U.S. Mattress Giant Competition Winners visit Airsprung
A group of 14 Mattress Giant competition winners flew into Heathrow recently to be hosted by the Airsprung Group on a week of sightseeing, entertainment and fun.
The Mattress Giant staff had won their places on an all expenses paid ‘trip of a lifetime’ to the UK by winning an internal competition for the highest Airsprung Beds sales in their region. Airsprung Beds, through their North American Licensee International Bedding Corporation (IBC), are a major supplier to the 350 plus outlet specialist bed retailer Mattress Giant. The prize consisted of flying to the UK for a week, primarily based in London, but also with trips to Paris and Bath. They had their first glimpse of London with dinner on a cruise down the Thames, and over the week visited the majority of the main London sights, Windsor Castle and even caught a West End Show!
The visitors called into the Airsprung site in Trowbridge and had an introduction to the Group together with a factory tour and lunch before going on to Bath to complete their holiday.
IBC and Airsprung have worked together for nearly 10 years with both businesses having enjoyed a great level of success with the partnership.
Women in furnishing awards - We're a winner!
Tean Dallaway, group finance director of the Airsprung Furniture Group, has been named ‘Businesswoman of The Year’ in the first ever Women In Furnishing Awards.
Results of the prestigious new awards were announced today (Thursday June 3) at a luncheon held at Furniture Makers’ Hall in the City of London.
Judges felt Tean had demonstrated great ability in clearly guiding the company through a highly volatile period with her strict financial disciplines based on a sound business understanding. Today the group is back in profit and fellow directors of the company have huge levels of confidence in her advice on all aspects of the business. Tean is also treasurer of the National Bed Federation and has, in the past 12 months, established a collective buying group that has conservatively saved NBF members upwards of £900k
“Some truly outstanding women from right across the furnishing sector
were nominated for the awards,” said Manchester Furniture Show boss
Theresa Raymond. It was her idea to hold the awards and Theresa has worked
with the Furnishing Industry Trust (FIT, formerly the FTBA) to organise
the awards and luncheon from which all profit will go to the trust. 
Said Mark Symes, md of Willis & Gambier, sponsors of the WIF ‘Businesswoman of The Year Award’: “Unlike some other sectors, the furnishing industry still tends to be a fairly male dominated environment. Holding the awards has been a fantastic opportunity to turn the spotlight onto the increasing number of very talented and high achieving women who now work in the trade and hopefully these awards will act as inspiration to women within the industry as they develop their careers ”
Next year’s Women In Furnishing Awards will be held on Thursday June 2 2011.
Exclusive Upholstery Supply Agreement - Furniture Factory Outlets Ltd
During March, our Cavendish Upholstery division based in Chorley, Lancashire, concluded an exclusive UK wide upholstery supply agreement. The essence of this agreement is for Cavendish to commence the manufacture a range of upholstery products on behalf of a long standing, well known and respected UK upholstery business that ceased its own in-house manufacture and re-invented itself as a national ‘Sales Agency’. The company in question is a supplier to mainly the Independent retail sector, supplying fabric sofas and chairs but also importing and re-selling a range of leather upholstery. Turnover at its height was in the region of £3.5m p.a.
Under this new arrangement, the sales, marketing and product designs of this sub-contracted range will be managed by a newly formed entity, Furniture Factory Outlets, and will be virtually entirely independent of Cavendish management. FFO will operate right across the UK and Eire with a sales team promoting the Cavendish manufactured products, under the ‘Bymacks Upholstery’ label, to their pre-existing customer base.
It is expected that over the coming months and years this partnership will generate reasonable sales and profits for both Cavendish and FFO alike and will provide Cavendish with increased demand that should materially improve efficiencies and productivity.
Airsprung Expands Business
Airsprung Furniture Group plc, are pleased to announce that they have acquired the trading assets of Birmingham bed manufacturer Hush-a-Bye Beds Limited.
Hush-a-Bye Beds was formed some twenty years ago from a bed manufacturing business that traces its history back over 150 years and has built up a strong reputation for the supply of beds and mattresses to the Independent and specialist bed retailers, mainly in the south of the country. Hush-a-bye has developed a strong franchise in the Independent sector over the years, building on a foundation of well defined brand values, being quality, value for money, flexibility and service (which is second to none). In recent years Airsprung Beds and Hush have focused heavily and successfully on the major retailers in the home shopping market, our key opportunity with the Hush-a-Bye acquisition is to expand equally successfully in the Independent sector.
Peter Ball and Steve Wyatt, who will remain with the business for some months to ensure as smooth a transfer as possible takes place, were keen to find a new home for the company that would allow it to carefully expand to other geographical areas of the UK, something that can be readily provided by Airsprung. A new team headed up by Jim Murphy as Director and General Manager has been formed to provide the greatest of attention is given to Hush-a-Bye.
Hush-a-Bye will be manufactured and marketed alongside our Hush brand, under the umbrella of a newly formed trading division, The Sleep Collection. We will incorporate the Hush-a-Bye production into the existing facility in Hush and this will be supported by a dedicated Customer Service team.
Chief Executive Tony Lisanti commented that ‘this traditional, quality mattress manufacturer will assist the Airsprung Group in supporting and developing the Independent bed retailers around the country something we are strategically focussing on for the future, using both the highly experienced team of Hush-a-Bye Sales Agents and our existing dedicated sales team’.
We are delighted with Peter’s and Steve’s decision to join us and we look forward to working with them, the Hush-a-Bye Sales Agents and most importantly the customer.