Grant Berry, Managing Director and Owner of Home World Beds, talks about recent progress at the business as well as hinting at expansion plans ahead.
Meet Grant
I’m the owner and Managing Director of Home World Beds. Main responsibilities are Buying, Marketing, HR and everything else – a general dogsbody.
Recent investments?
We have recently spent quite a lot of money on repairing and maintaining the first floor that was used for storage. We own the building so it’s all good as an investment and we can get tax relief as it’s a genuine cost. Apart from that we have elevated our range, invested more into the range and cost of stock.
Future plans?
We are looking for sites. Ideally, I’d like to buy a freehold site and not rent but we are being realistic and we will look at renting too. We are in no rush to take just any old site; it needs to be right. We’d also look at taking over any decent bed retailer in Lincolnshire/Yorkshire. We are always available for a chat.
What is your mission?
To be the ‘Most Loved Bed Retailer’ in the area whilst providing ourselves with secure jobs in a profitable, growing business.
On sustainability, what is your business doing on this topic?
To be honest, we do what we can. We recycle mattresses, metal etc. We don’t waste anything and always look to reuse things. However, we don’t get too drawn into the greenwashing of the business. It can hurt the business, then no one wins. It needs to be a win – win.
How has recent business been?
The start of the year was poor. I blame the budget, £billions in tax rises – which caused job losses – and the government scared people with a very negative vibe. It picked up for us around the middle of February. Customers are trending towards quilted mattresses rather than tufted and we’ve also noticed a move from grey towards more autumn shades.
What would you change in the industry?
That’s a hard one, because the market forces normally sort things out to where they need to be.
What challenges do you currently face and how are you overcoming these?
Tax rises, employment rules and all the rest of the government interference in private businesses are our biggest challenges. The only way to overcome them is to make the business worth the while and increase gross profit.
We don’t run price sensitive products that are on sale all over the internet on Amazon, B&Q etc. You need to be careful who you are buying from because some suppliers are also selling direct to the public at very low prices.
Do you have any staff you would like to pay special thanks or recognition to and why?
All of our staff do a great job. They all play their part in the team. We run a tight ship; we dropped staff numbers about 18 months ago and now pay the remaining team very competitively along with plenty of benefits and incentives. As you can imagine, the colleagues we now have with us are the best ones.
Why do you think customers choose your business?
We offer same day delivery and we carry a lot of stock to do this. Having a very big store that specialises in beds that carries all the sizes and options gives us a chance to get extra sales. Also, we are honest. We don’t play any retail tricks. We keep it simple and customers seem to trust us for this.
Being a Yorkshire man, I’m known for plain speaking and this filters through the business. We can beat the internet. We do not need the brands to add credibility; only online competitors need that. We have the product feel factor and staff reassuring customers.
Final thought…
I’ve met lots of great people in this industry, and long may it continue. If ever anyone wants to reach out to us for a chat about retiring etc in the Lincolnshire/Yorkshire area we are always here and guarantee confidentiality. Please do get in touch with me directly at grantberry1@live.co.uk.
