Working hard to strengthen its retailer relationships, The Sleep Council has expanded its retail panel – a group of national and independent retailers that represent the bed retail industry - from 10 to 15.
The five additional panellists are Mark Cort from Bensons for Beds; Peter Blell, Devon Bed Centre in Exeter; Ben Pinfield, Junction 26 Bed Shop in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire; Mark Fraser, Reading Bedding in Reading, Berkshire and Andrew Bright, Sound Sleep Beds in Winfarthing, Diss.
“We are excited to have on board the new members and look forward to working with them,” says Lisa Artis of The Sleep Council. “We also welcomed Zafar Ali from Buckie Furniture in Morayshire, Scotland back in January. Zafar replaced Peter Nettleingham from Blackburns of Broadstairs who unfortunately had to withdraw.
“The panel is working well for us and was really instrumental in helping us to guide the timing of NBF Code of Practice launch. They’ve also provided feedback on how we can improve our annual awareness campaigns and, following their input, we have decided to focus on more frequent, smaller campaigns that retailers can hook into. This includes our new ‘May be time for a new mattress’ campaign launched on May 1st.
“It’s no secret that we need retailers to get behind what we’re doing. It creates a much bigger impact if we’re all singing from the same hymn sheet and let’s face it, we all want the same thing – and that’s to sell more beds!”
The Sleep Council Retailer Panel of 15 are:
Mark Cort, Bensons for Beds – National
Darren Bastin, Bonus Beds in Sligo, Ireland
Zafar Ali, Buckie Furniture in Morayshire, Scotland
Peter Blell, Devon Bed Centre in Exeter
Rachael Ainsworth, Dreams – National
Rachael Haydon, Feather & Black – National
Garry Preston, Haskins Furniture in Somerset
Ben Pinfield, Junction 26 Bed Shop in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire
Andrew Kerry, Mattressman based in the Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk area
Mark Fraser, Reading Bedding in Reading, Berkshire
Ian Casson - Reddish Beds in Stockport
Ashley/Nicola Nemes, Simply Beds & Bedroom Furniture in North Yorkshire
Andrew Bright, Sound Sleep Beds in Winfarthing, Diss
Lee Chambers, The Bed Chambers in Retford, Nottingham
Vic Smith, Vic Smith Beds in London
