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DFS (furniture retailer)

April 12, 2024

DFS Furniture plc, trading as dfs, is a furniture retailer in the United Kingdom, Spain and Ireland specialising in sofas and soft furnishings. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

DFS Furniture plc
dfs
Formerly
  • Diamond Holdco 1 Limited (2010–2015)
  • DFS Furniture Limited (3–18 February 2015)[1]
Company typePublic limited company
LSE: DFS
ISINGB00BTC0LB89
IndustryRetail
Founded1969 in Doncaster
FounderGraham Kirkham
HeadquartersDoncaster, United Kingdom
Area served
  • United Kingdom
  • Republic of Ireland
  • Spain
Key people
[2]
ProductsFurniture
Revenue £1,423.6 million (2023)[3]
£63.3 million (2023)[3]
£26.2 million (2023)[3]
Websitedfs.co.uk

History edit

Northern Upholstery edit

In 1969, aged 22, Graham Kirkham was married with two children, which he describes as great motivation.[4]

Having visited a few manufacturers in his daily work, he decided that making furniture was relatively easy and that by cutting out the warehouse dealers in the middle of the supply chain, he could sell direct to the public at lower prices. Kirkham rented a room above a snooker hall in Carcroft, and started making furniture upstairs and retailing it downstairs, calling the business Northern Upholstery.[4]

DFS edit

 
DFS, Wetherby (formerly Northern Upholstery) on the Thorp Arch Trading Estate, West Yorkshire

In 1983, Kirkham purchased the business and the name of the Darley Dale based DFS Furniture Limited, founded by the Hardy Family in 1969. Northern Upholstery was renamed DFS (although some branches of Northern Upholstery in Yorkshire retained their original name until the mid-1990s) and at the time, had a total of sixty three stores, employing 2,000 staff.[4]

In 1993, DFS was floated on the stock market as DFS Furniture Company plc and valued at £271 million.[5]

This brought the Kirkham family to the attention of thieves, who in 1994, broke into the family home at Sprotbrough while they were on holiday. The burglars bound and gagged the housekeeper and made off with money and jewels worth £2.4 million, later recovered, but still South Yorkshire's largest armed robbery.[4]

In 1998, DFS announced its first drop in profits in twenty eight years to the London Stock Exchange. The company reworked its advertising to feature younger models, and in 2000, DFS announced a 79 per cent profit increase.[4] But the revival was short lived, and in light of the continuing prevalence for private equity, Kirkham took the chain private again in 2004, leveraging his family's own 9.46% stake with £150 million of family funds[6] in an eventual £496 million deal.[7][8]

DFS acquired the furniture businesses of Wyefield Group for £1.5 million in June 1999.[9]

Kirkham told the Yorkshire Post: "It's something that's caused me fitful sleep in the time I've been thinking about it. I've no hobby, this is my hobby – it's what I do. I'm an entrepreneur. It's almost as if I can feel the adrenaline running through my veins."[10] On 3 April 2010, it was announced that DFS had been sold to private equity firm Advent International for a reported £500 million.[11]

DFS then acquired its smaller rival, Sofa Workshop, in November 2013.[12]

The company went on to buy Dwell, another competitor which was struggling in the market, in August 2014.[13][14]

On 6 March 2015, the company floated on the London Stock Exchange again as DFS Furniture plc.[15]

In October 2017, DFS announced they had purchased one of its competitors, Sofology (formerly Sofaworks and CSL) in a £25 million deal. The acquisition was ratified by the Competition and Markets Authority in November 2017.[16]

Marketing edit

For many years in the 1980s and 1990s, actor Tom Adams was the face of DFS's television advertisements.[17] In December 2008, one television commercial by DFS was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, following complaints that the company had doctored the footage to inflate the perceived size of their sofas, relative to the actors.[18]

The advert featured actors miming Nickelback's "Rockstar", while playing air guitar in front of the sofas.[19] That month, the advert was also given the distinction as one of the worst adverts of all time.[20][21]

References edit

  1. ^ "DFS Furniture PLC overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  2. ^ Jahshan, Elias (22 May 2018). "DFS promotes Tim Stacey to CEO as Ian Filby steps down". Retail Gazette. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Preliminary Results 2023" (PDF). DFS. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e . The Star. 22 October 2002. Archived from the original on 31 October 2002. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  5. ^ "Nick Bubb's verdict: Does DFS stand for Dull Furniture Sale?". Retail Week. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2024. Back in 1993 DFS was floated on the stock market (valued at £271m)
  6. ^ . InvestEgate. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  7. ^ "Outlook: Just say no to Kirkham's insulting DFS bid". Independent, The (London). 6 October 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  8. ^ "World Business Briefing". The New York Times. 23 July 2004.
  9. ^ "Orchard Furniture To Sell Assets for GBP1.5M". Factiva. Dow Jones. 15 June 1999.
  10. ^ "Latest News and Features: Famous Doncastrian: Graham Kirkham". Donny Online. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  11. ^ "DFS sofa chain sold to private equity firm". BBC News. 23 April 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  12. ^ "DFS acquires Sofa Workshop". DIY Week. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  13. ^ Blitz, Roger (20 August 2014). "DFS buys smaller furniture chain Dwell". FT. FT. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  14. ^ "DFS Acquires Aspirational Brand". Retail Week. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  15. ^ "Furniture chain DFS returns to stock market". BBC News. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  16. ^ "DFS completes acquisition of Sofology". 20 November 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Tom Adams - obituary". The Telegraph. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  18. ^ "DFS Nickelback ad banned for overplaying sofa size". The Guardian. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  19. ^ "Advert banned for inflated sofas". BBC. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  20. ^ "10 of the best - worst adverts of all time". Daily Record. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  21. ^ Sweney, Mark (11 December 2008). "The worst TV ads of 2008: Federer, Woods and Henry take a bow". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 July 2013.

External links edit

  • Official website

April 12, 2024
furniture, retailer, furniture, trading, furniture, retailer, united, kingdom, spain, ireland, specialising, sofas, soft, furnishings, listed, london, stock, exchange, furniture, plctrade, namedfsformerlydiamond, holdco, limited, 2010, 2015, furniture, limited. DFS Furniture plc trading as dfs is a furniture retailer in the United Kingdom Spain and Ireland specialising in sofas and soft furnishings It is listed on the London Stock Exchange DFS Furniture plcTrade namedfsFormerlyDiamond Holdco 1 Limited 2010 2015 DFS Furniture Limited 3 18 February 2015 1 Company typePublic limited companyTraded asLSE DFSISINGB00BTC0LB89IndustryRetailFounded1969 in DoncasterFounderGraham KirkhamHeadquartersDoncaster United KingdomArea servedUnited KingdomRepublic of IrelandSpainKey peopleIan Durant Chairman Tim Stacey Chief executive officer 2 ProductsFurnitureRevenue 1 423 6 million 2023 3 Operating income 63 3 million 2023 3 Net income 26 2 million 2023 3 Websitedfs wbr co wbr uk Contents 1 History 1 1 Northern Upholstery 1 2 DFS 2 Marketing 3 References 4 External linksHistory editNorthern Upholstery edit In 1969 aged 22 Graham Kirkham was married with two children which he describes as great motivation 4 Having visited a few manufacturers in his daily work he decided that making furniture was relatively easy and that by cutting out the warehouse dealers in the middle of the supply chain he could sell direct to the public at lower prices Kirkham rented a room above a snooker hall in Carcroft and started making furniture upstairs and retailing it downstairs calling the business Northern Upholstery 4 DFS edit nbsp DFS Wetherby formerly Northern Upholstery on the Thorp Arch Trading Estate West YorkshireIn 1983 Kirkham purchased the business and the name of the Darley Dale based DFS Furniture Limited founded by the Hardy Family in 1969 Northern Upholstery was renamed DFS although some branches of Northern Upholstery in Yorkshire retained their original name until the mid 1990s and at the time had a total of sixty three stores employing 2 000 staff 4 In 1993 DFS was floated on the stock market as DFS Furniture Company plc and valued at 271 million 5 This brought the Kirkham family to the attention of thieves who in 1994 broke into the family home at Sprotbrough while they were on holiday The burglars bound and gagged the housekeeper and made off with money and jewels worth 2 4 million later recovered but still South Yorkshire s largest armed robbery 4 In 1998 DFS announced its first drop in profits in twenty eight years to the London Stock Exchange The company reworked its advertising to feature younger models and in 2000 DFS announced a 79 per cent profit increase 4 But the revival was short lived and in light of the continuing prevalence for private equity Kirkham took the chain private again in 2004 leveraging his family s own 9 46 stake with 150 million of family funds 6 in an eventual 496 million deal 7 8 DFS acquired the furniture businesses of Wyefield Group for 1 5 million in June 1999 9 Kirkham told the Yorkshire Post It s something that s caused me fitful sleep in the time I ve been thinking about it I ve no hobby this is my hobby it s what I do I m an entrepreneur It s almost as if I can feel the adrenaline running through my veins 10 On 3 April 2010 it was announced that DFS had been sold to private equity firm Advent International for a reported 500 million 11 DFS then acquired its smaller rival Sofa Workshop in November 2013 12 The company went on to buy Dwell another competitor which was struggling in the market in August 2014 13 14 On 6 March 2015 the company floated on the London Stock Exchange again as DFS Furniture plc 15 In October 2017 DFS announced they had purchased one of its competitors Sofology formerly Sofaworks and CSL in a 25 million deal The acquisition was ratified by the Competition and Markets Authority in November 2017 16 Marketing editFor many years in the 1980s and 1990s actor Tom Adams was the face of DFS s television advertisements 17 In December 2008 one television commercial by DFS was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority following complaints that the company had doctored the footage to inflate the perceived size of their sofas relative to the actors 18 The advert featured actors miming Nickelback s Rockstar while playing air guitar in front of the sofas 19 That month the advert was also given the distinction as one of the worst adverts of all time 20 21 References edit DFS Furniture PLC overview Find and update company information GOV UK Companies House 27 April 2010 Retrieved 27 January 2024 Jahshan Elias 22 May 2018 DFS promotes Tim Stacey to CEO as Ian Filby steps down Retail Gazette Retrieved 1 August 2019 a b c Preliminary Results 2023 PDF DFS Retrieved 15 February 2024 a b c d e Sofa king sitting pretty on 315m pile The Star 22 October 2002 Archived from the original on 31 October 2002 Retrieved 1 December 2015 Nick Bubb s verdict Does DFS stand for Dull Furniture Sale Retail Week 6 March 2015 Retrieved 5 February 2024 Back in 1993 DFS was floated on the stock market valued at 271m Increased and final offer InvestEgate Archived from the original on 6 February 2012 Retrieved 1 December 2015 Outlook Just say no to Kirkham s insulting DFS bid Independent The London 6 October 2013 Retrieved 1 December 2015 World Business Briefing The New York Times 23 July 2004 Orchard Furniture To Sell Assets for GBP1 5M Factiva Dow Jones 15 June 1999 Latest News and Features Famous Doncastrian Graham Kirkham Donny Online Retrieved 1 December 2015 DFS sofa chain sold to private equity firm BBC News 23 April 2010 Retrieved 12 November 2014 DFS acquires Sofa Workshop DIY Week 5 November 2013 Retrieved 5 February 2024 Blitz Roger 20 August 2014 DFS buys smaller furniture chain Dwell FT FT Retrieved 6 November 2014 DFS Acquires Aspirational Brand Retail Week 1 November 2013 Retrieved 6 November 2014 Furniture chain DFS returns to stock market BBC News 6 March 2015 Retrieved 8 March 2015 DFS completes acquisition of Sofology 20 November 2017 Retrieved 5 February 2024 Tom Adams obituary The Telegraph 15 December 2014 Retrieved 1 December 2015 DFS Nickelback ad banned for overplaying sofa size The Guardian 3 December 2008 Retrieved 5 February 2024 Advert banned for inflated sofas BBC 3 December 2008 Retrieved 1 December 2015 10 of the best worst adverts of all time Daily Record 12 December 2008 Retrieved 4 July 2013 Sweney Mark 11 December 2008 The worst TV ads of 2008 Federer Woods and Henry take a bow The Guardian London Retrieved 4 July 2013 External links editOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title DFS furniture retailer amp oldid 1213585268, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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