The md of furniture maker Shackletons has sold the business to an external investor who will run the company as chairman and chief executive.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION |
31 House of Fraser stores will close under CVA plan
House of Fraser will close 31 stores including a number that house furniture concessions after its planned CVA gained enough creditor support.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES |
The diversified Leeds group grows its own fillings and makes its own springs as well as producing mattresses such as this one from its Somnus brand
Group consolidated revenue at Leeds bed manufacturing and components group Harrison Spinks has passed £50 million for the first time.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
Rise and recliner co. saw sales slide but made positive earnings contribution.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
Mulberry Home fabrics to feature on new Tetrad line
Tetrad, the North West sofa maker celebrating its 50th year of trading in 2018, is launching an upholstery programme covered exclusively in Mulberry Home fabrics.
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- DATA & RESEARCH |
Year-on-year furniture sales were down more than £14 million in May as upholstery and case goods underperformed.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE |
Beaulieu International Group, the Belgian based flooring and textiles conglomerate, says a decision to cut its truck transport dependency has yielded huge environmental benefits.
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- REGIONAL |
2017–18 was the first full year of operation for the larger, rebranded store
Expanding and remodelling its Barkers Home store delivered instant payback for the privately-owned Northallerton retailer in 2017–18.
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- OPINION & ANALYSIS |
Mattress startups can't wait too long before making proper money.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
Deposits, one of the biggest bugbears of the industry when others fall insolvent, could be returned
Customers of Fabb Sofas who paid deposits in the period leading up to the retailer's closure may get their money back, after management took steps to protect funds.
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- REGIONAL |
A currency-driven improvement in gross margin helped pare back the effect of lower sales at four-store furniture retailer Fairway in 2017–18.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE |
The Bradford distributor behind the Homemaker Rug Collection says it will this year build on the launch of its third-party logistics and online fulfilment service.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES |
Bedding components supplier Latexco is to supply a range of FSC-approved latex after gaining certification from the Forest Stewardship Council.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION |
Buying group Minerva Furnishers Guild has changed its name to Minerva Furniture Guild, believing the former moniker to be old-fashioned.
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- REGIONAL |
Hatfields will modernise the look of its c.50,000sqft. store
Major South East furniture retailer Hatfields is progressing its long-in-the-planning external frontage works to modernise its Colchester store.
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- CASE GOODS |
Imports of living, dining and bedroom cabinet fell sharply in April as all six of the UK's top trading partners shipped fewer goods here.
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- CASE GOODS |
Kitchen cabinet maker Burbidge posted higher sales in 2016–17, citing an increase in demand for British-made goods linked to the EU referendum.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION |
Home market leader IKEA will discover if its South Coast store near Brighton will get the go-ahead at a keenly-anticipated planning meeting next month.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION |
Sales of home-related merchandise fell for a third straight week at John Lewis but the chain saw bumper demand for fashion lines.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
Fabb Sofas' Giltbrook store at Nottingham was among its most expensive
Stores traded by Fabb Sofas, which was placed into administration earlier this month, will be difficult to find takers for because of their size and cost.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES |
Mattress imports continued to rise in double-digit percentages at the start of the second quarter despite a fall in the amount shipped across from China.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES |
High-end company launches here saying it will hold stock and limit product prices because it won't overspend on marketing.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION |
Debenhams said trading failed to meet its expectations in spring and early summer despite weak comparatives. However, its CEO says the business is well-equipped to deal with market turbulence.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE |
TJ Hughes, the inexpensive North West department store retailer that majors in home categories, has returned to its former distribution centre, consolidating its warehousing in the process.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS |
The founder of a property development company has acquired the 20-store retailer Flooring Republic and plans to build it into a national chain.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES |
The Zommos mattress is being sold by retail giant Next
Zommos, the mattress brand that claims to offer the UK's first adjustable firmness product, has agreed a distribution arrangement with national retail giant Next.
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- INTERNATIONAL |
Steinhoff International Holdings has agreed to sell its loss-making Kika/Leiner furniture chain, saving 5,000 jobs and improving the prospects for the group's other businesses worldwide.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES |
Mattress brand Casper wants to have an offline presence in the UK and will consider opening either its own-run showrooms or working with another retailer.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS |
Carpet imports to Britain declined at the beginning of the second quarter because of a sharp fall in the quantity trucked in from the UK's number one trading partner.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION |
An artist's impression of Habitat's new Brighton city centre store, slated for October opening
Furniture and accents retailer Habitat will open its first new standalone stores in more than a decade as part of a £1.5 million investment by parent company Sainsbury's.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES |
Mattressman will close the majority of its stores through a CVA process
Privately-owned Mattressman is to downsize via a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), closing the majority of its stores and retreating to its East Anglia heartland.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
Sofa imports fell more than a fifth at the beginning of the second quarter as the value of goods shipped in from China declined for a fourth month straight.
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- COMMUNITY |
Furniture Village is the main sponsor of Big Shots
Clay pigeon shoot Big Shots, the biggest fundraiser in The Furniture Makers Company calendar, generated £24,000 for the industry charity earlier this month.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES |
Ecommerce pureplay Wayfair has launched its Nora bed-in-a-box mattress, already sold in its native North American market, into the UK.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
The de Sede space will official launch early July
Luxury furniture maker de Sede is opening a shop-in-shop at London department store Harrods, mixing leather upholstery with fashion accents.
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- EVENTS |
The January Furniture Show 2019 will feature the Bed Zone
A significant part of Hall 5 at the NEC will be allocated to a new Bed Zone as the next edition of the January Furniture Show hosts its largest concentration of mattress companies since its inception.
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- INTERNATIONAL |
The RH gallery in Toronto, Canada. It is planning its first European gallery in London
RH, the upmarket furniture retailer formerly known as Restoration Hardware, says it has pinpointed the location for its first store outside North America, planned for London.
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- DATA & RESEARCH |
Furniture prices slipped below year earlier levels for the first time in more than 18 months in a sign that retailers discounted deeper to secure sales last month.
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- OPINION & ANALYSIS |
Consumer furniture price inflation eased in May after a period of sustained high levels, driven by currency movement and rising input costs.
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- ECOMMERCE |
Furniture sales go well but N Brown considers jettisoning its 20 physical stores.
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- REGIONAL |
Revenue advanced for a seventh straight year at Northern Ireland based multi-fascia department store retailer SD Kells in the year to January 19, 2018.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
Man Wah is buying a rival recliner maker for $68m (£51m)
Upholstery manufacturing giant Man Wah Holdings is buying a Vietnamese rival in a move that consolidates recliner production in the Far East.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
Expanding furniture chain Loaf is planning its first store in the Midlands after agreeing to take over a former Argos unit in Solihull.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION |
Britain's advertising watchdog has rebuked Oak Furniture Land for a TV advert, saying the representative APR was not given enough prominence.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS |
Victoria, the diversified floorcoverings manufacturer and distributor, says spring trading has been robust, with the group making sales gains compared with last year.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION |
Home sales fell despite demand for big-ticket lines rising
Big-ticket lines gained on last year for John Lewis despite more peripheral sub-categories dragging down its overall home directorate.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
Privately-owned upholstery producer JDP Furniture Group said a decrease in sales was behind the company recording a seven-figure loss last year.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
A second showroom will open this summer with more planned over the next two years
The md of Arlo & Jacob says the London based sofa brand is in "full expansion mode" with plans to open showrooms nationwide over the next two years.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS |
Turnaround specialist Dave Knight has left his post as md at Axminster Carpets, the heritage Devon manufacturer.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION |
IKEA's property arm invested heavily again last year
Further acquisitions of British land and buildings have taken IKEA's total property investment here above £300 million over the past three years alone.
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- IMPORTS & EXPORTS |
The Furniture Makers' Company has issued the clarion call for entries to its Export Award, with the deadline less than a month away.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
Suppliers to Fabb Sofas have been told to liaise with landlords directly if they want to be reunited with stock they believe is legitimately still theirs.
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- DATA & RESEARCH |
May footfall was stronger than April, but still down on last year
The decline in footfall across Britain's retail destinations eased in May thanks to improved out-of-town shopper numbers and the evening economy.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY |
Bed maker Harrison Spinks and retailer Arighi Bianchi were furniture industry winners at the Family Business of the Year Awards 2018, announced last week.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE |
Sweet Dreams, the Lancashire beds and sofa maker celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, has named Andrew Howe as sales agent.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION |
Fourth generation furniture retailer Arighi Bianchi will supply an entire residential development after a striking a deal with a local developer.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
John Pye will hold nationwide auctions to clear display stock
Officials at PwC — installed as administrators at upholstery retailer Fabb Sofas Thursday — have enlisted auctioneers John Pye to clear store stock of the failed chain.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
Mark Smith, (left) and David Lee
David Lee is stepping down as CEO at DM Midlands Group, the supplier behind sofa brands Ashley Manor, AMX and Alexander & James, after 25 years.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION |
ScS operates 27 concessions inside House of Fraser stores
House of Fraser's planned CVA will likely lead to the closure of a number of concessions run by both ScS and Natuzzi if it gets the go-ahead from creditors later this month.
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- UPHOLSTERY |
Thursday was not great for the upholstery industry in the UK.
