Home for beds

Bill Carrahar, managing director of Homestyle’s bed division, describes himself as a “gamekeeper turned poacher”. Having been in manufacturing for most of his career, he made the switch to retail just three years ago and has been treading cautiously through the retail maze ever since.

“Manufacturing is a tough business if retailers are squeezing suppliers but, in a way, you can guard your products and distribute them where you want,” says Carrahar. “With retail, you’re totally exposed to all the elements and have to be aggressive to get what you want.”

Carrahar has chosen one of the most challenging sectors of retail to get stuck into. Furniture is highly competitive and among the first to suffer in an economic downturn, because shoppers tend to hold off buying big-ticket items if money is tight.

There is no shortage of bed chains across the UK. Homestyle itself has three – leading chain Bensons for Beds and smaller operators Sleepmasters and The Bed Shed. Carrahar is up against many smaller, but well-established, operators along with the aggressively expanding and high-profile Dreams.

He believes a manufacturing background gives him a unique understanding of retail. And he should know having been one of the biggest suppliers to Lord Kirkham’s DFS.

“Bensons is one of the most established bed retailers in the UK, but has not blown its own trumpet. My job is to get the house in order and then turn it into the DFS of beds,” says Carrahar. “DFS is good on everything, not just advertising. He [Lord Kirkham] has moved styles on in quantum leaps and won’t select a sofa unless it is 110 per cent right.”

Bensons opened its first store in 1972 in Liverpool and, when Homestyle took over, the stores did not have a strong identity. “Overnight Bensons was part of a group, alongside 100 Harveys stores and 100 Rosebys and it behaved like the junior partner,” says Carrahar. “Despite growing massively – from 70 to 270 stores in two years – Bensons’ mindset was to act like a small player. Everything reflected that, including our advertising, which was only local and mainly press instead of national TV campaigns.”

Having evolved in an ad-hoc fashion, Bensons had to realign itself into a national brand. Carrahar explains that Bensons has a renewed confidence – everything from product range to branding, store design and marketing has been overhauled. “We have a bed for everyone, we know where we’re going and we’ve got a strong brand behind us,” he says.

The first step to a renewed Bensons was for the retailer to open superstores, which led to a review of the product range. “Unlike some of our competitors, we have a full range of beds – from the traditional divan-style to the upmarket end,” says Carrahar. “And the next logical step was to offer the bedroom furniture to match, so we’ve started out with five different ranges and will introduce more this year.”

Bensons completed the refurbishment of its estate in October last year, giving consistency to its branding and design. It also sharpened its customer service and introduced a self-service guide to choosing a mattress for customers that don’t want to be hassled by sales staff.

Having put the Bensons house in order, Carrahar felt confident enough to increase marketing spend. Last Christmas was the first time it ran its festive campaign on national TV and the focus was on quality of sleep rather than the usual price-cutting. “We need to have an element of price-cutting in our campaigns from Boxing Day onwards but, apart from that, we need to set ourselves apart,” says Carrahar.

The campaign must have paid off, because Bensons was one of the few success stories over the Christmas trading period, posting a like-for-like sales increase of 2.4 per cent between Boxing Day and January 5.

The refreshed brand has led to a pride in the company. Carrahar says: “We don’t want to be second best. Now we’ve got the boulder up the hill, we’ve got to keep it there.”

With Lord Kirkham known as the king of sofas, Carrahar’s aspiration is to become the equivalent in beds – although the self-confessed poacher may admit to stealing a few of DFS’ tricks along the way.

GOOD IN BEDS
Age: 45
Lives: Harrogate, north Yorkshire
Family: married, with two children

CAREER HISTORY
2005-present: managing director, Bed Division, Homestyle
1999-2005: managing director, Bouyant Upholstery
1997-99: trainee managing director, Christie Tyler
1995-97: production director, Furnico
1994-95: vice-president, Plastic Industries
1987-94: finance director, managing director, Lister Mouldings
1984-86: accountant, Hoover
1983-84: divisional management accountant, Pioneer Concrete
1981-83: articled clerk, Thorburn & Greenwood