Top Stories from June 2009
Flooring independents are closing as Lord Harris says ‘We’ve grown market share’
CARPETS | RETAIL
A double-digit sales fall hasn’t prevented Carpetright boss Lord Harris from predicting further independent failures and a growth in his own company’s market share.
UK’s largest interiors trade show sees visitor/exhibitor numbers drop
FURNITURE | EXHIBITIONS
Interiors Birmingham featured 34% fewer exhibitors in 2009 compared to the previous year. The show’s recently posted ABC audit shows stand numbers dropped from 1,008 in 2008 to 665 in 2009.
Smallbone founder joins Fired Earth to improve ranges
KITCHEN | DESIGN
Charles Smallbone is to design kitchens for 58-store home retailer Fired Earth.
IN BRIEF | 30TH JUNE
Office furniture firm Herman Miller suffers 38% revenue drop
Sales at Herman Miller fell by more than a third to $319.9m in the fourth quarter of its financial year, causing profits to fall to $7.2m from the $39.5m it achieved in the same period last year. It blamed the performance on higher unemployment and lower company spending.
Malaysian furniture fair maintains visitor numbers
19,075 people visited the Malaysian International Furniture Fair earlier this year, just 500 fewer than in 2008. A drop in visitor numbers from the US and Europe was balanced against more attendees from Asia. Furniture officials expect the Malaysian furniture industry to grow 6.5% in 2009.
SJS Furniture doubles container sales and targets 25% year on year growth
FURNITURE | GROWTH
Importer SJS Furniture expects to grow 25% in 2009 after doubling container sales and a 17% turnover uplift in its core Provence range.
Airsprung sales slide 14% but second half margin improvement limits damage
FURNITURE | RESULTS
Bed and upholstery group Airsprung Furniture returned a loss of 0.5m in the year to 31st March – as sales dropped 14% to £43m.
Sales flat at department store group but housewares perform well
RETAIL | SALES
Department store group Beale says it will continue to adopt an aggressive promotional strategy by focusing on growing its buying in margin. The retailer returned flat year on year sales of £26.7m in the half year to 2nd May, with pre-tax profit falling slightly to £543,000.
IN BRIEF | 29TH JUNE 2009
Hardcastle finalist in Woman of Year Awards
Former Silentnight and Halo marketing manager Kate Hardcastle is a finalist in the Yorkshire Woman of the Year Awards. Hardcastle, who now runs a marketing consultancy, was nominated for her charity and community project work.
Laminate floor firm expands in Europe
Swedish manufacturer Pergo has opened a ‘competence centre’ in Berlin – where installers can learn more about how to lay the firm’s laminate flooring. It follows May openings in Barcelona and Paris – with the idea modeled on its centre of excellence in the Swedish town of Trelleborg.
Sealy replaces Harrower with Freeman
Steve Freeman, the former boss of The Schwan Food Company, has become md of bed firm Sealy UK. He replaces James Harrower, who left as part of a Silentnight group restructure.
Furniture importer to clear £5m in stock as it prepares to wind down operations
FURNITURE | CLEARANCE
Cash and carry furniture and giftware importer Jig UK is holding a closing down sale across its five UK warehouses as it looks to shift about £5m worth of stock.
Bed manufacturing group increases stake in Asian supplier
BEDS | STOCK
Bed giant Hilding Anders is to take 100% ownership in manufacturer Slumberland Asia-Pacific early in the New Year after last week upping its stake in the firm to 90%.
North-west department store group to snap up East of England Co-op furniture stores
FURNITURE | ACQUISITION
The East of England Co-op is to sell its furniture retail business to north-west department store group Vergo Retail. The deal is expected to include six dedicated furniture and home shops and five department stores.
Carpet chain poised to put property division in administration
FLOORING | INSOLVENCY
Allied Carpets is expected to appoint insolvency specialist BDO Stoy Hayward as administrators of its property subsidiary. Allied Carpets Properties has filed a notice of intention to enter administration, but it is not known if the 218-store retail arm will be affected by the move.
Ethan Allen targets European retailers with new Vegas showroom
FURNITURE | RETAIL
Europe bound furniture retailer and manufacturer Ethan Allen hopes to woo potential licensees through a new showroom in Las Vegas.
Carpet workers awarded £80,000 by employment tribunal
FLOORING | LEGAL
Former employees of Kidderminster carpet manufacturer Enterprise Weaving Company have been awarded £80,000 by an Employment Tribunal.
IN BRIEF | 24TH JUNE
Online furniture retailer revamps website
Internet retailer Top Furniture has relaunched its website, topfurniture.co.uk, and will soon move to a new warehouse in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, which also doubles as a retail showroom. The company sells oak furniture sourced from Eastern Europe.
Childrens furniture firm secures Disney licences
Worlds Apart, a wholesaler of children’s lifestyle goods including furniture, has agreed a deal to use the Disney and Peppa Pig brand names on furniture. The supplier majors in bedroom furniture aimed at children.
Ikea cuts jobs in response to sales slowdown
Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has cut almost 4% of its worldwide workforce this year as it reconfigures to cope with the global recession. It is not known how many redundancies were made in the UK, where the company recently reported its first annual sales fall, to £1.25bn, in more than five years.
Marks & Spencer cuts furniture prices in Ireland by 12%
RETAIL | PRICING
Variety retailer Marks & Spencer has introduced permanent price cuts across its furniture ranges in Ireland. The move follows similar reductions in other product categories.
Morris Furniture appoints new agent for the East Midlands
FURNITURE | PEOPLE
Furniture manufacturing group Morris has appointed Luke MaGill (left) as agent for its Morris Furniture brand. He will be responsible for the East Midlands sales region.
Northamptonshire independent fined for fire regulations breach
UPHOLSTERY | FIRE REGS
Two-store furniture retailer A6 Furniture Warehouses has been fined for selling non-compliant Chinese made sofas to the public.
Sales rise at sofa retailer Multiyork but profit margin falls
UPHOLSTERY | RETAIL
Upholstery retailer Multiyork saw sales rise 2.5% in the past year but the company was unable to replicate the £2.19m pre-tax profit it returned in 2007 – instead seeing its margin trimmed to a skinny 0.8%.
Bed retailer Feather & Black chalks up loss
BEDROOM | RETAIL
Bedroom furniture retailer Feather & Black has seen pre-tax losses increase to £1.76m in the year to 30th September 2008 – after sales fell 3% to £15.06m.
Manufacturers urged to resist retailer price promotion demands
FURNITURE | MARKETING
Manufacturers who cave in to retailers’ demands to discount branded goods risk doing long-term damage to their businesses. That’s the view of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), which argues brand owners should resist the urge to spend money on in-store price promotion.
£10m interior design firm Connections in Design goes into administration
CONTRACT | BUSINESS
The administration of West Midlands interior design firm Connections in Design has been confirmed, with creditors receiving letters this morning (Friday) from insolvency specialists Poppleby & Appleby.
Related Story
Fears grow for the future of interior design firm
Entrepreneur launches new residential flooring business in Cheshire
FLOORING | SHOWROOM
Flooring supplier Barefoot is to open a north west showroom this weekend – in doing so becoming one of the first firms to showcase resin floors to the end consumer.
Littlewoods Direct to rebrand in bid to attract youthful audience
MARKETING | MULTICHANNEL
Online and mail order retail group Shop Direct is to rebrand Littlewoods Direct using the name Very. The move aims to attract younger families to its retail websites and catalogues.
Sainsburys joins the glut of non-specialists moving into furniture retail
FURNITURE | RETAIL
Supermarket giant Sainsburys is to follow rival grocers Tesco and Asda by launching into the furniture and homeware sector later this summer.
Contract and overseas growth softens sales blow for Victoria Carpets
FLOORING | RESULTS
Residential carpet sales dropped 17.5% in the past year for Victoria Carpets, with the firm lamenting the ‘remarkable pace and severity of the global downturn.’
Supply chain finance could stimulate UK economy, says research body
FINANCE | SUPPLY CHAIN
A think tank has urged the Government, financial institutions and retailers to consider Supply Chain Finance to prevent working capital problems across the supply chain.
Scottish furniture and flooring sales suffer during May
RETAIL | SALES
Furniture and homeware struggled as the wider Scottish retail sector suffered one of its worst months in nearly nine years in May, according to the Scottish Retail Consortium.
Sheffield independent picks up order book of failed North East retailer
FURNITURE | RETAIL
Sheffield furniture retailer Ponsford has stepped in to fulfil some of the outstanding orders of Newcastle and Sunderland independent World Furnishings, which ceased trading at the end of April.......full story
Related Stories
North east furniture independent shuts without warning
Vinyl flooring firm Amtico faces £100,000 legal bill following factory accident
FLOORING | HEALTH & SAFETY
Resilient flooring manufacturer Amtico has been fined £75,000 and ordered to pay £23,721 in costs after one of its workers lost a finger in an accident at its Coventry premises.
Mattress squabble as Tempur accuses rivals of copyright infringement
BEDS | LEGAL
The parent companies of bed and mattress brands Tempur Pedic, Simmons, Sealy and Carpenter face a legal battle after the former accused the others of infringing its copyright.
Italian furniture design brands to slash prices at London stores
DESIGN | MARKETING
Top end furniture group Poltrona Frau is to hold a two-week summer sale at its two London stores with prices as low as one third of the usual selling price.
Chinese tax boost could bring down the cost of importing furniture
FURNITURE | IMPORTS
Chinese legislators have raised tax rebates for furniture manufacturers in a bid to boost exports. The move is likely to bring down the cost of bringing goods into the UK.
Timing row provokes show launch in outdoor furnishings sector
BUYING | EXHIBITIONS
Outdoor furniture buyers face a choice between three summer trade shows following the launch of a new event scheduled for earlier in the year.
IN BRIEF | 15TH JUNE
Lighting show to move into Hall 3 at Interiors Birmingham
UBM Live, the organiser of Interiors Birmingham, is to move the Lighting show into its high traffic Hall 3 space at the January show. Potential new furniture exhibitors will have to wait till the end of July before they can book stand space, in order to allow lighting firms to cherry pick positions.
Finance director to leave carpet manufacturer Ryalux
Kevin Henry will leave his post as group finance director of Airea later this summer. Airea, the parent company to carpet manufacturers Ryalux and Burmatex, is yet to appoint a successor.
Steinhoff to launch 27-store Homestyle chain
SOFT FURNISHINGS | LAUNCH
Furniture conglomerate Steinhoff has taken steps to fill the space vacated by the failures of Rosebys and Land of Leather by launching a soft furnishings chain under the Homestyle name.
British upholstery manufacturer Joynson Holland goes into administration
INSOLVENCY | UPHOLSTERY
Show-wood upholstery manufacturer Joynson Holland has appointed administrators with director Ian MacGuffog saying the firm had fallen ‘victim to the credit crunch.’
Recession proof demographic will help online traders grab 10% market share by 2013
RETAIL | ONLINE
The Internet will account for 10% of the retail market by 2013 with total sales worth £31.2bn. That’s the view of retail consultancy Verdict Research, which is predicting continued double-digit online growth this year despite other sectors suffering a market contraction.
Home suffers but we are still outperforming furniture market, says Argos
MULTICHANNEL | RETAIL
Argos suffered further furniture and homeware sales declines in the past quarter, but claimed it was still outperforming the wider home furnishings market.
Furniture importer acquires Oceans Apart distribution rights
SUPPLY | ACQUISITION
Wholesaler Blue Bone has bought the license to distribute the furniture ranges of fellow importer Oceans Apart.
Furniture superstore to be created on ex-Debenhams site in the East Midlands
FURNITURE | RETAIL
A former department store building is to become a furniture hotbed, with a number of retailers moving into a disused site in the centre of Derby.
Mixed reaction to Government trade credit insurance proposal
CREDIT | INSURANCE
Industry trade associations have offered bouquets and brickbats to Lord Mandelson’s decision to backdate the trade credit insurance top up scheme to October of last year.
IN BRIEF | 10TH JUNE
US firm makes UK debut in Harrods
Eclectic furniture and homeware supplier MacKenzie-Childs has launched in the UK with a dedicated space in Harrods, the London department store. The quirky American home furnishings firm produces and sells across all home product categories and has three own branded stores in the US, two in New York and one in Florida.
British furniture manufacturer launches table series
Eco-friendly furniture firm Pli Design is to introduce two ranges this month. Whitechapel is a table line for living rooms and meeting rooms, while Wrap is a heavy-duty café and office table collection. Pli specialises in sustainable design and manufacture, and produces ranges across the domestic and contract sectors.
Ikea sales fall for the first time in more than five years and profits almost halve
RETAIL | FLATPACK
Furniture retailer Ikea has seen its pre-tax margin slip for the fifth successive year with sales falling by almost £60m to £1.25bn in the past year.
Retail sales in May slip against strong comparatives
SALES | MAY
Like for like retail sales in the UK fell 0.8% in May with furniture and homeware retailers finding life difficult, according to the British Retail Sales Consortium’s monthly sales monitor.
IN BRIEF | 9TH JUNE
No more furniture in London store for M&S
Marks & Spencer is to remove furniture from its store in London’s Westfield Shopping Centre. The site is located in the heart of London, and it is thought the prevalence of public transport using shoppers is making big-ticket purchases a tricky sell for all retailers in the centre.
City sticks its neck out on Argos numbers
Sales figures due out later this week will show a slip in like for like sales for Argos and a flat performance for its sister firm Homebase, according to City forecasters. They believe Homebase will report an upturn in kitchen sales following MFI’s demise.
Far East firm snaps up UK furniture distributor; Ruddiman to focus on online venture
FURNITURE | SUPPLY
Furniture supplier Ruddiman Furniture has been sold to Origin Red, a Hong Kong furniture and accessories manufacturer. The two firms have had a strong relationship spanning two decades.
Feather & Black co-founder leaves for John Lewis
BEDS | MANAGEMENT
National bed retailer Feather & Black is to lose one of its co-founders to department store John Lewis. Robbie Feather will join the partnership later this Summer and will head up buying in the home technology and electricals category.
IN BRIEF | 8TH JUNE
More stores planned for ex-MFI stock
The Range boss Chris Dawson is planning to open more stores to sell the former MFI stock he bought at the turn of the year. He is looking at short term leases for as many as 150 Trading Bargains outlets, with successful shops eventually being retained and trading as The Range.
Value chains set for large expansion programme
The owner of retailers TK Maxx and HomeSense is plotting a huge expansion. TJX Europe wants as many as 150 HomeSense stores, up from just eight at the moment, as well as a further 50 shops for the 225 store TK Maxx operation.
VAT cut helps Turkish furniture manufacturers
A 10% cut in VAT has sparked a 25% sales uplift in Turkish manufactured furniture. The country, currently the 21st largest furniture exporter worldwide, expects to break into the top 15 next year by doubling exports to $2.5bn.
Better outlook for Dutch owned UK upholstery manufacturer as staff return to full time working
UPHOLSTERY | SALES
Staff at sofa manufacturer Lebus Upholstery have returned to a five day week after feared sales falls did not materialise. The Scunthorpe based volume supplier had spent four months with staff working a four-day week in anticipation of lower orders.
Joynson Holland/Highly Sprung co-owners to the fore at Sofa Workshop
RETAIL | MANAGEMENT
The sole shareholders of furniture businesses Highly Sprung and Joynson Holland appear to be taking greater control over the strategic direction of upholstery chain Sofa Workshop.
Corndell returns profit and hopes to match 2008 performance
CABINET | MANUFACTURING
Cabinet supplier Corndell Furniture says it is confident it can match its 2008 performance during the course of this year. The Oxfordshire firm, which has a turnover of about £15m, returned an operating profit of £68,965 in the year to 31st July.
Two store independent to launch £1.5m stock clearout
FURNITURE | INDEPENDENTS
Bath and Cirencester retailer Silcox & Wicks will launch its biggest ever stock clearance sale this weekend. The furniture independent hopes to clear £1.5m worth of inventory, with some products discounted by more than 90%.
New chairman for buying group AIS
FURNITURE | BUYING
Department store boss David Banbury is the new chairman of buying group Associated Independent Stores (AIS).
Britain’s best independent furniture retailer expects double-digit sales fall in 2009
FURNITURE | INDEPENDENTS
Surrey independent furniture retailer Vale Furnishers says its turnover could drop 12% during 2009. The Ash Vale furniture store, voted Britain’s best independent at the last outing of the Interiors Awards, says the consumer downturn is putting pressure on sales and increasing the likelihood of bad debts.
Buying group launches consumer credit card scheme
INTERNATIONAL | CREDIT
One of the world’s largest buying groups has launched a consumer credit card, allowing customers to use it to shop at member outlets across the country.
IN BRIEF | 3RD JUNE
Furniture store to open tea shop
A Brighton furniture store selling French style homeware is to open a tea shop on its groundfloor. The Metrodeco Tea Salon will resemble a 1930s Parisian café, and it is hoped it will boost footfall in the shop.
US furniture orders fall again in March
Furniture factory orders and shipments dropped 17% year on year in the USA. But the drop is lower than for the first quarter overall (21%), fuelling hope that a recovering in the US home market is near.
Consumer confidence returns in May
The British public is become more optimistic about the state of the economy, according to figures from the Nationwide Building Society. Its Consumer Confidence Index rose 2 points in May, after improving 8% in April.
Furniture suppliers forced to take £40,000 demolition hit
SUPPLY | RATES
Furniture firms Daro and Breasley Foam are to knock down an old and unused factory rather than pay the controversial empty property rate tax on the site.
B&Q stakes claim to MFI market as sales rise
DIY | RETAIL
DIY chain B&Q says the collapse of competitors such as MFI is boosting its bedroom and kitchen furniture sales.
IN BRIEF | 2ND JUNE
Non-store web sales boost for Laura Ashley
Internet sales rocketed 41.6% for homeware chain Laura Ashley in the 17 weeks to 30th May. The retailer’s other non-store sales channel, mail order, fared rather worse, dropping by a quarter.
Scottish department store to be knocked down
The building that housed department store Orrs of Airdrie is to be demolished after lying empty for nearly two years. The site will be replaced by a new retail and social housing development after planners decided the cost of renovating the existing structure was prohibitive by comparison.
London department store group targets Roomes of Upminster acquisition
RETAIL | CONSOLIDATION
Roomes of Upminster has become part of the Morleys department store group, the parent company to AIS members Elys, Bodgers, and Smith Brothers.
Contract flooring manufacturer rescued by former MD
FLOORING | CONTRACT
The Carpet Tile Factory has been bought out of administration by its md Eric Roelandt, who has created a new company called Roelandt Lewis in conjunction with co-investor Keith Lewis.
IN BRIEF | 1ST JUNE
Bed manufacturer praised for environmental approach
Bedroom manufacturer and retailer Warren Evans has been named the industry’s greenest company by the Sunday Times newspaper. Other home furnishing suppliers to make the national newspaper’s list include contract flooring firms Milliken and Altro as well as Stoke-on-Trent tile supplier H&R Johnson.
Furniture factory destroyed by fire
A fire has destroyed a furniture factory in Essex. More than 100 firefighters tackled the blaze at the Straight Edge manufacturing plant in Maylandsea, with owner Ian Wilson vowing to have the factory rebuilt as soon as possible. Work will transfer to another site, in Burnham, in the meantime.
Natuzzi sales target hits major setback as revenues drop more than 35%
UPHOLSTERY | SALES
Italian sofa manufacturer Natuzzi will have to double in size in the next two years if it wants to meet its ambitious 1bn Euro sales target by 2011. The upholstery firm suffered a heavy 35% revenue drop in the first quarter of 2009 – but did at least manage to halve the losses incurred in the same period last year.
Furniture design firm bought by Educational IT supplier
CONTRACT | ACQUISITION
Isis Concepts has been sold to school computer supplier RM for almost £3m. Isis is a furniture manufacturer specialising in high tech design in the education sector. It has a turnover of £3.6m and a pre-tax margin of more than 10%.
IN BRIEF | 29TH MAY
Cormar Carpets sales and profits drop
One of Britain’s most successful carpet manufacturers has seen sales and profits fall. Lancashire tufted carpet firm Cormar saw sales drop £7m to £60.6m and pre-tax profits fall to £2.9m from £4.6m in the year to 30th September 2008. It is the first sales fall in more than 5 years.
Sales drop back again in May
Retailers suffered a sales setback in May after April had shown the first signs of a recovery. The CBI’s Distributive Trades Survey said a balance of 48% of retailers reported falling sales. Despite the drop, the CBI said the results represented the second best set of figures since June of last year.
 |
 |
FLOORING
CF rebrands retailers as members
Carpet Foundation to phase out the use of Registered Specialist name and logo.
FLOORING
Carpet trade in 25% target
Flooring retailers and manufacturers to unveil action plan for reducing waste sent to landfill.
LEGALS
Cresta Furniture in administration
The Manchester office of PKF in charge after Preston retailer falls into administration.
SPECIAL REPORT
The UK's greenest furniture firm?
A report on the changes made to the factory at Westbridge Furniture - Marks & Spencer's chief upholstery supplier.
BEDS
Growth at £14m bed supplier
Burnley bed manufacturer Sweet Dreams to take on more staff following positive start to year.
SUPPLY
G-Plan to roll out POS package
Sofa manufacturer to extend new point of sale package after a successful trial at Bristol independent.