Dreams (bed retailer)
 | |
| Type | Limited |
|---|---|
| Industry | Furniture retailing and manufacturing |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | Loudwater, High Wycombe (E) , Buckinghamshire |
| Key people | Mike Logue Chief executive |
| Products |
Beds Bedroom furniture Bedsteads Duvets Futons Mattresses Pillows |
| Revenue | £194m GBP (2008) |
| Owner(s) | Sun European Partners[1] |
| Website | www.dreams.co.uk |
Dreams is one of the UK’s leading bed retailers and bed manufacturer, specializing in beds, mattresses, bedroom furniture, bedding and bed linen. With 170 stores throughout the country, its head office is located in Loudwater, High Wycombe, England.
History
The first Dreams store opened in 1987.
By 2000, Dreams had 50 stores and opened its own mattress factory.
Key Dates
1985 – 1 store Mike Clare opened a sofa bed shop in Uxbridge
1987 – 5 stores head office and warehouse in High Wycombe opened, name changed to Dreams
1990 – 9 stores decision to specialize in beds
1992 – 12 stores flagship store on Tottenham Court Road opened
1998 – 37 stores second major distribution depot in Crawley opened
2000 – 54 stores
2002 – 67 stores officially named Britain's leading Bed Specialist
2003 – 100 stores
2004 – 115 stores won Furniture Retailer of the Year for a record third time
2005 – 120 stores launched online store
2006 – 150 stores
2007 – 160 stores 20th anniversary
2008 – 200 stores
2009 - Over 220 stores and 1,700 employees by the end of 2009
2013 Sale to Sun European Partners
In April 2013 Dreams PLC went into a pre-packaged administration and was purchased by Sun European Partners. Now trading as Dreams ltd it is part of one of the UK’s leading retailer groups, who also amongst others own ScS, Sharps, Bon Marche, Alexon, Jacques Vert and American Golf.
Online
Dreams currently takes the largest share of the online bed and mattress market in the UK.[citation needed]
Awards
Dreams was named National Bed Retailer of the Year in 1994 and Furniture Retailer of the Year in both 1996 and 2000.[2] In 2008, the company won the High Street Recycling Champion award.[3]
Recycling
In 1995 Dreams started to recycle its customers' old beds and mattresses and in 2004 began to backhaul the packaging from products delivered to customers on the company's delivery vehicles for recycling. In 2005 the diversion from landfill grew to 180 tonnes and metal and wood have been added to the recycling waste streams. More recently the company invested in two state-of-the-art bed shredders to recover metal, wood and other material. As mattresses are a difficult waste stream to handle at civic authority and landfills sites, the recycling work initiated by Dreams has seen 55,000 beds shredded over the past year and diverted from landfill. [citation needed]
References
- ↑ "An Affiliate of Sun European Partners, LLP Acquires Dreams Stores". Sun Capital Partners. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
- ↑ Wallis, Ian (1 July 2007). "Dreams: Mike Clare (page 1)". Growing Business. Crimson Business. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
- ↑ "Awards for Excellence in recycling and waste management". Winners 2008. letsrecycle.com. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||