In this episode Ben talks to the importer of the UK's largest range of high quality, driftwood style, teak root furniture and home accessories.

Daniel Unsworth is the owner of Makasi Imports, and started his journey in the world of furniture importing containers of sleigh beds.

Ben asks him about:

* How he started importing containers of sleigh beds

* The complications of importing from Indonesia

* Why he's changed from furniture to more accessories

* How the high street is struggling

* We get to meet Gary the dog!

* Why he didn't go to the January Furniture Show

* Flyers (and curly whirlys) and why they're better than emails

* Daniel's charity work in Indonesia

* Why social media is essential for retailers

* How a dinosaur bought him some attention

* His pick of the best shows

LINKS

Trade Only Furniture Group

B Womack Furniture Ltd

Makasi Imports

Podcast production by Ginger Wizard Productions

Trampoline has been a huge runaway success, and they don't even celebrate their first birthday until next month!

The company was created by husband and wife team Abhik Ghosh and Anushka Mahanti. Their roots are in India and inspired them to create a company which sticks closely to the artisan nature of the furniture over there.

Abhik joins Ben to talk about:

* His route to Trampoline, which included Amazon and Wayfair

* How a walk past a café inspired the name

* Why innovation and customer experience is at the heart of his firm

* How they keep both online and traditional furniture stores happy

* Their 450 skews

* Quality Control and how they manage it

* Vietnam and how their looking to bringing product from there

* And why they're not interested in trading in China

* India and why it's an untapped resource

* His search for a showroom

* Video marketing

* Are they looking at expanding to other countries?

* Issues with copyright

LINKS

Trade Only Furniture Group

B Womack Furniture Ltd

Trampoline

Podcast production by Ginger Wizard Productions

Your website is the window to your business that people can view from all over the world.

But are you doing justice to the amount of stock you could be featuring on there?

In this episode we hear from Matthew Fuller, the owner of My Blue Apple. His journey to becoming the owner of this tech company is a long and winding road - full of chance happenings, what seemed like bad luck and good fortune.

In this episode Ben finds out:

* How he started out in sales, but not in the furniture business

* But, as all the best ideas start, it was over a pint he decided to get into the trade

* And it was soon decided that he would get into antique pine

* Fast forward a few year and pine fell out of favour

* Which led to dealing in kitchens

* How the 2008 crash had a huge impact on him and the business

* But in 2009 he concentrated on the web and his fortunes changed again

* A move to Hong Kong meant that he had to move the business out there

* Then came along Google shopping

* He returned to the UK when his child came along

* He then got into data scraping

* Which then meant a move to Spain!

* However, after one of his main suppliers pulled the plug, he returned to the UK again

* On a chance trip past his old furniture store, another landmark moment occurred

LINKS

Trade Only Furniture Group

B Womack Furniture Ltd

My Blue Apple

Podcast production by Ginger Wizard Productions

As we start 2025, the first podcast of the year is a little different..

Today Ben himself is the subject of the show, he's interviewed by the podcast's first guest - Paul Wray!

It's a chance to find out more about Ben, how he's got to where he is and listen to some of his top tips.

In this episode Paul talks to Ben about:

* How Ben started as a market trader at eight!

* That it was his aunty that got him into furniture

* And how it took off for him

* His first shop and how hard it was to get people into it

* But how, after 7 years, Facebook helped him reach a new audience

* And a huge bit of success

* How getting into mirrors was a good move for him

* What retailers can do to get themselves out there more in the right way

* How will Ben stand out at the January Show

* Ben's latest and unique venture

* The joys of importing

* What Ben does in his spare time

* What's next for Ben and where is he thinking of expanding to

LINKS

Trade Only Furniture Group

B Womack Furniture Ltd

Find out more about Paul Wray

Podcast production by Ginger Wizard Productions

It used to be the norm that leaving school at 15 was just what you did, These days it's a very rare thing. But that's exactly what George Sinclair did.... in 2014.

His story is one that highlights what a bit of determination and support from your parents can bring.

From a very young age he got the bug of buying and selling, which today has morphed into Nimbus Beds - based in Scotland.

In this episode, George chats to Ben about:

* How he started as a boy going to car boot sales

* He sold his first chest of drawers at just six-years-old!

* He left school at 15 and he went to go and work selling beds in Dewsbury

* The name Nimbus was picked out of a hat!

* He had his first shop at just 15-years-old

* George soon got into making deals and taking on staff

* He used his age to make a splash in the local media and kick off his marketing

* Nimbus is about to open their third store

* Spain is now an option for him, where the fabric bed scene is lacking

* His view on importing

* Marketing and the innovative way in which he gets Nimbus out there

* In store is stronger for him than online

* They're sticking with beds for now, but there may be more stock coming

* He's a busy guy, but he spends his downtime looking after his animals

* His thoughts on the January Furniture Show

LINKS

Trade Only Furniture Group

B Womack Furniture Ltd

Nimbus Beds

Podcast Production by Ginger Wizard Productions

Since the podcast has been going, a big topic of conversation has been the January Furniture Show.

There have been a lot of questions about whether it's on at the right time of year, how well attended it is these days and if it should join forces with other trade shows.

Well, today we hope some of those questions can be answered.

Zoe Bonser and Paddy Wallace from Clarion events, who run the show, join ben to talk about:

* How they got into events

* Carpetgate - Their response to the lack of "finish" to the show

* What they tweak with each show

* How trade exhibitions are changing

* They see the event as THE industry event

* Zoe and Paddy underline that they are partners with the furniture industry

* How confident they are that the number of visitors will grow

* Would they collaborate with another show?

* Their reaction to the poll on when the show should be

* Being back in Manchester

* What happened to their trade portal?

* AI and how they're using it - will we see virtual showrooms?

* Are they seeing a lot interest from China?

* How the UK market is rising in importance

* What does the future hold for the furniture show?

LINKS

Trade Only Furniture Group

B Womack Furniture Ltd

January Furniture Show

Podcast Production by Ginger Wizard Productions

We talk about shipping a lot on the podcast, and in this episode Ben is talking to the boss of Allseas shipping.

Darren Wright built the firm from the ground up from being a teenager. Allseas is now a huge company and can handle anything from oil and gas to retail goods.

Ben talks to Darren about:

* Starting in shipping at 17 years old

* For a start he was moving more oil and gas than he was furniture

* They now have offices all over the country and further afield

* How the big operators do business

* What happened when the shipping market crashed

* The difference between a rate agreement and a contract

* How world events mean that changes in shipping take time

* What rates might do next year

* How Darren will grow Allseas

* Will the likes of Amazon actually get into the market?

LINKS

Trade Only Furniture Group

B Womack Furniture Ltd

Allseas Shipping Global Logistics

Podcast Production by Ginger Wizard Productions

In this episode, it's all about making sure you've got a friendly face in the country you're exporting from.

Ben is chatting to Henrik Pontoppidan, who works in Vietnam running his company S2U Design Containers. Their mission is to help you if you need to import or design furniture or help with red tape getting pieces out of the country.

He's been running his firm for 15 years, and in this episode he talks to Ben about:

* His journey into furniture - in the 90s

* How he go into design

* Importing beds from Brazil

* How he fell into online selling

* Why he moved to Vietnam

* Covid and how it changed him for the better

* And why that made him pick up new skills - including 3D designing

* The importance of using someone like him to make sure you're importing good products

* The variety of factories he works with

* The effect of Trump's tariffs on the furniture trade

* The importance of having someone on the ground when importing

* Why Vietnam doesn't advertise itself so well

* And why the country is full of hidden furniture gems

LINKS

Trade Only Furniture Group

B Womack Furniture Ltd

S2U Design Containers

Podcast Production by Ginger Wizard Productions

Have you ever thought about providing your staff with better sales training?

In this episode Ben talks to a man who knows the furniture trade and sales inside out. So much so, that when Adam Hankinson, founder of Furniture Sales Solutions, delivers training to a client, he is often offered a job on the shop floor!

Ben chats to Adam about:

* How did Adam move over from being a salesman to training it?

* What's DFS' turnover like

* Why he left the security of DFS

* What's in Adam's courses

* How not to lose sales

* Confidence and how important that is

* The art of not being pushy on the store floor

* Why learning on the job could be costing you money

* Training is just about correcting failure

* Why Adam is often approached by stores to work for them!

* Is it different selling on social media?

* There are no shortcuts in training

* How you avoid "I'm just looking" - Cleaning is your magic weapon!

* Know your products

* How profitable training can be

* Adam wants to be the go-to training school

* And now he is eyeing the American market

LINKS

Trade Only Furniture Group

B Womack Furniture Ltd

Furniture Sales Solutions

Podcast Production by Ginger Wizard Productions

After a two week break Ben is back - and in this episode he's talking to Ian Bellis.

The founder and director of Furniture Outlet - His stores are based in the south East of England.

Ian's journey into the furniture trade can be traced back to the other side of the globe, and now his company is an "eight-figure powerhouse".

So how did he do it and how does he stay ahead of the curve?

Ben talks to Ian about:

* How Ian started in the electronics industry

* But a move to New Zealand changed all of that

* His first furniture business was based on a retail park

* But ill health forced him to return to the UK

* He was given a 10% chance of survival and six weeks to live

* But he was soon back to work selling high-end sofas

* The 2008 crash made him change tack

* He then set up furniture outlets

* But a change in online returns policy made him have to change again

* This time to end-of-line

* He now has a relationship with 18 factories in China

* After a rocky relationship with the trade, he's now back in love with it

* His son is even now working with him!

* They now won't look at stores under 20,000ft

* They also offer over 2000 variations of tables and chairs

* But they hardly sell anything online, it's all in store

* He believes that customers want to see and touch products

* How video marketing has boosted his trade

* China and how it's changed over the 20+ years he's been dealing with the country

* The standards of fire retardants in imported furniture

* And why Ian steers clear of factories who cut corners

* He even employs his own team to test the products

* We're back to shipping again - how has Ian coped with the increase?

* How he plans to use marketplaces with smaller goods

LINKS

Trade Only Furniture Group

B Womack Furniture Ltd

Furniture Outlet

Podcast Production by Ginger Wizard Productions