Denis Wilby, Sales Manager at Ideal Upholstery, reflects on their recent award win while also sharing current and planned company developments.

As a manufacturer of upholstered furniture products, Ideal Upholstery follows six key principles as part of its company ethos. These include Design, Quality, Value, Delivery, Guarantee and Service, as Denis comments:

Design, Quality and Value

“We aim to always bring commercial model/designs to market, using the best materials, frames, and components. We try our best to keep prices as competitive as possible, giving good value without compromising on quality.”

Delivery, Guarantee and Service

“We also try to quote best delivery times and carefully handle deliveries, while offering a 10-year guarantee on frame, springs and construction. We strive to give the best possible service from placement of order to dealing with any after sales enquiries as quickly and professional as possible.”

This ethos has led to Ideal Upholstery’s continuous growth and development, which hasn’t gone unnoticed, after being named ‘Best Upholstery Supplier (fabric) 2023’ in the Big Furniture Awards, as voted by the furnishing industry. On this recognition, Denis, who was presented with the award by Mandy Brown of key retail partner Harrison & Brown, continued: “What a pleasant surprise it was when we were advised by the Big Furniture Group that we had won the award.

“First of all, from everyone at Ideal Upholstery, we would like to say a big thank you to everyone who voted for us. It gives a great feeling to the Ideal management and staff to know that their efforts are being appreciated.

“Ideal Upholstery began trading 32 years ago and the business owner David Robinson has always had a work ethic of striving for excellence, which shines through in all members of the Ideal team. The benchmark at Ideal is “if it is not good enough for our own mother and father, or for ourselves then it is not good enough for our customers”.

“At Ideal we like to think of ourselves as “old school” when it comes to how we do business and how we treat our customers and suppliers. You only have to read the side of the Ideal show van to see the six main priorities of the business.”

Denis added that over the past couple of years, there has been continuous price rises of raw materials and disruption to the supply chain. However, despite these pressures that the vast majority of UK manufacturers have been affected by, Ideal has strived to bring the best quality and value pound for pound of UK manufactured upholstered furniture. “We offer really good value for money.

“Yes, the current economic times are difficult for all, but even now Ideal remain positive and forward thinking,” Denis said. “We are currently in consultation with a leading furniture designer in order to expand our range of products, although somewhat ironically, these last few months have seen some of our tried and tested older models popping back into our top selling models charts. These include Richmond, Stratford, Wentworth and Renaissance to name but a few.”

Ideal Upholstery continues to be a member of ACID (Anti Copying in Design) and also has a policy of protecting its designs. “Our models/designs are all copyright registered. This has proved to be a great deterrent in prevention of copying by other manufacturers,” Denis revealed.

One such product category that has been ‘moving’ in an upward trajectory, is their motion furniture. Over the last three to four years, Ideal has been busy in this area of the market and now says they are one of the leading suppliers of rise recliner chairs and recliner chairs. Denis explained: “We have a very busy autumn planned with the launch of an exciting new promotion on our British made rise and recliner range. In addition to this we also plan to introduce our new Warwick model with a new innovative action that will be available across our motion range, so watch this space.”

Another area of the business Ideal has been developing is their logistics division. The company plans to add a second show van to further expand their reach with customers. “We are very shortly going to invest in another show van to increase the overall mobile showroom space, enabling the display of many more of the new products and innovations that are currently being worked on,” Denis said. “We’re excited about this investment and being able to bring our products to more customers across the UK.

“Finally, once again we say thank you to all of our loyal and valued customers, as without you, we would not be here. We look forward to seeing you all again very soon. If you would like to get in touch with our Sales Team or myself, we’re here to help so please do contact us.”