Britain's bed makers have a big opportunity ahead of them in the rush to develop sustainable products but have been warned consumers will see through non-science based claims.

Emma The Sleep Company says it achieved sales of €23 million worldwide over its four-day Black Weekend promotion, a rise of 156 percent compared with the same period last year.

Exports helped high-margin, premium-pitched bed maker Vispring posts its first top line growth in three years in 2019. And So To Bed, its co-owned sister business, also found growth.

Dreams, already the official sleep partner to the TeamGB Olympic team, has agreed an additional tie-up with ParalympicsGB ahead of the rescheduled Paralympic games next summer.

Direct-to-consumer company Eve Sleep said it sold a mattress every three minutes on Black Friday as trading momentum since the autumn continued at elevated levels.

Bed manufacturing conglomerate Hilding Anders has appointed Jason Forbes to lead a major direct-to-consumer push including the creation of an 80-strong ecommerce and digital team.

Hypnos has co-developed a new eco-packaging solution and wants other companies across the furniture and bed industries to adopt it too.

Bed industry executive has spent the past decade in the industry, with Hypnos and Silentnight.

The National Bed Federation (NBF) has named the seven winners of its 2020 Bed Industry Awards during a live-streamed YouTube ceremony earlier today (Nov. 26, 2020).

Output soared as the Chinese mattress and foam conglomerate behind the Mlily brand near doubled sales in the three months to end September.

Stanley Pauley, the longtime leader and majority shareholder of foam conglomerate Carpenter Co, has died aged 93, the company has announced.

The National Bed Federation (NBF), the trade association representing the interests of U.K. bed manufacturers, will later today announce the winners of its 2020–21 awards.

The National Bed Federation (NBF) is to direct consumers to their nearest NBF stockist through a new website providing advice about beds and mattresses.

Plans by Endless to invest in Silentnight back in 2011 were so far advanced that the turnaround firm had already drawn down funds, its managing partner has told a Disciplinary Tribunal investigating the conduct of advisors to the bed maker.

Emma says sales almost doubled in the U.K. and were up more than three-fold in Ireland after it enacted a new pricing strategy for its flagship mattress model, upped marketing investment and added new sizes.

Furniture and lighting sales continued to climb in October though the U.K.'s official statistics body revised downwards earlier record-breaking figures for September.

Silentnight, Britain's largest bed manufacturer, has extended its longstanding partnership with Panther Warehousing, the specialist two-man, white-glove carrier.

Ecommerce retailer Mattress Online and The Sleep Charity are to work together to co-promote the benefits that good quality sleep can have on health and wellbeing.

A Disciplinary Tribunal has convened to consider the conduct of KPMG and one of its partners for work carried out prior to the sale of bed manufacturer Silentnight to H.I.G. Capital nine years ago.

Leeds bed maker and components group Harrison Spinks says it is formulating plans to created a dedicated recycling asset in the North as part of its zero-to-landfill aims.

Foam and sprung mattress imports trended up double-digit on the back of big increases from the U.K's second and third biggest trading partners, new data shows.

Belgian manufacturer Latexco has launched Suitenings, a new brand comprising bedding products and services designed to be sold into the hotels sector.

Consumers magazines Women's Health and Men's Health U.K. have launched a licensed mattress programme in partnership with sleep specialist Mammoth. The line is being sold exclusively by Argos.

The National Bed Federation's (NBF) Green Forum — originally slated for an April dateline — has been rescheduled for December 3, 2020.

Bed-in-a-box vendor Casper Sleep narrowed its U.K. deficit in 2019 but it wasn't enough enough to prevent executives back home from deciding to close its operations here and in mainland Europe.

The chief financial officer at Britain's biggest bed maker Silentnight says he looks forward to working with manufacturers across Europe after joining the board of the European Bedding Industries' Association (EBIA).

Jessica Alexander, executive director at the National Bed Federation (NBF), is to join a 19-strong panel of experts shaping the future of sleep support across the U.K.

Recticel is to launch a strategic review of its bedding business that could result in its sale after announcing the takeover of a Swiss company that will see it further its ambitions in the technical foams segment.

Bob Eastoe has stepped down from the board at bed manufacturer Hypnos and parent company Keen & Toms Holdings after a little over 13 years with the group.

A positive swing in gross margin aided by lower input costs helped drive an uplift in profits for The Vita Group last year, newly-filed consolidated accounts in mainland Europe show.

The Vita Group has completed its Bedding Innovation Centre at Middleton in North West England, one of four new facilities across the U.K. and Eastern Europe planned for this year.

National bed specialist Bensons for Beds is adding extra headcount to its Huntingdon workforce to help meet rising demand.

The National Bed Federation (NBF) has named the 23 finalists for the 2020 Bed Industry Awards across manufacturing, supply and retail categories.

Harrison Spinks has agreed a partnership with The Fine Bedding Company to offer hoteliers a complete package of complementary mattresses, duvets and pillows.

Upstream supply chain issues are to blame for a rapid increase in the price of foam according to Recticel, the Belgian industrial conglomerate and a major supplier to U.K. sofa and mattress makers.

National beds specialist Bensons for Beds will get back on the expansion trail next year after it agreed terms on the first of what are planned to be a number of new units to open through 2021.

The owner of the direct sales manufacturer and retailer Adjustamatic Beds sustained a six-figure deficit last year but says it has traded profitably in 2020 despite the pandemic.

Cashflow at North West bedding company Trendsetter Home Furnishings was healthy despite pressure on margins resulting in the business recording a bigger accounting deficit in 2019–20.

The keys to the Sealy U.K. factory will be formally handed over to their new owners this morning (Oct. 30) while a general manager to run the Aspatria operation will arrive early next week.

Third quarter revenue climbed by more than a third for Tempur Sealy International, the world's biggest bedding company, as it enjoyed its most profitable period since the business was created.

Britain's biggest mattress maker Silentnight has refinanced for the second time in just over a year while just-filed holding company accounts put a new value on the group ahead of its recent Sealy U.K. divestment.

The head of the body representing the European foam sector has said it is "not good" for the industry that it is currently unable to satisfy high demand because of upstream supply chain issues.

Healthcare Co., the Chinese mattress and foam conglomerate, is to expand its operations in mainland Europe after agreeing a multi-million euro investment.

Bensons for Beds has paid tribute to the British suppliers behind its new Rollo by Slumberland mattress programme which it says has become the most successful launch in the retailer's 70-year history.

The Covid-19 pandemic is accelerating a shift towards ecommerce in the mattress sector according to a new report by a major European furniture industry research body.

The distributor behind the M Line mattress programme is to expand into Asia after striking a partnership agreement to grow its international footprint.

Weeks of zero takings during lockdown won't prevent the majority of bed and mattress retailers hitting their full year revenue targets according to a poll by the National Bed Federation (NBF).

Chinese mattress imports into the U.K. jumped by more than a third at the height of summer to reach their highest level since January 2019.

"The premium innerspring segment in the U.K. market is not being fully served," said Tempur Sealy International CEO Scott Thompson as the Kentucky conglomerate announced that — together with its joint venture partner — it is buying back the U.K. Sealy brand rights from Silentnight.

Britain's mattress supply chains are under unprecedented pressure as demand outstrips the ability for factories to make products fast enough, according to the National Bed Federation.

The Bedeck bed, bath and household textiles group says it has taken steps to ensure its preparedness for rising ecommerce activity amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Tempur Sealy International says it will "develop, expand and reposition" Sealy products in the U.K. after agreeing a buyback of the brand rights in a joint venture with the Dyer family, its longtime Asia-Pacific partner.

The Vita Group will next year begin producing foam created from polyols derived from recycled mattresses after agreeing a collaboration with chemicals giant Dow.

U.K. revenue for Hästens Beds jumped almost a third last year as the high-end Swedish mattress maker continued to finance its growth here.

South East retailer Sussex Beds has launched its new television advertising campaign as part of plans by the ten-store business to increase marketing more than three-fold in short order.

Mattress and ancillary products vendor Emma - The Sleep Company has appointed Andreas Westendoerpf as chief technology officer (CTO) to lead an overhaul of its IT platform.

National retailer Bensons for Beds is to bolster its Cambridgeshire manufacturing plant after investing in a state-of-the-art quilting machine.

Retail chain Mattressman has kept to the terms of its agreement with creditors following a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) but will get more time to deposit funds into the repayment pot.

Mattress giant Tempur says it is expecting a stronger second half than initially forecast in the U.K. after demand outperformed once the country emerged from lockdown.

Vita, one of the big three foamers and a key partner to the U.K. mattress and upholstery sectors, said it drew down on a credit line earlier this year to provide maximum operational flexibility.

Restructuring work at R.A. Irwin & Company left the fabrics manufacturer better equipped to cope with the Covid-19 outbreak, the company said in new accounts.

Every retailer faces a shared threat at the minute, but perhaps the biggest medium-term obstacle to Dreams' continued market leadership in the beds category has now been eliminated, thanks to its owner.

Nikki Crumpton, non-executive director at Eve Sleep, will next week step down from the board of the mattress and ancillary products wholesale and retail company.

National bed specialist Dreams picked up the Feather & Black brand and selected assets for a fraction of the price shelled out by past owners of the high-end business, a new report reveals.

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.

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.

National beds retailer Bensons for Beds has strengthened its board with the appointment of Ian Shepherd as a non-executive director.

Longtime Bensons for Beds executive Mark Cort has been appointed managing director at Jay-Be, the West Yorkshire folding bed, mattress and sofabed manufacturer.

National retailer Bensons for Beds has stepped up recruitment at its Lancashire logistics and distribution centre as it executes its transformation programme following its late June restructure.

Tempur Sealy International says it will source 100 percent renewable electricity for its U.S. and European manufacturing operations as part of a deeper commitment to reducing its global environmental footprint.

London based mattress-in-a-box brand now launched after August 2019 incorporation.

Swedish beds conglomerate Hilding Anders has divested a key part of its French business, selling a €40 million turnover mattress maker to a CEO-led management buyout.

Enterprises from across the U.K. and international bedding industry have agreed to become the first-ever individual award category sponsors of the National Bed Federation (NBF) awards, whose 2020 winners will be announced this autumn.

A VC with form in the U.K. online home furnishings category has acquired a sizeable chunk of shares in Eve Sleep, the reinvigorated mattress and ancillary products company.

Mattress and bedding manufacturer Duvalay has plans to further build out its business now that it has completed its move into the West Yorkshire factory it bought last year.

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.

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.

The winners of the eleventh edition of the National Bed Federation (NBF) Bed Industry Awards will be announced late autumn with the trade association having now revealed the categories for this year's programme.

Savoir, the bed manufacturer whose products retail for an average price of £25,000, will celebrate the simple pleasures of being in bed as part of a new advertising campaign about to go live.

Tempur Sealy International, the world's biggest bedding company, is building a new factory in the U.S. with a target opening date of Q1 2021. It will be one of three opening within a six-month period.

Mattress manufacturing at Huntingdon will be at the core of Bensons for Beds transformation, the retailer says, with it yesterday launching its inhouse Slumberland brand into the roll up space.

Chris Knight has stepped down as managing director at specialist two-man delivery company Keen & Able after four years in charge. He plans to remain in the sector.

Spinks, the spring and comfort technology company, has promoted commercial director Darren Marcangelo to managing director. He will also take a seat on the group's main board.

Neil Robinson, the longtime Sealy U.K. sales and marketing director, has returned to the bed industry to head up the U.K. and Ireland business for adjustable base giant Ergomotion.

Retailers have reacted warmly to new product plans at South West bed maker Relyon following its takeover out of administration in a deal led by its former CEO earlier this month.

U.K. sprung and foam mattress imports increased on an annual basis in June, ending a barren year-on-year stretch dating back to September 2019.

More than half of U.K. bed manufacturers answering a National Bed Federation (NBF) poll say they do not expect to make redundancies when the furlough scheme ends.

Ian Topping, the former head of Steinhoff's U.K. operations and CEO of Relyon Group between 1993–2010, has acquired the Wellington manufacturer out of administration.

The National Bed Federation (NBF), the trade association representing U.K. mattress manufacturers, has published a first guide to ecodesign principles.

Rapid online sales growth is holding even as stores re-emerge from lockdown according to the CEO of Tempur Sealy International, the world's biggest bedding company.

Restfull Nights, the North West bed manufacturer that specialises in the contract market, has appointed Graham Carberry as sales director.

Peter Spinks is to take a non-executive role at fifth-generation bed maker Harrison Spinks with his son, Simon Spinks, to replace him as group chairman.

The CEO at online beds retailer MattressOnline says the launch of the company's debut television advertising campaign can help it capitalise on its fast growth during lockdown.

Just over £5 million worth of foam and sprung mattresses arrived at U.K. ports in May as the value of imports more than halved again.

The first-ever public disclosure numbers from a Midlands-based Internet mattress retailer with its own manufacturing operation suggest it is one of the biggest players in the U.K. bed market.

Mattress and ancillary products brand Eve Sleep was cashflow positive in the first half of 2020 as its new strategy continued to deliver improvement and competitors fell by the wayside.

Retailers operating 172 stores across the U.K. and Ireland have already signed up to the National Bed Federation's new Retail Champions scheme, within a fortnight of its launch.

The head of Tempur Sealy International says the company is "fully committed to securing and strengthening the position of the Sealy brand and product range in the U.K." amid uncertainty about who will make the product here and where.

The Dutch owner of a key packaging supplier to Britain's mattress industry has a new CEO.

National beds specialist Bensons for Beds has unveiled its new senior leadership team following the prepack buyout that saw it split from sister chain Harveys last month.

An outsized incidence of coronavirus cases has prompted a second mattress factory closure in West Yorkshire in the space of a month.

The Chinese conglomerate behind the Mlily mattress brand is to step up production at its U.S. manufacturing facility and will go on a hiring spree to meet its target.

The break-up of what was Steinhoff's U.K. furniture and bedding business has led to job losses at the site that had been the headquarters of its manufacturing operations.

A double-digit gain in average unit prices lifted the value of U.K. sprung mattress production last year, countering a fall in the quantity of goods sold.

Direct-to-consumer mattress brand Emma is looking to put the squeeze on competitors after it cut the price of its best-selling model. It follows bumper sales growth in the first half of 2020 that saw U.K. revenue hit €44.3 million.

National retailer Bensons for Beds is expected to become the sole retail stockist of the historic Slumberland mattress brand following the prepack buyout by Alteri Investors last month.

The Sleep Council and The Sleep Charity are to merge with the National Bed Federation (NBF) becoming a founding supporter of the enlarged organisation.

Dewsbury mattress maker Dura Beds has temporarily closed its factory for a fortnight after a number of its employees contracted Covid-19.

Qualifying manufacturing businesses under three years old will be able to join the National Bed Federation (NBF) after it launched a new class of membership.

Retailers are being urged to become champions of British-made beds by the National Beds Federation (NBF), which has launched a new scheme to promote their benefits.

The Alteri Investors led prepack buyout that rescues Bensons for Beds does not includes its manufacturing operations in South Wales and the West of England, including its Relyon plant.

National bed chain Bensons for Beds is preparing to open the remaining stores across its retail estate, having opened under half until now.

Duvalay, the Gomersal based mattress manufacturer, has won Yorkshire Family Business of the Year in the People's Choice section of the Family Business United awards for 2020.

Members of the National Bed Federation (NBF) have elected David Moffitt as the next president with the trade association, as expected, also announcing its 2020 Bed Show will now not take place.

GNG Group has assembled a new team of sales agents as it prepares to unveil a vacuum-packed mattress line under its Komfi brand. It follows the earlier appointment of Stuart Hibbert as sales director for its Consumer Products Division.

Ecommerce sales have skyrocketed for Tempur Sealy International in the second quarter while the multinational bedding business says the early signs from third-party stockists reopening is encouraging.

Beds conglomerate Hilding Anders ill-fated ownership of Feather & Black may be over but its U.K. adventure is not, following the opening of its first Carpe Diem Beds showroom in London.

The new head of mattress brand Emma's British and Irish business says its message cut through with consumers in lockdown partly because of the absence of rivals' advertising.

Duflex Foam, the mattress manufacturing and foam division of upholstery, soft furnishings and beds group Belfield, has changed its name.

Leeds bed maker Harrison Spinks has launched a line of quick-ship off-the-shelf mattresses for the independents sector, the first time it has offered next-day delivery.

The U.K. exit of Casper Sleep will come earlier than forecast while the mattress company's departure from European shores has attracted the interest of lawyers specialised in class action lawsuits.

Blue Group, the business formed when Steinhoff divested its U.K. furniture and bed operations, has confirmed the departure of Paul Little from its bed manufacturing unit.

The U.S. parent company of Leesa Sleep is the largest creditor of the now-defunct British arm of the direct-to-consumer mattress operation, whose U.K. exit we first revealed early May.

A third of mattresses and headboards randomly tested by The National Bed Federation (NBF) either flunked flammability requirements or were borderline failures — a similar outcome to when the trade association carried out the same exercise last year.

Direct-to-consumer mattress brand Simba Sleep said it sold more online in May in the U.K. than in any other month in its history.

Burnley manufacturer Sweet Dreams (Nelson) has appointed Jon Prince as its new sales agent for South West England and South Wales.

Direct-to-consumer mattress brand Emma has appointed a new country lead for the U.K. and Ireland, with the previous incumbent given a new brief to drive its business in Asia.

The consultation process between Silentnight group and employees at its dedicated Sealy factory has been extended further into the summer, ahead of the plant's proposed closure.

Having gleaned millions out of the foam supply sector in a confidential settlement, the insolvency practitioner handling the continued fallout from the 2011 takeover of Britain's biggest bed maker has a new target for legal action.

Privately-owned bed maker Hypnos says it will have fulfilled all outstanding orders by the end of June having returned to production last month.

One of the world's biggest companies plans to recycle the foam from end-of-life beds, turning it into new polyurethane products including, potentially, brand new mattresses.

Leeds bed and mattress fillings manufacturer Harrison Spinks says it has this week resumed manufacturing on a safe and reduced scale.

Lawyers and advisors involved in the sale of the Breasley mattress production and foam conversion group to newly-formed companies will earn more than £590,000 combined for their work during and before the insolvency of the East Midlands business.

The new owner of the mattress and beds division of Breasley agreed a £300,000 deal to acquire the Ilkeston based business, administrator Duff & Phelps has said in a new report for creditors.

The hoped-for buyout of Breasley's foam conversion operation by the Crowshaw family was completed mid-May, the administrator has said.

Mattress and ancillary products vendor Eve Sleep say its path to profit continues with its performance in the four months to end April helping it extend its cash runway.

Administrators have disclosed the detail behind the prepack sale of Burgess Beds to a U.S. investor, which we first reported early April.

Jay-Be, a market leader in the guest bed sector, says sales are already rebounding despite the Covid-19 enforced lockdown, and that longer term it now has the capacity to double in size after investment last year.

Furmanac, the adjustable furniture manufacturer behind the MiBed, MiChair and Hestia brands, maintained underlying profits in 2018–19 despite a fall in sales.

Imports of foam and sprung constructed mattresses declined again in March, meaning they have fallen every month on an annual basis since September last year.

Tempur Sealy International, the world's largest bedding manufacturer, has agreed incremental borrowing to improve its liquidity position.

Casper Sleep, the direct-to-consumer mattress business that will exit the U.K. market at the end of this year, maintained upward sales momentum at the beginning of Q2 despite the closure of its store channel.

Sleepeezee is among the first of Britain's heavyweight manufacturers to resume production having introduced new safety measures spanning the reorganisation of its factory to the issue of personal protective equipment (PPE) for employees.

Pin-Wen Hung, the sole director and shareholder in Bedfordshire wholesaler Your China, has acquired the mattress and bedding business of Breasley through a newly-formed company.

An affiliate of Healthcare Co., the Chinese conglomerate behind the Mlily brand, is to increase its stake in British direct-to-consumer mattress brand Otty Sleep.

Management at mattress and foam group Breasley say the business is targeting a factory reopening Monday as a hoped-for prepack administration process nears its conclusion.

The future of the Breasley mattress and foam conversion group will be finalised imminently after Duff & Phelps were formally installed as administrators late last week.

Revenue climbed sharply in the first quarter of 2020 for the acquisitive conglomerate behind the Mlily mattress brand.

Sealy U.K.'s manufacturing plant at Aspatria in Cumbria is to close, the company has announced, putting more than 250 jobs at risk.

Heavy investment above and below the line took the edge off the impact of a tough bed market for Leeds mattress and components manufacturer Harrison Spinks last year.



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



Already a subscriber?    Sign In