Andy Walker, owner of Style Furniture and Relax Sofas and Beds, and Grant Berry, owner of Home World – Mattress & Bed Centres, share their respective recaps of the recent January Furniture Show 2025 from an independent retailer perspective.
Andy Walker, owner of Style Furniture and Relax Sofas and Beds
I should have a good perspective on the January Furniture Show as I attended my first one in 1990, at the tender age of 38.
For the first nine years as Sales Director for a number of suppliers, and for the proceeding 22 years as the owner of Style Furniture in Louth, Lincolnshire.
A good ‘rule of thumb’ to decide if anything is worth keeping is if you would miss it, if it was suddenly taken away from you, never to return! The JFS is a prime example: with me, and I am sure with many retailers, suppliers, interior designers etc, the answer would be a resounding “yes we would”.
The quality of presentation from the vast majority of exhibitors was exceptional.
One such stand was Alstons, which celebrated all things Charles Darwin, it was excellent and helped set the stage for a number of exceptionally exciting items of upholstery, with colour palettes inspired by Darwin’s original sketches.
Equally exciting, but in a totally different way, was La- Z-Boy’s stand. The presentation was excellent, and they had a substantial number of new ranges, in particular the Baxter which is made in the UK (hurray!) in premium leather and fabric.
I certainly find it difficult to sort out the myth from the factual as far as “all things beds” are concerned: and this is from someone who was the sales manager at Sealy for five years!
However, Highgrove’s stand stood out, it was very exciting, well presented, had a good choice of models, variations of specifications and price ranges. It had to be one of the busiest stands at the show, and certainly one of the busiest exhibiting beds.
FurnitureLink is always a stand I make a ‘beeline’ for, and this show was no exception. Four separate sofas caught my eye, all displayed next to one another, all on express delivery and all very commercial; needless to say, I bought them all!
Not only does FurnitureLink have an extensive range of sellable products, but also a customer service ethic to match; a winning combination!
I found the show very professionally organised, both outside and inside the exhibition halls, and the quality of the vast majority of exhibiters stands were beyond reproach.
Was it busier than last year? To be honest, I haven’t got a clue, but what I do know is we’d all be lost without it.
www.stylefurniture.co.uk / www.relaxsofasandbeds.co.uk
Grant Berry – owner of Home World – Mattress & Bed Centres
This year we went to the January Furniture Show (JFS) on the last day for a change. We are a bed specialist so the JFS isn’t the most important show to us but it is still essential to visit in my opinion.
We did not feel the need to be the first in the queue this year on the first day. It was more relaxed on the Wednesday, and because it was the last day you could tell which suppliers had had a good show and which ones had not.
I enjoyed the visit to be honest, it was worthwhile for us. I managed to find some products that we were lacking and I’m really looking forward to selling these new products when they arrive. They will help us elevate our range.
The show is always great to see people that I’ve known for years and catch up on what is happening within the industry. Networking is very handy at JFS, you get to know more than you did, but not just that, it’s nice to see people, people that have a common interest in selling furniture and beds. It’s also nice to see the new people that are entering the industry and their fresher ideas, as well as what product changes are happening too.
“Carpet-gate” seems to have been resolved, thankfully, as there was carpet on the floors this year. Not that it makes any difference to the actual products, however, the show did look and feel better than last year in my opinion. I believe this helped suppliers, as having the right vibe, certainly helps sales.
If I had one criticism it would that the show felt disjointed, it did not flow right. Halls one and two were together, then you had to leave them, walk through the NEC corridors to get to Halls four and five, having to go through the security check again. There was no Hall three. For example, in years gone by, you could walk from Hall four into Hall three and then so on to the other Halls.
I do wonder whether those suppliers in Hall four did not get the same passing trade on their stands that they used to get in years gone by. Not sure they get any discount on the stand costs for this, it would be interesting to know.
Also, although I did not see this myself but rather heard from others attending, apparently there was a lot of the public attending the show. People claiming to be “interior designers” etc looking to buy an odd piece of furniture for their homes. If this is true, I cannot see how this helps the trade at all and needs some attention.
Would I go again next year? Yes, 100% I would, it was worth the drive and we found some exciting new products for our store.
