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John Lewis has continued to enjoy strong home sales. The final week of its Clearance sale saw home sales climb by 7%, following weekly increases of 12% and 10.6%. ‘Home at plus 7% was against some stronger figures from a year ago. Making allowance for this, furniture, cooking and dining and textiles 
all produced excellent results. Although a smaller sterling figure at this time of year, gifts and decorative accessories again took the percentage crown,’ says Nat Wakely,
John Lewis region A sales director.

‘A very pleasing final week for Clearance at nearly plus 10% with an increase every day and putting on a healthy double-digit advance over two years ago, too. With the worsening in the weather, most out-of-town shops put in a stronger final week than the week before with Bluewater out in the lead at plus 28% with good uplifts everywhere, bar consumer electronics.

‘Trafford was next at plus 16%, while Kingston and Cambridge notched up plus 14%. Oxford Street at plus 12% made it to the top five. Poole also defied the usual Clearance logic, building its trade from the week previously and putting on a healthy uplift.’

Sales for the week to 17 July were 9.8% higher compared with last year and 15.5% up on 2008-2009. Sales for the 24 week period were 15.6% and 11.2% higher.

Home shines for John Lewis

Strong sales of fitted furniture helped John Lewis’s home sales jump by 10.6% in the week ended 10 July.

The department store chain also saw encouraging performances from other categories during the second week of its Clearance sale. ‘On Home it was a particularly good week for outdoor living, not surprising given the weather, but with an exceptionally strong sterling figure for this late in the season, with picnic-ware in support at plus 17%. However, the best result came from fitted furniture at plus 42%. Textiles, a big Clearance player, notched up plus 10% and it was good to see china at plus 15%,’ says Nat Wakely
 John Lewis director selling operations region A.

‘A good second week of Clearance at plus 9.1% on last year, with only Saturday recording a decrease thanks to the football and the exceptionally hot weather, particularly in the south. There were stronger figures from many of the northern branches, and London continued to hold its own.

‘Glasgow came top at plus 15.7% with a phenomenal result from home and in particular furniture. This was a pattern mirrored at Cheadle at plus 6.6%, where Home was plus 20% and furniture also very strong. In the south, Oxford Street scored the greatest increase at plus 12.3% with a full house of increases across all buying groups, just pipping Bluewater at plus 9% where womenswear provided the greatest strength. Peter Jones, Kingston and Edinburgh, all around the plus 5% mark, were next in line.

‘Johnlewis.com, at plus 44.7%, saw a bigger percentage uplift than the week before with fashion particularly strong, especially premium beauty, along with outdoor toys, furniture, china, lighting and televisions to name but a few!’

Sales for the 23 weeks to 10 July are 15.9% higher than last year an up 11% on 2008/2009.

DFS boss named

DFS owner Advent International has solved its problem finding a successor to Lord Kirkham as chief executive by turning to a former colleague of the chain’s new chairman.

Ian Filby has spent 30 years in retail, mainly at Boots, where his roles included retail brand development director and trading director. Richard Baker, DFS chairman was Boots chief executive before leaving to join Advent International.

‘Having worked with Ian at Boots for four years, I have had first-hand experience of his skills and capabilities,’ says Baker. ‘Ian is perfectly suited to the role of chief executive of DFS. His core strengths are in the areas of marketing and brand development, product and range management, store format development as well as online, which are all key elements of the DFS business model.’ 

‘DFS is a strong brand with a unique culture and I believe that it has an exciting future ahead,’ says Filby.

Topps sees sales pick up

Topps Tiles has seen sales recover in recent weeks, although sales are still down on 2009 and well down on 2008.

Sales in the seven weeks from 3 April to 22 May were down 5.1% and by 4.3% on a like for like basis.

However since the UK's largest tile and wood flooring chain has seen performance improve. Sales for the quarter to 3 July were down 2.5% and by 1.2% on a like for like basis. This compares with falls of 8.9% and 10.9% respectively a year ago.

The chain now has 310 stores, having opened eight and closed or relocated seven since April.

Retail failures drop by almost a quarter

The number of retailers going out of business dropped by almost 25% in the past quarter of the year.

Equifax’s Business Failures Report shows 490 retail failures in the second quarter of the year, a 23.6% drop compared with Q2 2009 and down 14% on Q1 2010.

‘The report appears to reflect the very close control businesses have been putting on cashflow and costs’, says Nic Beishon, head of Equifax Commercial Information Solutions. ‘Cuts in headcount and pay freezes have been key features of the last 12 to 18 months and these strategies certainly appear to be paying off in terms of slowing down the number of businesses going under.

‘But we are not yet out of the woods – the actual number of businesses that have failed in Q2 is not quite back to the levels of early 2008 – although in some cases they are pretty close.

‘There is much speculation about whether we are heading for a double-dip recession, but the report certainly seems to indicate that all the right actions are being taken by business to survive continuing difficult trading conditions.

‘Clearly we are now comparing performance with the worst part of the recession last year. So it is not surprising to see a significant improvement. But what I think is more useful is to compare this year’s figures with failures in Q2 2008. Overall 6,409 businesses went bust in Q2 2008 – there were 7,175 failures in Q2 2010. That’s still an increase but certainly a much smaller jump than in 2009 when failures in Q2 hit 8,874.’

New Metro chairman

Martin Ward has been elected as chairman of flooring buying group Metro, succeeding John Keyworth.

‘John served as chairman for an extended term of three years, and continues on the board as vice-chairman,’ says David Kipping, Metro chief executive.
‘John has done a tremendous job for the group, and Martin has asked me to convey his determination to continue developing relationships with our suppliers. I'm sure you would join me in wishing Martin every success in his new role.’

Ward (left) is pictured with Keyworth (right) presenting David Judge, Cormar

Carpets md with the groups Supplier of the Year award at its recent AGM dinner.

Latest issue

July's Interiors Monthly

In July’s issue of Interiors Monthly find out how Redwood Bay is bringing US style to the UK; see how Traditional Carpets is leading the move for patterns; explore why selling the dream is key for upholstery success; in the Wood and laminate supplement see a new area for Quick-Step, why choice matters and a family success. The Show guide for Manchester Furniture Show will help you plan your visit, while Harrogate Flooring Show is previewed and ICFF is reviewed.

Click below to browse the latest issue below or click through to see past issues (this may open a new window or tab). Depending on your Internet connection, this may take a few seconds to load. When browsing, press Esc to return to this view.

VAT increase 'hidden in offers'

The increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20% on 4 January 2011 will have a 'minimal' impact on retail and price rises for furniture and flooring will be 'disguised amongst promotions,' according to retail analyst Verdict Research.
Commenting on the main tax rise of George Osborne's Emergency Budget, Verdict says: 'The main outcome will be to reduce volumes but the effect will be minimal given that consumers shopping habits are already changing. Consumers are already cutting back on spending and when purchasing discretionary items, are taking a more cautious approach, considering the benefits of the purchase. The VAT increase will only serve to inflate this trend and ensure that value for money remains top of consumers' minds when shopping.'
Verdict does not expect the VAT rise to have 'a great deal of effect' on furniture and flooring. 'With deep discounting in this sector remaining, most rises will be disguised amongst the promotions, and as consumer spending is already constrained there will be little appetite for major purchases. This will be particularly so given the housing market, the sector's main stimulus, remains stagnant and the emergency budget will do little to change this.'
It warned that non-specialists such as supermarkets and value retailers will increase marketshare in the homewares sector as prices rise and 'more discretionary purchases, particularly items bought for aesthetic purposes, will be the worst impacted with a higher level of caution exercised by consumers.'

Driver 'licked woman's face'

A furniture delivery driver who repeatedly licked a customer's face and stuck his tongue in her ear after helping her assemble the flat-packed bed he delivered has received a nine month suspended sentence.
Northampton Crown Court was told that Victor Rollasons, 56, was employed by Furniture Direct when he delivered the bed to 29 year old woman last September.
After offering to help he grabbed hold of the woman and went to kiss her. Rebecca Wade, prosecuting said: 'She reacted and turned her face away so his lips brushed the side of her face leaving saliva as he hugged her closer.'
The woman, who cannot be named, managed to get him to leave, but as he did so he licked the whole right side of her face and stuck his tongue in her ear. As he walked away, she reported him as having 'a funny smirk on his face as he winked at her'.
Judge Charles Wide QC also made Rollasons, who was dismissed by Furniture Direct, the subject of a six-month 7pm to 6am home curfew. 'Women alone at home must feel completely confident they are not going to be assaulted by someone making a delivery,' he said.
Rollasons denied sexual assault but was unanimously convicted following a two-day trial in May. He was placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for five years.
Judge Wide said: 'I saw your behaviour at trial and am satisfied you are not remorseful at all. You are sorry you have been caught.'

Prices on the rise

Furniture and flooring experienced mixed pricing fortunes in May. Furniture prices rose by 2% in the month, compared with a 1.3% rise in 2009. National Statistics says the rise is due to higher kitchen base unit prices.

In contrast, flooring prices rose by 1.7%, compared with the 3.3% rise seen last year. National Statistics says the smaller price rises was particularly seen for carpets and rugs.

The impact of the two sectors balanced each other out in terms of the overall Consumer Prices Index inflation rate, which fell from 3.7% in April to 3.4% in May. The Retail Price Index fell from 5.3% to 5.1%.

NFS organiser explains move

National Floor Show organiser UBM has explained its decision to reschedule the event to next January in the following statement: The UK’s leading flooring event, National Floor Show, is to move to become part of interiors 2011. The show was due to take place from 7-9 September 2010 at the NEC, but will now take place at the same venue from 23-26 January 2011.

‘Andrew Vaughan, UBM portfolio director comments: “Due to tough economic and industry conditions, and in consultation with the marketplace, we have decided to reposition National Floor Show within our portfolio’s flagship event. As experienced exhibition organisers, our focus has always been to deliver return on investment for our exhibitors, so we have decided to offer flooring companies the opportunity to exhibit at the UK’s largest trade interiors show.

‘National Floor Show will benefit from being part of this influential interiors event, which this year welcomed over 600 exhibitors and in excess of 25,000 visitors, over 7,000 of which were specifically interested in rugs and floor coverings.

‘Sunny Patel, UBM group sales manger, comments: “Interiors is a very strong brand which attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year, including the 7,000 who are already interested in flooring. I look forward to seeing National Floor Show take place alongside other complementary interiors products in Hall 2,”.’

Allied u-turn over campaign

Carpet promotion campaign Fun on the Floor has insisted that its planned £2m consumer advertising campaign is unaffected by Allied Carpets’ decision to abandon joining the group of manufacturers and Carpetright.

After deciding to join in the spring, the Hilco owned chain’s membership was due to be confirmed in late April. However it has now decided that membership ‘does not fit with their objectives for this year,’ according to FotF. ‘However everything is proceeding to plan with the campaign.’

Consumer advertising will run in home interest magazines and national newspapers from September to December. This will be backed by online advertising and search engine keywords and search optimisation.

The campaign will be FotF’s third consecutive year and is backed by Abingdon, Associated Weavers, Balta, Brockway, Carpetright, Cormar, Domo, Headlam, Llano and Terza.

Consumers can now download a voucher (pictured) from the campaign’s website offering free planning, measuring and estimates.

No NFS in September

The National Floor Show, scheduled for 7-9 September at the NEC, will not take place. Organiser UBM intends to add flooring to its Interiors exhibition in January.

At last year’s event, UBM announced it was moving NFS to the NEC in June. After complaints from exhibitors over what they saw as a lack of consultation, the show was moved to the September dates. However, by then David Wildman, who sold NFS to UMB, has set up the rival Harrogate Flooring Show, due to be held at NFS’s former venue Harrogate International Centre from 5-7 September.

Exhibitors have complained of falling visitor numbers at NFS in recent years and the move to the NEC was designed to attract more retailers from the southern half of the country.

An official announcement from UBM will be released on Wednesday.

Double celebration for FN

Flooring accessory and profile manufacturer and FN Neuhofer Holz is celebrating a double anniversary: its 360th year and the forthcoming 70th birthday of owner Franz Neuhofer on 30 June.

The company has been family owned for 10 generations and last year was awarded the Best family-owned company in Austria award. Founded in 1650 as a small sawmill grew to have customers in 90 countries.

Franz Neuhofer (pictured right with his family) says he has no plans to retire. ‘As long as the advice and work of my wife, Christiana, and I are appreciated, we will continue to look forward every day to being able to participate in the positive development of our company,’ he says.

‘The continuous development of solutions and the solidarity of the family have helped us become the company we are today. Our approach is not just momentary but long-term and for generations. Creating value. For us this applies to the future as well. Our vision for the next few years is clearly defined: to remain the market leader for profiles and to tap into new markets with new product lines. We are looking forward to taking this path with our customers and partners.’

John Lewis sees home growth

Home sales at John Lewis jumped 14% a fortnight ago, helped by strong furniture sales.

‘Home was up 14% with furniture strongest, led by outdoor living as customers felt inspired by the weather to give their gardens a stylish makeover for the summer. It was good to see the core furniture ranges also still seeing some good growth suggesting that customers are still investing in their homes,’ says Simon Russell
Head, John Lewis head of multi-channel.

Overall sales were 12% higher in the week to 22 May and 14% higher than in 2008. Sales for the 16 week period were up 16.3% and 10.4% higher than in 2008.

M&S sees home sales spurt

Marks and Spencer enjoyed a double-digit rise in homewear sales this year. Sales jumped by 13.3% in the quarter to 3 April. This compares with previous quarterly performance of -0.7%, -1.8% and 0.1%.

The chain says customers embraced its ‘Improve don’t move’ campaign.

Two standalone M&S Home stores opened in Aberdeen and Cheltenham during the year, with Tunbridge Wells due to open in the autumn.

‘Marks & Spencer has had a good year. We have improved performance in all core areas, demonstrating the resilience of the M&S brand. We took action to guide M&S through the recession without losing sight of what matters most to our customers – quality and value,’ says Sir Stuart Rose, outgoing chairman.

‘We have had a satisfactory start to the first quarter. Consumers are naturally concerned about any impact of the Budget on 22 June. We therefore remain cautious about the outlook for the year ahead.’

NBF sets membership record

A record number of companies have joined the National Bed Federation, the trade association for the UK bed industry, in the past four months. Applications from 11 bed manufacturers and one supplier have been approved.

‘We’re delighted to welcome all these companies into membership, says Jessica Alexander, NBF executive director. ‘The launch of the NBF Bed Show [28-29 September 2010] has raised the profile of the association dramatically and there’s no doubt it has triggered this unprecedented interest in NBF membership. The show is just one of a wide range of exclusive benefits of being an NBF member, but perhaps the most tangible.’

The new members are: Deluxe Beds, Elite Bedding, Jaybe, Joseph International, Komfi, Kyoto Futons, Visco Therapy, Sapsa Latex, Signature Beds, Sleepshaper, Seetall and Swanglen. Membership is now 73 firms – 42 UK bed and/or mattress manufacturers and 31 suppliers.

Government statistics put the number of mattress manufacturers at around 110 – many of them employing less than 10 people – but the NBF represents a significant proportion of the UK bed manufacturing industry in terms of output – an estimated 75% of its turnover is accounted for by members, which include the vast majority of major brands.

‘It’s quality not size that the NBF is concerned with,’ says Alexander. ‘Consumers and trade customers expect members of a trade association to be reliable, reputable businesses and it’s much more relevant to us that our members fit this description than care about whether they are big or small.’

Picture: Sleep Council

Lack of sleep and early death warning

Getting less than six hours sleep a night can lead to an early death, researchers have warned. People regularly having such sleep were 12% more likely to die over a 25-year period than those who got an ‘ideal’ six to eight hours.

In Sleep Duration and All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies Professor Francesco Cappuccio and Dr Michelle Miller of the University of Warwick and Dr Lanfranco D’Elia and Dr Pasquale Strazzullo of the University of Naples found an association between sleeping for more than nine hours and early death, although that much sleep may merely be a marker of ill health.

The findings, published in the journal Sleep were based on 1.5m people in 16 studies.

The study looked at the relationship between sleep and mortality by reviewing earlier studies from the UK, US and European and East Asian countries.

Premature death from all causes was linked to getting either too little or too much sleep outside of the ‘ideal’ six to eight hours per night. But while a lack of sleep may be a direct cause of ill health, ultimately leading to an earlier death, too much sleep may merely be a marker of existing ill health, the scientists believe.

‘Modern society has seen a gradual reduction in the average amount of sleep people take and this pattern is more common amongst full-time workers, suggesting that it may be due to societal pressures for longer working hours and more shift-work. On the other hand, the deterioration of our health status is often accompanied by an extension of our sleeping time,’ says Cappuccio.

If there is a link between a lack of sleep and death, there would be more than 6million attributable deaths in the UK in people over 16 years of age.

Cappuccio says more work was needed to understand exactly why sleep seemed to be so important for good health.

Picture: Bettersleep.org