Bensons for Beds sees 7% sales rise despite ‘tough market conditions’

Bensons for Beds has reported a +7% LFL sales growth for the year ending 30 September 2023, despite tough market conditions.

The results follow the retailer’s consistent sales progress in Q1 (7%), Q2 (9%), Q3 (8%) and Q4 (7%).

The news comes on the back of a “successful” transformation strategy, which has seen the business return to profitability despite unfavourable weather and reduced consumer spending affecting footfall, under the leadership of Nick Collard, who became CEO in May 2022.

During the last 12 months, Bensons’ e-commerce channel sales also increased by +22% year on year, driven by the continued investment in omnichannel and leadership.

Additionally, it reported increased store footprint and conversion, with 14 new store openings across the year, including Bensons re-entry into markets such as Peterborough and Speke and new catchments including Edinburgh, Craigleith, and Edrington.

Meanwhile, it also saw growth in market share in its core categories and a 15% increase in NPS following significant investment in its customer service and delivery experience.

It also confirmed that since the acquisition of eveSleep out of administration and subsequent online relaunch, it has returned the brand to profitability in less than 12 months and delivered a “solid” return on investment.

The group also invested in a series of senior hires to help strengthen the leadership team including a new chief retail officer, head of central operations, HR leadership team, head of internal communications and five new regional managers.

Collard said: “The last 12 months have been tough for the retail sector as the cost of living continues to hit consumer spending hard. We planned for this, and alongside last year’s acquisition of eveSleep, this has put us in a strong position to offer a breadth of quality sleep solutions at affordable prices – delivering an even more profitable business through consistent and steady growth.

“Going into next year we are conscious that the market will remain challenging, particularly for big ticket items, but as a business we have confidence that what we are doing is delivering positive results. Bensons is a great brand and we have a massive opportunity to transform it into the ultimate sleep solution specialist that caters to today’s and tomorrow’s consumer. In 2024, we will continue to focus on the areas that are in our control; building our reputation for delivering great value through excellent customer experience and stylish, quality products at affordable prices, matched to all types of sleepers.”