This month we’re asking retailers: What has been an early highlight of 2026 so far?
MattressNextDay
Our highlight has been appointing clinical sleep therapist and performance coach Natalie Pennicotte-Collier as our first external resident sleep expert.
Haskins Furniture
A real highlight for us early in 2026 has been being named a finalist in two categories at the Somerset Business Awards, Service Excellence and Business Resilience & Growth. As an independent retailer, it’s a proud moment for the team, especially in a market where customers are being more considered with their spending. It reinforces that focusing on service, trust and the in-store experience still really matters.
Home World – Mattress & Bed Centres
So far this year, I enjoyed visiting the January NEC, to see new products & the people in the trade. It’s always nice to refresh the range we run at the beginning of the year and catch up with people. Apart from that we have been upgrading our first floor that we use for storage. It’s had new windows and a general spruce up; it looks clean and tidy at last.
Cox & Cox
An early highlight of 2026 for Cox & Cox has been the strong performance of our outdoor collections, which have been attracting attention and selling steadily since the start of the year. Rather than waiting for the weather to shift, we decided to bring outdoor stock in earlier than usual – an intentional gamble that has paid off. Customers have responded really well to having earlier access to our new outdoor collections, and it’s positioned us as proactive and in tune with evolving buying habits. This early momentum has not only driven sales, but also reinforced confidence in taking a more forward-thinking approach to seasonal planning.
Mattress Online
A highlight of 2026 so far at Mattress Online has been the delivery of enhanced training for our Sales teams; the cohorts were engaged and took away many learnings.” It’s probably not a coincidence then, that we’ve seen strong performance in our stores during the first few weeks of the year – bucking the trend with YOY uplifts across the board.
Dreamland Bedding
There have been a number of standout moments for us so far this year. We’ve enjoyed some exceptional weeks of sales, alongside meaningful conversations with members of the Furniture Makers’ Guild around the importance of education within our sector. Being an Ambassador for apprenticeships during NAW was especially rewarding, as was the opportunity to speak at a university, both giving us the chance to engage with and inspire the next generation. We’ve also seen a real step forward in our work with charity partners. From supporting a bereavement group by taking children to a pantomime, to collecting Easter eggs for our local hospice, it’s been incredibly rewarding to see the wider industry rally behind these efforts. However, the most significant milestone has been the development of the succession plan. It marks a pivotal step for the business and ensures the future is exceptionally positive and well positioned for continued growth.
Linthorpe Beds
A big highlight for us so far in 2026 has been happening behind the scenes. Our warehouse is moving into a space THREE times bigger than our current one! We’re absolutely delighted with the progress we’re making both in-store and online, and this new space gives us the room we need to keep building and growing. We’re currently in the process of moving everything over, which should be completed in the next couple of weeks—and our new signage has already started going up on the front of the warehouse. Exciting times ahead!
Leekes
One of our biggest highlights of 2026 so far has been the Phase 3 launch within our flagship store, marking another key milestone in Llantrisant £10 million refurbishment programme. Celebrated over Saint David’s Day weekend, the launch introduced customers to our brand new homestyling, clothing and footwear departments.
OKA
We’ve had a promising start to the year, combining strong trading performance with meaningful steps forward for the brand. Momentum from Black Friday and Christmas has carried into 2026, with year-to-date revenue up 29% versus last year. E-commerce and our trade channels continue to perform particularly well and their success against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty feels all the more encouraging. I think it really underlines the resilience of the interiors market and the enduring appeal of investing in the home, as people embrace a slower lifestyle and spend more time hosting family and friends at home.
From a product perspective, our Icons collection, our most recognisable and enduring designs, is becoming increasingly important to the business. Many of these signature pieces are mainstays in our top-sellers, and we’re seeing sales of our Icons increase year-on-year, driven this year particularly by a focused marketing campaign and a press event that highlighted the products and reinforced OKA’s identity with both press and customers.
Creatively, it’s also been an exciting period. Building on the success of Icons, we’ll be launching our first ever wallpaper collection next month, bringing some of our iconic prints into a new category. It’s a natural extension for OKA and a clear example of how we’re evolving while staying true to our aesthetic.”
