Bensons for Beds is to launch a £3m advertising campaign next week as it looks to build on its recent performance.
Since non-essential stores re-opened in April the chain has seen ‘very strong’ double-digit sales growth compared with 2019.
Bensons has also boosted its management team with the recruitment of Nick Collard as chief commercial and digital officer. He joins from Holland & Barrett International where he was chief customer and digital officer and on the board. Over the past 15 years he has also held board roles at DFS and Morrisons and had senior roles at Walgreens Boots Alliance.
‘The pent-up demand we’ve seen since our stores reopened gives us the confidence to accelerate our transformation programme and build on the progress made over the past year. I appreciate the hard work of the team – _everyone has had to work enormously hard to cope with the impact of the pandemic and the temporary closures, but we emerge from restrictions in a strengthened position. The [£25m] shareholder investment last June has allowed us to revamp our website, begin reshaping our store portfolio and invest in product innovation and we’ll step up the pace of change this year,’ says mark Jackson, Bensons chief executive.
The chain has completed the remodeling of its store estate following the collapse pf former sister chain Harveys, with Bensons relocating to the ground floor of forer joint stores.
It Plans to relocate up to 11 stores, following the successful opening of new and relocated stores in Maidstone, Leeds, Macclesfield, Milton Keynes, Stockport and Crewe. Last week, relocated Bensons stores opened in Paisley and Orpington in Kent, and this week sees a relocated store open in Southport.
