This month we’re asking retailers: How has business been so far this year?

Land of Beds

Despite the challenging economic conditions, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by our start to 2024. Average order values are up on a year-on-year basis and so are customer numbers. With inflation now down to 2% and unemployment levels stabilising at encouragingly low rates, we’re feeling cautiously optimistic about the remainder of the year. However, given the cyclical and frequently volatile nature of our industry, we’re refraining from making bold predictions. Instead, we’re adopting a pragmatic, step-by-step approach while remaining vigilant, as circumstances can shift rapidly, as the industry has witnessed firsthand over the past 24 months.

Harrison & Brown Furniture

Business was performing well until approximately 11 weeks ago. The main problem is footfall. Our conversation rate is good when people do visit, we need to increase the number of customers visiting. This raises the question of how to best market the business. Currently, we advertise on the radio, which I intend to continue with as I want to be in people’s minds when they think of buying furniture. Our summer sale begins on July 1st. Although we have advertised on television in previous years, I believe it may not be a cost-effective approach this year. Instead, I am looking at a direct mail marketing campaign, as several fellow Minerva member retailers have reported positive results when using this method. I am convinced that ceasing advertising altogether is not the solution. Instead, we need to adopt a more careful and strategic approach regarding our advertising. While our performance is behind last year’s, I am confident that with 15 weeks remaining of my financial year, we can turn this around, although it will be challenging.

Sussex Beds

In general, tough! It feels as though the post-covid bubble has finally popped and things are back to ‘normality’. We have probably gotten used to the luxury of people just wanting to walk in and spend, however with more uncertainty in the air, that really has died down. We’re hoping to push on for the latter part of this year and see this bounce back!

Home World – Mattress & Bed Centres

Business so far this year has been good on the whole, the start was very good it then went quiet around March but it’s picked up again since. I think the political uncertainty of a General Election has been hanging in the air for a few months, this tends to subconsciously get people to sit on their hands with buying bigger ticket items. At least now we know we are having a General Election. Once this is out of the way customers will soon forget & get on with things again. Just need England to win the Euros now to get the feel good factor really going, I won’t be putting any money on it though!

Harvest Moon Interiors

I don’t think you could print my answer! But looking forward to a bit of mad spending when Labour gets in. Always helps for a while to get things going again!

Nimbus Beds

Business has been excellent so far this year. Our factory has been exceptionally busy with an increase in bespoke, made-to-measure fitted items, reflecting a strong demand for our customised products. One of the highlights of the year was our participation in the Ideal Home Show Scotland. The event was a tremendous success, allowing us to showcase our offerings to a wide audience. We not only secured a significant amount of new business but also had the pleasure of reconnecting with many of our long-time customers. This event provided us with valuable insights into current market trends and customer preferences, which will help us continue to innovate and meet the needs of our clientele. Overall, the positive response and increased activity underscore the growing recognition and trust in the Nimbus Beds brand. We’re excited about the opportunities ahead and remain committed to delivering high-quality, bespoke solutions to our customers.

Fairway Furniture

The start to 2024 was steady, before we saw a marked upturn in early spring. Later spring was more subdued but still ahead of 2023. Since late May and the election being called however, we’ve seen a significant slowdown in footfall.  Overall, we’re trading up YTD and exceeding our ambitious sales targets. I’m expecting a continued malaise until the election, perhaps followed by a small bounce in the summer, but nothing that will deliver marked upturn in demand levels.

MattressNextDay

We’re happy to report a strong first half of the year. This success stems from a combination of factors: continued organic growth, rising brand awareness, and the continued impact of our new showroom launched in November 2023. Additionally, expanding our product portfolio and our investment into new marketing channels in Q1 have driven additional traffic and contributed to customer growth.

Hatters

Regarding business this year – 2024 is a little behind last year to date, currently about 3% down. We plan to make this up in the second half of the year, and hope that the election result does not impact on this.

Vic Smith Beds

I would say that customers are taking longer to decide and even making more than one visit – people are being a lot more cautious. We always find before an election, things slow down, and also when the football is on! So, in retail terms, at least we get rid of the two slowing events in one go!

Style Furniture

One thing you can say is that business has not returned to ‘normal’, in fact can anyone in our sector, or any sector of business, remember what ‘normal’ is! For us, this year has been mixed, but to use generalisation; turnover is up, overheads are stable with our sales contribution up also. If I was to point to our biggest concerns so far this year, it would be the decline in footfall and the decline in consistency of quality of furniture being produced/delivered from suppliers. Erratic footfall can contribute to difficulties in planning and cashflow, and quality fluctuations do lead to customer dissatisfaction and lowering of expectations in the products we are selling for both sales staff and customers alike. On a more positive note, during the last 6 months we have invested heavily in the infrastructure of the company with showroom refurbishments, and an upgrade on our online presence. I feel confident that even with the turbulence that the next 6 months may bring, we as a company, are healthy and fit for purpose.