A merry (and safe) Christmas and a happy New Year from Interiors Monthly.

Non-essential retailers across swaths of the UK are closed or will be closing in the next few days as governments respond to the pandemic.

The AIS Furniture Show, normally a four day exhibition at Cranmore Park coinciding with the January Furniture Show, will become a 12 day online event next month.

Non-essential retailers in Northern Ireland will have to close for six weeks from Christmas Eve.

Expert sleep advice, support and helpful resources now come at the touch of a button courtesy of The Sleep Charity as it relaunches its website. 

Phil Reynolds has joined SATRA to lead its furniture and floorcoverings division. 

FIRA International has achieved wider UKAS-accreditation across seven British, European and American standards. 

Flooring wholesaler Rolfe Carpets has acquired a new distribution hub in a multi-million pound investment.

Non-essential retailers will be not be re-open after Christmas in Wales.

Bed company Emma has hired former Sealy sales and marketing director Neil Robinson as it looks to expand its retail presence.

Millbrook Beds and US bed producer Eclipse International have formed a joint venture which will see each other’s beds sold on both sides of the Atlantic.

Italian furniture manufacturer Giorgetti has opened its first UK store.

Bedding and upholstery component supplier Handy has launched a new website and brand.

Upholstery producer Whitemeadow is to hold a month long At Home show.

Made.com has given its staff share options worth six month’s salary to thank them for their work in 2020.

Next year’s Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) has been postponed until September 2021 in the face of the pandemic.

Carpet Recycling UK membership ‘is worth its weight in gold’ according to one award winner which says it has contributed to its sustainability goals and helped to achieve annual savings of £170,000 a year on disposal costs by recycling its waste materials, including carpet.

Two months after opening its 29th branch, North East of England flooring chain Frank’s the Flooring Store has reached the milestone of 30 stores.

The funeral of Pete Walker, Breasley co-founder will be held at St Mary's Church, Wirksworth, Derbyshire at 2pm on 14 December.

Online flooring retailer UK Flooring Direct has set out ambitious plans to boost its workforce.

Upholstery producer Alstons saw profits drop last year as sales edged up.

Interiors retailers across large parts of Scotland will be able to re-open on Friday. However, shoppers have been told not travel across the country.

Fresh from opening its 100th UK branch, Wren Kitchens has relocated its Warrington store.

Huge opportunities exist for bed manufacturers to both pioneer and collaborate on products that will meet the growing demand from consumers for honest goods they can trust to help mitigate climate change.

Ikea has ended production of its printed catalogue after 70 years.

Housing Units managed to increase profits after almost maintaining sales in its past financial year, despite being hit by the pandemic and flooding disruption. 

Bed company Emma saw sales more than double over the Black weekend, selling a mattress every two seconds at peak periods.

Dreams has become the official sleep partner to ParalympicsGB for next summer’s rescheduled Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Wren Kitchens has opened its one hundredth UK store.

BBC2 is to repeat Inside The Factory: Mattress at the weekend.

The National Institute of Carpet and Floorlayers is inviting fitters to register their interest in the Fitter of the Year competition.

Flooring and furniture stores are among non-essential retailer that are re-opening in England today after lockdown 2.0.

Furniture etailer Danetti is to open a physical showroom this weekend.

B&B Italia has named Piero Lissoni as artistic director.

Retail and leisure group Leekes has seen profits rise.

Next March’s Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) has again sold out and will feature its largest ever turnout of 650 exhibitors.

United Carpets has seen a small upturn in sales in recent weeks.

Flooring chain Tapi is set to open its third store route to market with concessions in Homebase.

Mattress in a box retailer Eve Sleep has recruited its new marketing boss, from the AA.

Ikea has confirmed the opening date of its first full-sized store in London for 13 years.

Bed and upholstery manufacturer Sweet Dreams, celebrating 30 years in business, launched a special anniversary competition for retailers in the autumn and the first three winners have been announced.

Lighting was a standout product category for John Lewis in the past week with a double-digit sales increase as the chain recorded increased total sales.

Laura Ashley is to close a quarter of its UK stores as it looks to boost its presence in China.

British soft-seating specialist Bazaar Group has produced its first instore retail range which will be exclusively unveiled at the 2019 January Furniture Show in January.

Bed manufacturer Sleepeezee is to invest millions of pounds in consumer marketing in 2019 after finding its brand awareness was higher than expected among shoppers.

The Furniture Makers’ Company, the furnishings industry’s charity and City of London livery company, has given seven retired industry workers an early Christmas present of £300 each this festive season.

John Lewis saw sales fall in the week to 8 December, including a major drop in home sales.

Carpetright’s UK like for like sales fell by almost a fifth during its CVA process, and while they improved, were almost down by 10% in the past quarter.

Retail and leisure group Leekes has matched last year’s profits in the first eight months of this financial year.

Retail footfall fell for the 12th consecutive month in November.

Wickes owner Travis Perkins has indicated that it could sell the chain as part of a review of the group indicating it will focus on its trade people customers.

John Lewis saw another week of lower home sales in the week to 1 December as overall sales dropped back after the Black Friday week.

Ikea has set out plans to be climate positive by 2030, including cutting its production greenhouse gas emissions by 80% of those in 2016.

Kitchen brand Smallbone of Devizes and its sister brands have been bought by a US property developer.

Manchester’s iconic Kendal’s department store is to remain open.

Dunelm has ended its search for a chief executive after turning to the former boss of Evans Cycles.

If criss-crossing the city during Milan design week wasn’t enough exercise, The Furniture Makers’ Company, the furnishing industry’s charity is offering the opportunity for more just days later: a 100 mile sponsored trek of the West Highland Way with 2 Rifles, the Company’s military affiliate.

Shares in Steinhoff International have again fallen after it said it didn’t know the extent of its ‘financial irregularities’.

John Lewis has blamed the weather for a drop in sales, while it boosted sales of some products.

Bed manufacturer Hilding Anders is to return to the UK market after buying Feather & Black from administration.

The European Commission is to investigate Ikea's corporate tax structure.

Bed manufacturer Mammoth has become the official mattress and pillow supplier to Premiership football club Tottenham Hotspur.



After telling shareholders that it cannot trust its 2017 accounts, Steinhoff International has warned them that the same applies to 2016’s.

Relyon has won awards for Best Sleep Product and Best Safety Product at the 2018 Mother and Baby Awards.

Dunlopillo has begun a roll-out of its latest POS display system to independent retailers across the country.

Multiyork is to be wound down after administrators failed to find a buyer for the chain.

After returning to growth for the first time in eight weeks, home sales at John Lewis have dipped.

Wilf Walsh, Carpetright ceo has warned that profits will be at the lower end of expectations.

The furniture designs of Ernest Race have a new owner after Ocee International added to its portfolio by buying Race Furniture.

The Flooring Show has been bought by Ocean Media Group.

Three retailers are to join buying group AIS next month, including Bath furniture and flooring retailer TR Hayes.

Six weeks before the event, the January Furniture Show has added more exhibitors, including Simba Sleep and FibreGuard.

Harveys and Bensons parent Steinhoff International has seen its value plunge by more than half after it revealed it had called in accountant PwC to investigate accounting irregularities.

After eight weeks of falling home sales, John Lewis saw the sector return to growth in the past week.

Bedding manufacturer Trendsetter International has been recognised for its environmental practices with a Gold award for Engineering and Manufacturing at the Green Apple Awards.

Marks & Spencer could abandon a slew of new store openings, putting the future of new retail developments in doubt, according to claims.

The chief executive of Furniture Village has warned that trading conditions will get more challenging in the face of falling wage growth and consumer confidence.

Barker & Stonehouse’s second store in the south-east of England will open on Boxing Day.

The Carpet Foundation is to introduce a members section to its website on 1 February as another manufacturer has joined its ranks.

Furniture Village is to open more than 72,000sqft of retail space on Boxing Day, with four stores across England.

Still looking for that elusive interiors Christmas gift that shows how much you care? Interiors Monthly may have found it for you.

The Lighting Industry Association has revamped its training scheme with a modular format.

Dorchester retailer Woods Furniture’s pre-Christmas sale helped raise more than £2,000 for two local children’s charities.

John Lewis saw pre-Christmas demand for upholstery and curtains.

Climbing Mount Everest will be the centre of 2017’s fundraising for the Furniture Makers’ Company, the furnishing industry’s charity.

Upholstery and cabinet chain Multi-york is to open its 51st store on Boxing Day, at the White City retail park, Manchester.

Bedding group John Cotton Group has expanded to Australia, buying Tontine, the country’s leading pillow and duvet producer for an undisclosed amount.

Headlam has reorganised the management responsibilities at its residential flooring companies based at its Tamworth distribution centre.

Furniture and flooring retailer Barker & Stonehouse has seen profits leap in the past financial year.

Victoria has again turned to its banking facilities to acquire Australian underlay manufacturer and branded wood, laminate and LVT flooring distributor Dunlop Flooring.

Furniture and accessories retailer OK is set to open its 15th branch early next year.

John Lewis saw a surge in dining table sales last week while shoppers ordered sofas before the pre-Christmas deadline.

Carpetright is to accelerate the roll-out of its latest store format after suffering a drop in first half sales and profits.

Richard Baker, DFS chairman has told the chain that he wants to leave in the spring.

The chief financial officer of Beaulieu International Group has been recruited by Balta Group in the same role.

The Furniture Makers' Christmas Ball at Mitton Hall raised more than £4,000 for the industry's only dedicated charity.

Sealy has added to its Worlds of Sport ambassadors, recruiting former Olympic champion Linford Christie and Margaret Adeoye.

The wife of ScS md Kevin Royal has sold almost £600,000 worth of shares in the chain six weeks after he gifted them to her.

Peter Sharpe, Furlong Flooring md of its Dartford distribution centre died peacefully on 3 December after a brave and defiant fight against motor neurone disease.

West Yorkshire independent retailer The Carriage has seen a 400% increase in sales of Somnus beds in the past quarter.

Sales promotion company Lynch Sales Company has developed an offer for retailers that it previously judged to be too small to work with.

Andrew Cochrane, Nathan Furniture Group md is to switch roles to spearhead the roll-out of the group’s latest upholstery brand Freeform.

Scottish kitchen retailer Kitchens International has completed an awards double, winning the first Essential Kitchen and Bathroom Awards Master Retailer of the Year award.

The cycling team set up by Mark Stephenson, chief executive of fitted furniture group Danesmoor Group has received a Help for Heroes Hero Award, after raising more than £300,000 for the charity.

John Lewis continued its run of strong interiors sales performances, driven by sleep-related purchases.

UK like for like retail sales increased by 0.6% last month, compared with 2015 when they had dropped 0.4%.

Black Friday delivered an increase in furniture sales, bucking the trend of the overall homewares market.

Flooring group Headlam has seen no adverse reaction to its post-Brexit price increases and expects to makes more profit than analysts forecast.

LVT manufacturer Moduleo is to open a series of showrooms in stockists' stores.

The British Furniture Confederation has published its 2017 manifesto calling for strong action from Government with clear, implementable calls for action to bolster the furniture, furnishings and bed industry.

York furniture retailer Macdonalds is to close in the New Year after owner Martyn Macdonald accepted an offer for the 104-year old building.

The first Wool Floor Show London, a concept from Campaign for Wool and its major funder The British Wool Marketing Board, has sold out.

Furniture and gifts lead the way for homewares at John Lewis as the department enjoyed a record week.

Department store and leisure group Leekes has seen profits leap.

Habitat is to introduce user-personalisation and click-and collect as its overhauls its online presence.

Fabric and rug group Kvadrat has bought into Swedish textile manufacturer Innvik Sellgren.

51 Wired chairs customised by leading designers including Jasper Morrison, Philippe Starck and Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec have raised €100,000 for charity.

While the Scottish Government and Robert Gordon University may have disowned him, Donald Trump has continued to invest in his Aberdeenshire Trump International Golf Links with new tartan carpet.

To meet industry demands China International Furniture Fair (Guangzhou) is to expand witha new home for the show's outdoor and leisure section.

Wilf Walsh, Carpetright chief executive says that his plan to transform the company is ‘on track’ after like for like sales rise again.

Walker Greenbank faces at least a four month wait before the majority of fabric printing capacity is back on stream at its Standfast & Barracks facility.

Bergo’s Eco Tennis elastic flooring was awarded the Innovations@Domotex label at Domotex in 2014. A product from the same range is bringing sporting fun to Swedish students.

Sterling Furniture has seen pre-tax profits more than double as sales climbed above £50m.

London Fabric Show 2016 will include a greater offering for buyers of fabrics for the contract and hospitality sectors with the range of exhibitors having broadened and the selection of fabrics on show at the BFM-hosted 29 February - 1 March event has widened.

Furniture and home accessories were the only retail sectors to show in store sales growth last month, as Black Friday distorted shopping patterns.

James Keen (pictured) has become Hypnos md and Clive Parry director of UK retail sales as part of management changes at the bed manufacturer.

Standfast & Barracks, Walker Greenbank’s fabric printing business in Lancaster suffered ‘substantial flooding’ over the weekend as Storm Desmond hit the country.

The entry of Turkish retailer Nill’s Furniture Design to the UK market was delayed by a vandal attack.

Fitted furniture and bedroom helped John Lewis increase home sales last week, as it saw record overall sales thanks to Black Friday.

60 products have been selected to form the Innovations@Domotex showcase.

LVT manufacturer Moduleo has launched a commercial website for retailers, businesses and suppliers.

Etailer Swoon Editions has combined with hotel booking service Mr & Mrs Smith and Millbrook Beds to introduce a range of mattresses.

Flooring and tiles chain Topps Tiles has seen sales growth continue after achieving record sales in the year to 3 October.

A memorial service is to be held to celebrate the life of John MacKenzie, former NBF President and md of Sealy, Slumberland and Sleepeezee in Febuary.

Retail sales grew by the fastest rate for more than a decade in November, helped by online growth fuelled by Black Friday.

Consumers have been warned to that some special offers in the winter furniture sales may not be so special.

The Spring Floorcoverings Exhibition has been postponed until 2016 year.

Carpetright is to follow the example of ScS and offer customers interest free credit.

Flooring giant Armstrong World Industries has pulled out of the European flooring market after deciding it could no longer fund the loss making operations.

Lano has reached agreement with rival McThree to buy its Bajong Carpets subsidiary.

A strong performance from its home offer and At Home stores helped John Lewis to a double-digit sales rise in the past week.

Silentnight and Sealy have picked up awards for their branding and quality.

Interiors chain Leekes has seen profits leap in the first half of the year. EBITDA jumped by £1.5m to £2.3m in the six months the end of September.

Student design competition New Design Britain has secured it first commercial tie-up.

Ulster Carpets has relaunched its consumer website, giving it the look of a glossy interiors magazine.

Parker Knoll and G Plan parent Sofa Brands International has helped launch Professions Week, representing the manufacturing sector.

Retailers have been urged to support Furlong Flooring's top lips as it raises funds for Movember.

Bed chain Dreams is to spend £6m on advertising between now and February.

  A visit to the new autumn edition of Home presents a chance to see the most exciting, hand-picked collection of design- led tableware brands in the UK this season. Doors open this Sunday 14 September at Olympia, London.

Upholstery maker Collins & Hayes has confirmed that Matt O'Flynn will become md when Martin Huggins retires.

Lord Harris has continued to cut his and his family's shareholding in Carpetright, despite the value of shares being almost a third lower than earlier in the year.

The country's first retail ombudsman expects to have to deal with 170,000 consumer complaints a year.

Stevens & Graham, the world's biggest tartan carpet designer and manufacturer, has opened a showroom in the heart of Glasgow to feature its designs.

Wolverhampton furniture retailer Classic Furniture is to target shoppers in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and south Wales with its second outlet.

While sales of tablets and coffee makers grabbed the headlines on Black Friday, Home again delivered for John Lewis last week, including its own records.

Next week's May Design Series exhibition is to recognise the efforts of six Manufacturing Guild Mark winners with a dedicated gallery.

Victoria Carpets veteran Terry Danks has been promoted to the board of parent Victoria.

Furlong Flooring has triumphed in its attempt to raise £5,000 for Movember – with some help from the sales office.

Bruce Cowen, Collins and Hayes South West England agent is to end a 50 year career in the furniture industry this month.

FIRA Service Technicians has launched a facility to allow consumers to book an appointment to have their furniture inspected and repaired.

The government will look at the future of business rates, but not until 2016 at the earliest, George Osborne announced in his Autumn Statement.

A new retail park – which is attracting interest from furniture retailers – is set to become 'the missing link' for a major southern town.

Less than two years since an upmarket wood floor manufacturer invested £500,000 to bring manufacturing back to the UK, it is celebrating winning orders worth £2m.

Fabric exhibition Proposte has revealed a major shake-up involving fringe events and the admission of non-European companies.

Carpet and rug giant Balta has set itself a target of lifting UK sales by 10% this year.

May trade show May Design Series is to repeat its DX Freight round-up of the main exhibitions.

First-time buyers have been 'driving the mortgage market forward' in the past year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The number of loans made to first-time buyers was up by 23% in 2013 compared with 2012 but, on average, these borrowers still needed to find a 20% deposit.

Danish furniture, lighting and accessories retailer NORR11 will make its UK debut this week.

The organiser of the January Furniture Show has confirmed that the 13-15 January event is now fully sold-out.

Kati Meyer-Bruhl, Bruhl creative director has received her 60th and 61st design award, including a German Design Council Interior Innovation Winner for the Deep Space upholstery.

Serene Furnishings has appointed Alan White as sale agent for Serene Beds and Serene Living in Scotland.

Neville Cormack, founder of Cormar Carpets died peacefully at home on Sunday (8 December). He was 83.

Consumers spent almost £20bn on furniture and flooring last year: nearly £380m a week.

John Lewis has seen online sales reach the £1bn milestone a year earlier than forecast. In unveiling the group's half year results, Sir Charlie Mayfield, John Lewis chairman revealed almost half of the traffic to johhlewis.com comes from smartphones or tablets.

Next has revealed that its latest Home stores are continuing to beat its internal forecasts as it boosts its dividend by 16%. The chain says that the Home stores it has opened in the past year have delivered sales 6% higher than forecast and they have a forecast profitability of 19%.

Two major buying groups unveil a 'collaboration arrangement' designed to offer furniture and flooring opportunities. The SMG and Minerva buying groups have announced a new alliance 'that will enable them to formally work together to promote each other's organisations as their preferred partner for the furniture and flooring sectors respectively'.

The start of a proper summer hit footfall at John Lewis as consumers preferred the outdoors to shopping.

The Recofloor flooring recycling scheme has secured 'a great breakthrough' with a host of new members.

Speculation over the future of furniture chain Dwell has intensified, with claims it will enter administration within days.

Marks & Spencer’s fourth quarter figures have turned out better than expected but, it is a strong performance from food that is holding up the figures. Also, sales in the troublesome general merchandise category fell by less than feared. Housing the chain’s furniture, furnishings and clothing, general merchandise fell by 2.2% for the 13-week period to 30 March 2013. Like for like UK sales dropped by a further 3.8% for the same sector. For now, chief executive Mark Bolland has bought some time but, there is work still to be done. In September last year Mr Bolland restructured the directorial team within the general merchandise sector with shareholders expecting to see a marked improvement within that area.

The Range has announced plans to open an Aberdeen branch of its successful home and leisure chain which, will be its first outlet in Scotland.

The future of one the largest furniture stores in the Borders has been placed in doubt after the Co-op tried to find other retailers to occupy its Selkirk branch. 'We remain open minded regarding the future of Selkirk Store and are looking at a number of options including interest from other retailers in sharing occupancy. This is in no way a reflection on the staff who continue to make every effort to make the store a success in a tough trading environment,' says Co-op statement.

Four years after Robbie Feather, Feather & Black co-founder left the bed and bedroom chain, his fellow co-founder Adam Black has left. The pair founded the chain in 2002. 'Adam leaves the business on good terms and is working in co-ordination with the Wade Group to ensure a smooth transition to the new md, Daniel Wade. We would like to thank Adam for his contribution to the business and wish him well in his future endeavours,' says a statement from Feather & Black owner Wade Group.

Vinyl recycling group Recofloor is looking to increase recycling this year by more than a third.

The homewares chain saw gross margins climb by 30 basis points to 49.5% as pre-tax profits rose by 14.6% to £59.8m in the six months to 29 December.

Tempur Mattresses, has chosen Bluewater for its first standalone store in Europe. The 4,000-sq ft store, situated on Bluewater’s lower Thames Walk, will open early this summer.

Property sales continue to pick up across the UK, according to the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). Its survey of members who work as estate agents said sales in January rose for the fourth month in a row.

462 homes will share 16,000sqm of flooring. Tarkett is to supply 16,000sqm of its 22mm Professional Oak Nature and 13mm Rumba Oak Nature flooring to the Vivo housing development in East London.

12 January opening will come three weeks after Bristol debut. BoConcept has confirmed the opening of its Finchley Road, north London store as 12 January, becoming the chain's thirteenth mainland UK branch.

Lenders anticipate improvement in housing market. The Council of Mortgage Lenders is confident that an upswing in mortgage lending heralds a more active housing market in 2013.

Less than six weeks after assuming management control, Geoff Wilding, executive chairman is forced to warn shareholders on a lack of profits.

Slow footfall? Customers not staying? Maybe a quick drink is the answer.

Shoppers turned to decorating in the first half of the year in the face of a weak housing market and bad weather, according to B&Q.

The much reduced board of Victoria Carpets has set out its reasons why shareholders should reject the New Fortress/Anton proposals and called on them to explain their plan for the group.

Jim Young, co-founder of underlay company Ball & Young, died on 7 July. He was 86.

Harvey's has stopped using the name Raft for one of its dining ranges and pay legal costs to rival retailer Raft after copying its trademarked name. Anti Copying in Design has asked the chain to sign its code of conduct.

Wood flooring company Silvan Floors has moved its production from Germany to the UK after investing £500,000 in a saw mill to keep up with demand.

Steed Upholstery has received the backing of local MP Jessica Lee as she officially opened its new Long Eaton showroom.

June's promotion of British manufactured furniture is gaining support among retailers.

The British are out in force at Heimtextil – taking coffee, not tea, and for those lamenting the state of British manufacturing Heimtextil would have provided a large tonic.

Hunter Douglas, the world leader in window coverings, has added to its huge portfolio of companies.

The group has completed the acquisition of UK distributor of packaged window covering products and drapery hardware Integra.

Ryalux has become the latest manufacturer to sign up for the fully traceable Laneve carpet collection.

Cabinet company Sutcliffe Furniture has been closed after it ran out of money and 100 of its 110 staff have been made redundant. Administrators said the company had failed to find a buyer before their appointment.

After closing nine of its 13 branches in the past two weeks, Lombok looks poised to enter its second administration in two years and largely move online after applying to the High Court to appoint an administrator.