A Bolton-headquartered online furniture retailer has said the pandemic has caused a “furniture boom”.
Furniture in Fashion, the region’s largest online furniture retailer, said it has already achieved record orders this year with the trend persisting into Christmas.
The boom has been fuelled by increasing demand for residential furniture as well as home office equipment, the firm said.
The business, founded by Asad Shamim in 2007, sells the likes of sofas, beds, dining tables and TV units from its 60,000 sq ft warehouse at Stone Hill Business Park, Farnworth.
Mr Shamim, the company’s chief executive, said the pandemic has “changed the way people shop”, with people now “happy to make big purchases online”.
"Pre-pandemic many would have gone into the shops to feel and touch sofas and beds, but not they’re buying directly from online,” he said.
He said the home furnishing market has been “positive”.
“The massive increase has come from people who have been decorating or renovating their homes during lockdown.
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“The summer was a good time for many people including those who were furloughed and had time to makeover their homes.
“People didn’t go on holidays either, so they were spending on their homes instead of travel.
“As we went into a second lockdown, we’ve found the demand is coming from customers ahead of Christmas.”
Sales for the business’s office furniture items - such as desks and chairs - are up 58 per cent on the same period last year, it said.
“People are working from home and that’s not going to change as we move into 2021," he said.
“We see home working here to stay which is why our customers are happy to invest in their home office.
“Both employers and staff can see the benefits of home working, it’s given employees a better work life balance and employers have realised that they don’t need big offices as people are happier to work in this new way.”
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The company also said it is preparing to launch a new £2.5m industrial park located on its current site.
The development, which is expected to open at the end of next month, will be made up of 17 units - that range from 800 sq ft to 1,100 sq ft - aimed at online businesses who can use the spaces for their office, storage and organising deliveries.
Mr Shamim said: “The land was empty, so we decided to build a smart business centre for online retailers which are affordable.
“Just over £2m has been invested in the site, which is a flagship concept for me and will give the local area a much-needed boost.”