Former DFS marketing director Nick Ashworth has joined outdoor furniture company Moda Furnishings, one of two new senior hires at the Endless-backed retail brand.

The business and assets of a company behind brands including the Trueshopping garden, leisure and lighting website have been sold to a £22 million turnover Nottinghamshire retail and manufacturing group.

The U.K. arm of design-led furniture and home furnishings company The Conran Shop has recorded a loss in the first full year since the premium retail and franchise brand was sold by the wider Conran group.

Plans to scale big-ticket sales at Dunelm will gather pace next month when the retailer's new Daventry furniture distribution hub will become fully operational.

Town planners are expected to grant outline approval to furniture and department store retailer Collingwood Batchellor to build flats on top of one of its large shops in the South East of England.

Half-year revenue at ecommerce-led home and garden products retailer and wholesaler The Garden Trading Company trended up in mid single digits in the first half, according to its new owner.

Prestige department store retailer Harrods is to launch the Morris & Co. Home Emporium, a new concept selling products across a range of goods including furniture and soft furnishings.

Kent retailer Clarkes Furnishers is to rebrand as Lenleys Home later this summer as the historic Maidstone store aligns with its co-owned sister business as part of a group rebranding exercise.

Privately-owned department store retailer Fenwick is said to be exploring the sale of its iconic Bond Street store in central London, according to weekend press reports.

The company behind emerging floorcoverings brand Flooring Superstore enjoyed rapid sales growth last year as it invested the best part of £6 million expanding its retail footprint nationwide.

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is extending its 'Remarksable' food marketing campaign into its home division as part of a plan to get millions of its existing clothing and food customers to shop the category for the first time.

Furniture and home décor retailer Maisons du Monde booked 15.1 percent delivered sales growth last year with uplifts across both its pan-European store network and online, where the U.K. is a key market.

Peter Harrison says Furniture Village is investing in supply chain and logistics as it looks to create a seamless customer journey after it booked higher profits in what he described as an "extraordinary year."

Oak Furnitureland is launching a series of initiatives spanning a new leadership role, tree planting and furniture re-use partnerships, all of which are part of a plan to become a more environmentally responsible retailer. It has also signed up to the BRC’s Climate Action Roadmap.

U.K. revenue trended higher at high-end French furniture and interiors company Roche Bobois last year, but failed to match the levels achieved by its stores and franchisees elsewhere.

Neville Johnson returned to profit in 2020/21 as the pandemic hastened digital adoption and cut the upmarket cabinet maker and retailer's marketing costs.

Timothy Oulton, the high-end furniture, lighting and home accents brand, is to strengthen its North West retail presence with a new gallery in Liverpool.

Ecommerce value retailer Studio Retail Group (SRG), which runs Internet shopping brands Studio and Ace, says it is exploring a range of options to meet a short-term working capital funding requirement.

Restrictions that forced store closures hit sales at department store chain Menarys last year but the retailer maintained profits on a lower cost base.

The pandemic has been a reminder of the importance of long term, prudent management and a strong balance sheet, according to the owner of Fishpools, one of Europe's largest single-store furniture retailers.

Expanding Spanish furniture and home décor retailer Kave Home grew sales 54 percent last year, during which it launched in the U.K. and expanded its international store and web footprint.

Restructuring advisors have written to creditors of a now-closed heritage furniture, flooring and department store business saying it may be necessary to revise the terms of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) agreed just over a year ago.

Bed retailer Dreams will be the Official Sleep Partner of Great Britain's Olympic and Paralympic teams during the upcoming Winter Games after it renewed an earlier partnership that saw it support athletes during the summer versions in Tokyo.

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.

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.

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.

Retail giant Next is to remodel its Watford superstore into a next-generation format combining all its product categories for the first time.

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.

Emerging floorcoverings retailer Flooring Superstore plans to grow its store footprint faster this year having opened 17 showrooms through 2021.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The company behind furniture search website ufurnish.com has raised seven-figure funding through the sale of newly-created shares.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dunelm Group, the out-of-town home and furniture retailer, has appointed payments expert Kelly Devine to its board as a non-executive director.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

U.K. furniture manufacturers' combined turnover climbed for the ninth month straight in November, new figures released Friday morning show.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

ScS, the national upholstery and flooring retailer, has relocated its Doncaster store to a different retail park in the South Yorkshire town.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

National bedding and linen retailer Julian Charles says its online business has exploded after heavy investment in its digital proposition under its new owner.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Staff at Oldrids of Scunthorpe are said to be advising customers of the department store's planned permanent closure early in the new year.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Half-year revenue jumped by more than a third for lifestyle group Joules in the six months to end November, buoyed by the acquisition of an ecommerce and wholesale home and garden business earlier this year.

Homeware and furniture retailer Dunelm has refinanced its revolving debt with a new four-year facility (RCF) linked to sustainability performance targets. It also announced the planned departure of its chief financial officer.

Direct-to-consumer mattress and ancillary products company Eve Sleep said it managed to grow ecommerce revenue through November despite lapping difficult comparatives from last year.

British furniture manufacturers' combined turnover rose on an annual basis for an eleventh month straight in October, but fell against pre-Covid levels.

Profits and cash climbed for the group behind adjustable beds and riser recline chair brand Willowbrook in 2020/21 ahead of its disposal to a venture capital and private equity group.

The chief executive of RH, the high-end furniture retailer formerly known as Restoration Hardware, has timelined the planned launch of its debut U.K. gallery next year.

Danish furniture and homeware retailer JYSK took its U.K. footprint to 25 stores on Thursday with the opening of a new unit at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.

Furniture and homeware retailer Made.com Group (MADE) says it no longer expects to be profitable at the adjusted EBITDA line this year after product delays from the Far East pushed deliveries of goods already sold to consumers into 2022.

Bed retailer Dreams has appointed Jo Martin as chief marketing officer and promoted Kal Singh to chief operating officer. Both will report directly to Jonathan Hirst, who takes over as CEO from Mike Logue on January 1.

A Chinese ecommerce home furnishings giant with subsidiaries in Japan, Germany and the U.S. has taken a long lease on a large West Midlands warehouse and made a seven-figure equity investment into a new U.K. subsidiary.

RH, the luxury home furnishings retailer formerly known as Restoration Hardware, has named more European cities where it plans to open galleries following the planned launch of RH England in Oxfordshire in 2022.

Furniture and homeware retailer Dunelm has appointed Ben Carter to the newly-created role of chief marketing officer (CMO).

Ecommerce giant Wayfair will kick start the next phase of its brick-and-mortar retail strategy with the opening of three Boston-area stores in 2022. It leaves an imminent U.K. store launch now looking unlikely.

The East Midlands retailer behind the My Furniture ecommerce operation recorded a big uplift in cash and a seven-figure bottom line gain on apparent strong trading through 2020/21.

The company behind the Slumber Slumber online beds and bedding business and prominent independent department stores in Northern Ireland and Wales found profit growth despite lower sales in the past year.

Recticel has entered into a binding agreement to sell its Engineered Foam unit to Carpenter Company after shareholders yesterday backed the disposal of the division for €656 million.

Flooring giant Headlam says it hopes its MCD Kidderminster operation will be taking and delivering orders again later this week after its large Worcestershire facility was hit by a serious fire Monday morning.

JYSK, the inexpensive Danish furniture retailer, says it has recorded positive operating profits in the U.K. for the first time since the business started trading here 13 years ago in 2008.

Adjustable furniture and mobility products retailer CareCo has acquired a warehouse near Leeds that will support its showroom rollout as it builds a national presence.

Revenue jumped by more than a third for The Cotswold Company in 2020/21 with the furniture retailer saying there has been a paradigm shift among consumers towards online shopping that it expects will continue.

Wider margin, lower costs and minimising the impact of store closures helped furniture and furnishings chain Harry Corry grow profits in the year to February 28, 2021.

Home and furniture retailer Dunelm is about to bring its superstore format in town with the opening of a former Debenhams store at Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

A series of buybacks as part of a share consolidation exercise following an earlier take-private deal mean Britain's largest carpets and beds franchise retailer now has a single owner.

A lower cost base contributed to higher profits at the Sterling Furniture Group in 2020/21, during which the multi-store retailer made significant capital investment.

A Thai retail conglomerate whose interests include iconic Milanese department store La Rinascente is said to be close to agreeing a deal to buy retail group Selfridges.

Furniture and department store retailer Bradbeers said it expects to refinance a multi-million development loan after it signed up national retailer Marks and Spencer as a tenant for one of its investment properties.

An upmarket Australian furniture retailer with stores in countries ranging from New Zealand to China is planning to open its first U.K. store with a prominent flagship in a former bed shop in Central London.

George Adams, a longtime non-executive director at two of the U.K.'s largest home furnishings retail chains, has died suddenly, aged 65, it was announced Tuesday morning.

Liverpool home and garden retailer Taskers said it significantly outperformed its forecasts in 2020/21 helped by it implementing its strategic plan, the rates holiday and being able to trade throughout the pandemic.

72-store Danish designer furniture retailer Bolia.com, which has sold in the U.K. online since 2016, is to step up expansion plans after a record financial year.

Furniture industry customers and associates of a white-glove delivery and logistics provider based in the Midlands say the business is no longer trading.

Harvey Norman, the Australia-headquartered furniture and electricals retailer, has continued to find top line growth in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland despite lapping a period a rapid growth.

Investment ahead of the pandemic helped Glasswells, one of Europe's largest privately-owned furniture retailers, mitigate the impact of enforced store closures on its business.

Upholstery and flooring retailer ScS said autumn order intake declined against tough comps while supply chain issues and changing consumer priorities are impacting demand. It has agreed deals with new U.K. suppliers to cut lead times.

Furniture retailer The Cotswold Company has opened its sixth store and its first since relaunching its brand image back in the spring.

Profits more than doubled for furniture retailer Loaf in 2020/21 as demand for its goods rocketed through the pandemic period leaving it with a massive order book going into the current financial year.

LuxDeco, the high-end ecommerce interiors marketplace, has strengthened its senior leadership team with the appointment of Mike Massimi as chief customer officer.

Mandated store closures gifted sales to ecommerce retailers through the early months of the pandemic but the momentum has slowed in 2021 as U.K. shoppers returned to brick-and-mortar retail environments.

The new owners of bedroom and home office furniture retailer Sharps have installed a new chairman at the business following its buyout earlier this year.

Wider margin helped soften the impact of lower sales at Choice Discount Stores in 2020/21, with the furniture-to-fashion retail chain utilising debt finance from retail giant and part-owner Next.

The U.K. arm of the wholesale and ecommerce group behind the furniture, home and garden brands Aosom and Homcom landed profits of £11.4 million last year after more than doubling sales.

Changing consumer priorities contributed to a double-digit fall in furniture and home sales at Very Group in the 13 weeks to October 2, 2021 as more of its customers shopped fashion items.

The launch of ecommerce and a diversified product strategy are helping three-store independent Goulds return to profit and shield itself from potential further impact from the pandemic.

Recticel has cranked up the pressure on shareholders to back the sale of its engineered foams business to Carpenter Co, saying the plan has the backing of independent advisory firms.

The value of furniture and lighting retail sales dropped for the second consecutive month in October, falling by £93 million on the same month last year.

Propensity towards buying high value items such as furniture, white goods or cars has improved to its strongest level since the height of summer, according to polling company GfK.

The disposal of the long-closed Tudor Williams department store in New Malden raised £3.5 million for its former owner, helping it to reduce borrowings and boost liquidity.

Home and furniture retailer Dunelm Group is to start a new share buyback programme in order to satisfy employee share-based award obligations.

Home categories were behind the lion's share of growth across the T.K. Maxx and Homesense businesses in the third quarter, parent The TJX Companies said as it released its latest results.

Furniture retail price inflation continued to tick higher in October, breaking records for the third straight month.

Jarrold & Son, whose diversified operations include The Granary furniture showrooms and its large Norwich department store, saw the value of sales fall by almost half amid pandemic-related store closures.

The largest IKEA store anywhere in the world will open next week when the home and garden brand launches its first ever store in the Philippines.

Sofa market leader DFS has added Good Housekeeping to its roster of brand partners as it looks to drive average order value and conversion across its core business.



Stay informed. Subscriptions start from less than £2 per week:



Already a subscriber?    Sign In