A BIG congratulations to all of the Big Furniture Awards 2023 winners once again. In recognition of the awards, we spoke to some of the winners who shared their thoughts and pictures on being named the best of the best in the furnishings industry. A BIG thank you to everyone who voted, we were blown away by the response. Here are your 2023 Big Furniture Awards winners.

People

Best Agent/Rep in North West England – James Leach – I’m absolutely thrilled and honoured to have won this award! It’s an incredible feeling to be recognised for my hard work and dedication. I want to express my deepest gratitude to clients for selecting me as the recipient of this accolade. This award represents the culmination of years in the trade, from working in furniture retail, to getting out on the road selling, and having a passion for our industry, service and products. I also want to extend my appreciation to the brands I work with, colleagues, friends, and family who have supported me throughout this journey. Their encouragement, guidance, and belief in my abilities have been invaluable.

Best Agent/Rep in North East England – Philip Gant – It has come as a lovely surprise. I take great pride in what I do and try to provide the best for my customers. Knowing this is appreciated is a wonderful feeling.

Best Agent/Rep in South West England – Colin Boyce – I am really pleased to have been selected for this but even more pleased that two of my work mates have also won the award, both Gary Birch and James Leach work with me at Furmanac, which is just fabulous. I think the cherry on the top is that James and I, who run Mattsons Beds together, are celebrating that Mattsons won the Best High Quality bed supplier AND the Soulful bed won the Best Product award too!

Best Agent/Rep in South East England – Gary Birch – I’m absolutely thrilled and honoured to have been chosen by the industry. I’m excited to receive the certificate and trophy, and can’t wait to celebrate with the goodies in the hamper.

Best Agent/Rep in the Midlands – Paul Furey – I’m absolutely delighted to have been chosen as the best agent in the Midlands. I’d like to give a big shout out to all my retailers who voted for me and also to the manufacturers who support me Meridian / La-Z-Boy / Kyoto.

Best Agent/Rep in Wales – Anthony Lewer – A huge thank you to everyone who voted and being chosen as a regional winner, it really does mean a lot. Couldn’t have done it without great support from the back office and great products to sell at Devonshire Living.

Best Agent/Rep in Scotland – Laura Manca – I’m so honoured and feel privileged to receive this award amongst so many worthy peers and would like to thank all of my Retailers that voted for me. I’m touched that my efforts, dedication, and hard work have been recognised in this way.

Best Agent/Rep in Northern Ireland – Louise Hardy – I am absolutely delighted. A place very close to my heart, where my customers and colleagues are also friends. It is my luck to proudly promote the Shire Beds brand in Northern Ireland. Thank you.

Best Agent/Rep in Ireland – David Collins – I’m absolutely thrilled to have won this award particularly as it was decided by my customers. It’s a real honour. I would like to thank all the customers who voted and also the internal sales teams at Asiatic rugs (Angelique and Lou), at Turner Bianca bed linen (Lee, Neil and Suze) and at Biederlack throws (Sophia) who made this possible.

Suppliers

Best UK Furniture Supplier – Gallery Direct

Best Overseas Furniture Supplier – Annaghmore

Outstanding Supplier Product – Soulful by Mattsons Beds

Best Supplier for Customer Service – Devonshire Living

Best Supplier for Delivery Service – Core Products

Best Supplier for Retail Staff Training – Sealy

Best Supplier for Packaging Products (wrapping) – Woods Packaging

Best Supplier for Sustainability Story (Green Credentials) – Green 2 Delivery

Best Supplier for Display Support (Point of Sale) – Furmanac

Best Bed Supplier (High Quality) – Mattsons Beds

Best Bed Supplier (Mid Range) – Kaymed

Best Bed Supplier (Value Range) – Shire Beds

Best Mattress Supplier – Sealy

Best Bedroom Cabinet Supplier – One Call Furniture

Best Upholstery Supplier (Bespoke/High Quality) – Buoyant Upholstery

Best Upholstery Supplier (Fabric) – Ideal Upholstery

Best Upholstery Supplier (Leather) – VIDA Living

Best Occasional Chair / Recliner Supplier – Sherborne Upholstery

Best Living Room Cabinet Supplier – Devonshire Living

Best Dining Cabinet Supplier – Devonshire Living

Best Carpet Supplier – Ulster Carpets

Best Rug Supplier – Think Rugs

Best Accessories Supplier (Lighting/Giftware/Pictures/Mirrors) – Gallery Direct

Best Children’s Furniture Supplier – Birlea

Best Flatpack Furniture Supplier – Core Products

Best Home Office Furniture Supplier – GFW

Best Garden/Outdoor Furniture Supplier – Daro

Trade Services

Best Staff Sales Training Company – Furniture Sales Solutions

Best Software Company – RetailSystem

Best Sales Promotion Company – Greenwood

Best Buying Group – AIS

Best Furniture Trade Show – NBF Bed Show

Best Flooring Trade Show – The Flooring Show

Best Finance Provider – V12 Retail Finance

Best Furniture Care/Repair Company – Homeserve / Emmiera Group

Best Warranty/Product Protection Provider – Staingard

What winners said

GFW – We are delighted to have won the Best Home Office Furniture Supplier award in the Big Furniture Awards as voted by the industry.

Buoyant Upholstery – When an award comes out of the blue it takes you be surprise. I will share the news with the 700 people who are involved in winning this. We are in tough times and it’s always nice to have some appreciation for all our hard work.

Furmanac – This accolade is a testament to our commitment to innovation, craftsmanship, and customer satisfaction. The ‘Best Supplier for Display Support’ award highlights our dedication to creating effective point-of-sale materials that engage customers and contribute to retailers’ success. This recognition coincides with the launch of our new Simplicity mattress range from MiBed, showcasing our expertise in combining cutting-edge technology, expert craftsmanship, and elegant design.

Sherborne Upholstery – We always strive to deliver consistent quality in our wide selection of popular recliner/chair ranges and we are delighted to be recognised for this in the inaugural Big Furniture Awards.

RetailSystem – We are thrilled to be recognised by the industry voters on receiving this award. It’s now 14 years of consecutive awards for ‘Best in the Furniture Industry’ in our field and we’re absolutely delighted. A big thanks to our customers and all the voters.

The Flooring Show – Thank you to all the businesses who voted for The Flooring Show – we really appreciate it. Having celebrated our 60th anniversary in Harrogate last year, The Flooring Show is firmly cemented as the UK’s market leading event for the flooring industry. Receiving the award for The Best Flooring Trade Show only reaffirms this, and we’re very thankful for the recognition.

Annaghmore – We are absolutely delighted to receive the reward of Best Overseas Furniture Supplier.  A big Thank You to BFG for hosting the awards and a bigger Thank You to our Customers for voting for us. The whole team at Annaghmore work really hard to ensure that we deliver a positive customer experience in every way possible and it is fantastic for us all to receive recognition of our efforts through this award.

Birlea – We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the organisers of the awards and the industry professionals who voted for us. This prestigious award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team. We are truly passionate about creating furniture that not only meets the needs of children but also prioritizes their safety and well-being. Throughout the past 12 months, we have been diligently working to bring the most exciting children’s beds to the market. Receiving this esteemed award serves as a great inspiration for us to continue pushing the boundaries of excellence in our industry. Once again, we extend our heartfelt thanks for this recognition.

Greenwood Retail – It’s a pleasant surprise. I shall inform the team straight away, after all, it is they who have earned this award which we will cherish.

Devonshire Living – We are absolutely thrilled to have won three major categories in the Big Furniture Awards, what an honour! The Devonshire Team have been working diligently to consistently offer the best service possible, and to see that hard work pay off in such an indisputably positive way is so encouraging. As a company the past year has been particularly transformative for us, with many more constructive changes to come over the next 12 months and beyond. This result reinforces those shifts and has given everyone in the company a huge morale boost to continue pushing forwards. We’d just like to sincerely thank everyone who voted for us, and we will continue working hard to live up to those high expectations.

Furniture Sales Solutions – Thank you so much to all of our customers and friends in the industry who took the time to vote for us! In these tough times, we promise to continue helping you grow sales and providing you with support when you need it most. Your trust and support mean the world to us. Together, we’ll overcome any sales challenge!

Staingard – This award is a great honour for us and a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team. We are proud to have been nominated by our customers and to have received this award, which recognizes our excellence in this category. We are committed to providing our customers with the highest quality products and exceptional customer service, and this award is a validation of our efforts. We would like to thank our customers and partners for their continued support and for recognizing our commitment to such excellence. We could not have achieved this without your trust and loyalty. We will continue to work hard to maintain our position as a leading provider of Furniture Warranties and Mattress Protection products and to exceed your expectations. Thank you again for your support and for being a part of our success.

Mattsons Bed – Amazing news! These awards would not have been possible without the trust and support of our valued customers and partners. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for your continued faith in our brand.

Woods Packaging – All of the team at Wood’s Packaging are so pleased to have won this award, especially as it’s voted for by our customers.  We’re extremely grateful to everyone that voted for us.  We’re only a small team at Wood’s Packaging but our continued dedication to supplying quality furniture packaging materials for our customers is what makes us a force to be reckoned with.  This year has started brilliantly for Wood’s Packaging after exhibiting at JFS for the first time, and now BFG Award Winners too. Wood’s Packaging celebrated 30 years of business last year and we continue to go from strength to strength. It’s brilliant to see so many familiar names on the winners’ board and Congratulations to everyone that won.

Daro – We are delighted to have been awarded this accolade especially when it is from those in the industry and in our 50th Year! It is testament to our teams both in the UK and Indonesia and we continually strive to maintain high levels of quality in terms of product and Customer Service.

Core Products – Everyone at Core Products would like to thank our valued customers for voting us not only BEST FLATPACK FURNITURE SUPPLIER but also BEST SUPPLIER FOR DELIVERY SERVICE in the BIG FURNITURE AWARDS. Designing, developing and producing flatpack furniture which is easy to assemble & specifically designed to be quickly and safely delivered to your end customers has always been our aim and it’s great to be recognised for our achievement’s comments Core’s Director Stuart Wallace.

Green 2 Delivery – All the staff at Green 2 are very pleased and proud with winning the award for Best Supplier for Sustainability Story. It’s a testament to all the hard work of the team in helping us move forward to achieving our goal of being fully zero emission throughout the UK by the end of 2024. We would like to thank our valued customers and their clients who have voted for us and who have supported us through our journey so far. We help Our customers with weekly CO2 savings Reports and are now operating our zero emission two person crews out of three hubs throughout the UK Bermondsey in central London, Saffron Walden next to Stansted Airport and Daventry. We are in the process of opening more throughout the UK and we appreciate the award and work done by Big Furniture Group in constantly providing up to date industry news. Thank you once again from all of the Green 2 team.

Sealy – To be awarded both the ‘Best Mattress Supplier’ and the ‘Best Supplier for Retail Staff Training’ is a real honour. This is testament to the hard work and expertise of the entire team, and we couldn’t be prouder to be recognised on both accounts. The Sealy Team would like to say a heartfelt thank you to our retailer partners for voting for us, and for your continued support.

Think Rugs – A big thank you for voting us as the Best Rug Supplier! We’re absolutely thrilled and grateful for your support. Congratulations all of the other winners.

National Bed Federation (NBF) – We are thrilled to have been voted as the Best Furniture Trade Show in the Big Furniture Awards 2023. Since our first show back in 2010, the Bed Show has strived to provide a high quality but cost-effective platform for our members to showcase their amazing products to a carefully targeted audience of bed retailers and specifiers. With a plethora of competing trade exhibitions, it is rewarding to be voted as the best. Our 2023 Bed Show, Gala Dinner & Bed Industry Awards is shaping up to be another hugely successful event and we can’t wait to welcome everyone!

Kaymed – We are delighted to have been recognised as the Best Bed Supplier (Mid Range) in the Big Furniture Awards. Big Furniture Group subscribers were free to vote for any company in all of the categories, rather than suppliers having to either send in entries (as per NBF awards) or be selected onto a shortlist. Consequently, these awards reflect the opinions of those who work on the frontline, and are best aware of what brands offer the most commercial products; in what are challenging times. We would like to thank everyone who voted for us, and look forward to showing them a brand new range of even more exciting products at the upcoming AIS Index and NBF bed shows.

Associated Independent Stores (AIS) – AIS is proud to receive the award. As the UK and Ireland’s leading buying group for Home, Fashion and Leisure it’s great to be acknowledged by the furniture industry for the work we undertake in support of independent retail.

Shire Beds – This award is an affirmation that we continue to make the best beds to ensure our retailers are able to make the margins. In difficult trading times it is essential to support our sales channel – the Value Award is recognition of that.

Gallery Direct – We are delighted to have won these two awards, Best UK Furniture Supplier and Best Accessories Supplier (Lighting/Giftware/Pictures/Mirrors), and we would like to thank everyone who voted for us. We continually work hard to offer customers a wide choice of quality products at value for money prices, regularly bringing new lines to market to keep our offering fresh for our customers. Receiving these awards is testament to the hard work put in by the whole team here at Gallery.

Ideal Upholstery – That’s brilliant news about Ideal being voted Best soft cover Upholstery Supplier. We do try our best on Design, Quality, Delivery, Service and Price. Albeit it’s been hard over the last few years to keep to a high standard with all the things that have been going on in the world. We like to look after our customers, and it looks like they have shown their appreciation by voting for us. At Ideal we like to think of ourselves as old school. We are passionate about what we do and the way we do it, and we genuinely appreciate the business we receive from our customers. Without them we wouldn’t be here, so a big thank you to everyone who voted for us.