Dreams (bed retailer) explained

Dreams Limited
Type:Limited company
Area Served:United Kingdom
Key People:Jonathan Hirst, Chief executive
Industry:Furniture retailing and manufacturing
Products:Beds
Bedroom furniture
Bedsteads
Duvets
Mattresses
Pillows
Revenue:£194m GBP (2008)
Owner:Tempur Sealy
Location:Loudwater, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

Dreams Limited is a United Kingdom-based bed retailer and manufacturer specialising in beds, mattresses, bedroom furniture and bed linen. The first Dreams store was opened in 1987 by Mike Clare,[1] and today there are over 200 stores nationwide. The company has its own purpose-designed mattress factory, and currently employs around 1,500 people, across a network of retail showrooms.

History

The first Dreams store opened in Uxbridge in 1985. By 2000, Dreams had 50 stores, and opened its own mattress factory in Oldbury, Birmingham.

In April 2013, Dreams PLC went into a pre packaged administration, and was purchased by Sun European Partners. It has since traded as Dreams Ltd.

Sun European Partners put the retailer up for sale in early 2017, advised by N M Rothschild & Sons.[2]

In May 2021, Dreams were acquired by Tempur Sealy.

Around 2021/2022, most Dreams stores in Northern Ireland were renamed to Bedtime to match the Sofatime brand, this rebrand was backtracked in 2023, with the stores rebranding back to the Dreams name.

TV advertising

Dreams was the main sponsor of the Channel 4 reality television show Celebrity Big Brother from its sixth series in 2009 to its seventh series in 2010. In 2013, they then sponsored the eleventh series of Celebrity Big Brother, this time on Channel 5.. Currently (winter 2023) Dreams are sponsoring ITV's Dancing on Ice.

In 2023 Dreams changed its strapline to "Love your bed".

Investigations

Investigations into the business's operations have been conducted by the United Kingdom's Office of Fair Trading in 1998[3] and again in 2001,[4] due to contracts in breach of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Following customer complaints, the company was also investigated and featured on BBC's Watchdog programme.[5] In response to this matter Dreams made an apology on the programme. In February 2007, Dreams was investigated and censured by the Advertising Standards Agency for misleading claims in its promotional material.[6] In 2010, another complaint against Dreams was upheld by the ASA, which ruled that Dreams' advertising broke the rules regarding truthfulness, and contained misleading advertising without evidence to back up its claims.[7]

Awards

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dreams. mikeclareofficial. en. 2019-09-18.
  2. News: Armstrong. Ashley. Chinese bidders circle £400m Dreams takeover. 21 May 2017. The Telegraph. 13 May 2017.
  3. Web site: Issue 5. October 1998. Unfair Contract Terms. Office of Fair Trading. 28 January 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20081122013231/http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft246.pdf. 22 November 2008.
  4. Web site: Bulletin 18. May 2002. Unfair Contract Terms. Office of Fair Trading. 28 January 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20081121225210/http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft388.pdf. 21 November 2008.
  5. Web site: Dreams: Mike Clare (page 1). Wallis. Ian. 1 July 2007. Growing Business. Crimson Business. 28 January 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121005190036/http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/dreams-mike-clare.html?page=2. 5 October 2012.
  6. Web site: ASA Adjudication on Dreams Plc. 21 February 2007. Adjudications. Advertising Standards Authority. 28 January 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100918144009/http://asa.org.uk/Complaints-and-ASA-action/Adjudications/2007/2/Dreams-Plc/TF_ADJ_42259.aspx. 18 September 2010.
  7. Web site: ASA Adjudication on Dreams Plc. 16 June 2010. Adjudications. Advertising Standards Authority. 16 May 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110131082848/http://www.asa.org.uk/ASA-action/Adjudications/2010/6/Dreams-plc/TF_ADJ_48583.aspx. 31 January 2011.
  8. Web site: Winners of 2008 Awards for Excellence announced - letsrecycle.com. letsrecycle.com. 16 October 2008 . 2016-02-01. en-US.
  9. Web site: International Safety Award Winners 2015. 2016-02-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305073230/https://www.britsafe.org/sites/default/files//editor/List%20of%20International%20Safety%20Award%20winners%20for%202015%20v1.pdf. 2016-03-05. dead.
  10. https://www.westlondon.com/awards/past-winners/2017-winners/ "2017 Winners"
  11. https://www.fasttrack.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018-Profit-Track-100-press-release-National.pdf "Profit Track 100 National Press Release"
  12. https://www.socialbuzzawards.com/social-buzz-awards/social-buzz-awards-2018#90151 "Social Buzz Awards 2018"
  13. https://www.bedfed.org.uk/2018-bed-industry-awards-winners/ "2018 Bed Industry Awards Winners"