Stephen Truswell of Harrison Spinks says:
What does it mean to you to be a British brand?
As one of Great Britain’s most established and innovative bed makers our British heritage is something we’re extremely proud of. We have 176 years of experience in manufacturing luxury mattresses, which means we’ve become synonymous amongst our customers for high-quality, craftsmanship and excellence, attributes which are commonly associated with traditional, British products.
There is a growing appetite amongst consumers for ‘home-grown’ products. The fact that we’re a highly vertically integrated business, from drawing our own wire for our unique spring technology to growing natural mattress fillings on our own farm in Yorkshire, along with our core British values, means we offer superior quality products with ‘Made in Britain’ characteristics.
Our heritage, knowledge and expertise in making luxury mattresses drove us to develop the new NaturalStart mattresses.
After recognising that sleep is vital for a baby’s development, we designed the new NaturalStart cot bed mattresses in order to offer parents a 100% natural option for their baby’s sleep routine.
What are the Brits best at?
Brits are renowned for manufacturing products that are high-quality and reliable, while also being durable, innovative and offering value for money.
Consumers also appreciate that Brits take a great deal of time and care throughout the manufacturing process, offering unrivalled levels of attention-to-detail.
Tell us about your company’s origins?
Established in 1840, Harrison Spinks is a 176-year-old, fifth-generation family-owned business.
The Leeds-based company originated when William Rhodes, who started as a fillings manufacturer, formed The Bedding House of Rhodes, which later evolved into Somnus Bedding and became a dominant player in the industry for more than 70 years. Meanwhile in 1885, bed maker, Arthur Spink, decided to start his own business. He joined forces with John Edgar, a salesman, and began trading as Spink & Edgar.
Arthur finally retired in 1927 leaving the company to his onetime apprentice, Albert Harrison. He was joined by Albert Parker, who had learnt his trade at The Bedding House of Rhodes and the two became partners when the businesses merged in 1933. When Albert Harrison retired in 1937, Albert Parker continued, later to be succeeded by his son-in-law, Ron Spinks, and his grandson, Peter Spinks, Harrison Spinks’ current chairman. His great grandson Simon Spinks is today in charge of the day-to-day running of the business.
Peter Spinks moved the focus of the business from contract to the retail sector. From this point the company moved into the luxury bed market, utilising in-store displays and other marketing materials to support the brand and the business grew rapidly.
The company now creates its beds and mattresses under the Harrison, Somnus and Spink & Edgar brands, utilising its own world-leading, revolutionary pocket-spring technology, along with natural fillings grown on its 300-acre farm in North Yorkshire.
In 2014, we utilised our expertise to design and launch the new NaturalStart range of cot bed mattresses, bringing a unique, 100% natural offer to the nursery accessory market.
Do you sell your products abroad?
We export a selection of our adult mattresses, including our Somnus range in Europe and the Spink & Edgar collection in the USA, however, we don’t currently export the NaturalStart products overseas. We recognise that there is a significant market opportunity to launch our unique product offer internationally, particularly in China, where we’ve noted an increase in demand for British-made baby and nursery products in a rapidly growing market. We’ll also be exhibiting at the Kind und Jugend Show in Cologne, Germany in September in order to heighten awareness of the NaturalStart range with international audiences, with the aim of driving further trade into Britain from overseas.
What’s your best new product this year?
Since launching the NaturalStart mattresses last year, which use a combination of innovative BabySpringÒ technology and luxury natural fillings, including Herdwick wool, cashmere and hemp, the NaturalStart team has been working hard to develop new additions to the range.
Our latest product to launch is the new 100% natural, waterproof and hypoallergenic NaturalStart mattress protector. Perfectly complementing the NaturalStart mattress range, the new mattress protector is also made of natural fibres that are inherently fire retardant, meaning no chemicals are used on the product.
As well as elevating comfort levels of the NaturalStart mattresses, the soft, stretchable mattress protector is allergen free and can be machine washed up to 90°C to prevent the growth of bacteria, fungi and dust mites. It is also tested to Oeko-tex Standard 100 class 1 product category for babies.