An official opening event for The Exchange, the new Long Eaton headquarters for trade association BFM, will be held next month, to coincide with Long Point.

Retailer Maisons du Monde, which sells here online and via newly-opened galleries inside three Debenhams stores, grew half-year profits by a nearly third as its sales march continued.

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Samson wants to reduce its exposure to China
Samson Holding, parent to UK furniture supplier Willis & Gambier and scores of U.S furniture wholesale brands, says it is working "aggressively" to reduce its exposure to production in China.

Ecommerce retailer NotOnTheHighStreet Enterprises (Noths) narrowed losses as it made the decision to reallocate marketing spend and focus on existing customers.

Major European flatpack furniture maker ceased trading in June.

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More investment is on the way at Fishpools
Fishpools, one of the largest single-store furniture retailers in Europe, built out sales and profits again last year as it made further investment and bolstered its balance sheet.

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Dunelm acquired the Dorma brand rights back in 2008
Heritage bedlinen brand Dorma has diversified into new product categories including bulky furniture goods and mattresses as part of a wide-ranging brand elevation by Dunelm, its owner.

Headlam will introduce price increases next month in a new headwind for its UK customer base of independent floorcoverings retailers and fitters.

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Two years in the making, Harrison Spinks has opened its new Innovation Centre
Beds and components group Harrison Spinks has opened its new Innovation Centre at its Leeds HQ, the culmination of a two-year project that has seen the group invest £2.5 million.

Department store chain Debenhams has hired former John Lewis strategy chief Rachel Osborne as chief financial officer, replacing Matt Smith, whose planned departure was announced earlier this year.

Furniture-to-fashion retailer Laura Ashley Holdings is walking back its proposal to open a regional headquarters in Asia, and plans to sell the property to pay off debt.

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Furniture sales fell high single-digits for Laura Ashley in 2016–17
Laura Ashley is to introduce more keenly-priced upholstery and beds to its product offer as full year sales were hit by soft demand and ongoing retail space consolidation.

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Beds were the standout category in July
Furniture sales fell mid-single digits in July as one of the longest and hottest summers on record continued to take its toll on retailers across the length and breadth of the UK.

The renewal of the heritage bed brand Rest Assured continues with a dedicated showroom — its fourth overall — to launch this Bank Holiday weekend.

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John Lewis home sales fell, but the decline was the narrowest since June
Home sales fell for a twelfth straight week at John Lewis though the category still enjoyed its best week for the department store mutual since the middle of June.

Sofology, the DFS-owned upholstery chain, has launched a £22 million television and digital advertising campaign featuring a voiceover by X-Files star David Duchovny.

Stressless owner Ekornes will delist from the Oslo Stock Exchange after Qumei, its Chinese suitor, nears the completion of the takeover of the Norwegian furniture giant.

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2017 was another bright year for Dreams
Sun Capital has already made good its investment in Dreams with the retailer's cash and profits generation in 2017 facilitating the repayment of another large chunk of shareholder debt.

The new owner of the Kika/Leiner furniture retail group in Central Europe is to cut around a fifth of its workforce as it looks to restructure the business.

Fitted and freestanding cabinet maker Utopia Furniture says revenues are tracking target, with the speed at which it brings new products to market a continued strategic focus.

Apparel retailer River Island says it hopes to transfer its signature style from the wardrobe to the home with the introduction of its first ever furniture and homeware collection.

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ScS operates its own dedicated website for House of Fraser
House of Fraser has cancelled online orders and temporarily mothballed its website but ScS — its furniture concession partner — says online sofa, furniture and carpet sales are unaffected.

Retailer West Elm has expanded its collaboration with Leesa Sleep, the direct-to-consumer mattress brand, to include all three of its UK stores.

Right at the very beginning of the current vogue for rolling, folding and boxing mattresses, one of the new direct-to-consumer market entrants had an interesting marketing strapline.

Underlying half-year profits jump for carpets group Airea.

Lincolnshire sofa maker Lebus Upholstery outperformed the wider market on the way to a sixth straight year of top line growth in 2017.

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Antony Maskrey succeeds Nick Garratt, joining Ercol next month
Heritage furniture maker Ercol has appointed Dr Martens' business transformation director Antony Maskrey to the newly-created role of chief operating officer.

Year-on-year mattress imports were positive again in June, suggesting the fall in May — a first in nearly two years — was nothing more than a blip.

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Furniture deflation was at its shallowest since September 2016
Consumers enjoyed keener prices as furniture deflation narrowed to its shallowest level in nearly two years last month.

Harrods has merged the directorships of its food and home divisions and hired an experienced grocery executive to lead the expanded business unit.

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Nasons will close for good in September
Nasons of Canterbury, once one of the foremost independent furniture retailers in the UK, is to close both of its stores on a permanent basis next month.

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Imports fell from Vietnam, China and Poland
The value of imports of key cabinet categories from all three of the UK's main trading partners — China, Vietnam and Poland — all declined in the first six months of 2018.

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Cintique completes its move today (Aug. 16).
Furniture maker Cintique's move to the site of sister business Celebrity Motion Furniture won't compromise its identity, says Wayne Hollis, md of the two businesses.

Upholstery market analysis: the Far East market making UK headway.

Glasswells has completed another phase of its ongoing refurbishment project, opening its new smooths flooring studio at its Bury St Edmunds store.

Half-year sales inched forward for home improvement giant B&Q as sunny-weather product lines helped eliminate weak first quarter demand.

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Chinese shipments fell by a fifth in June
Upholstery imports into Britain fell in the first half of this year as a result of both lower demand and delays in product being shipped from the Far East.

East Midlands furniture distributor Birlea racked up 10 percent sales growth in 2016–17 and said it expected to make further top and bottom line gains this year.

Belgian carpet makers supplying the British market enjoyed their best month of the year so far in June, but still only managed to fractionally beat last year's total.

Dewsbury manufacturer The Shire Bed Company has spent nearly £70,000 upgrading staff facilities as well as kitting out its employees with new uniforms.