Sweet Dreams for bed retailer as sales near milestone

Sales at bed retailer Dreams increased towards a new milestone as its profit remained steady during its latest financial year.

The Buckinghamshire-headquartered chain has reported a turnover of £395.4m for 2023, up from the £387m it achieved in 2022.

Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show its pre-tax profit dipped slightly from £50m to £49.3m over the 12 months.

Dreams paid dividends totalling £57.7m during the year, up from £31.1m, and also paid out £22m in May 2024.

Dreams was founded in 1985 and has been owned by US giant Tempur Sealy since 2021.

Private equity giant Sun European Partners had previously bought Dreams out of administration in 2013.

Dreams hails ‘solid performance’

A statement signed off by the board said: “The company reported a solid performance, despite uncertain market conditions as base interest rates rose to a 16-year high, along with lingering inflationary headwinds whilst real disposable income continued to be squeezed weighing on UK consumers.

“Supply chain, and specifically ocean freight, had stabilised early in the year after the prior year disruptions, only to be disrupted again towards the end of the year by the Red Sea attacks which continued into 2024.

“Our colleagues are doing exceptionally well mitigating operational impact and enhancing communication with our customers during this turbulent time.

“Through the year, UK inflation decelerated from 10.1 per cent to four per cent by the end of the year, helping our colleagues and customers better plan their household budgets.

“Despite this, the company continued a relentless focus on keeping retail prices low, to ensure we remained competitive through the weak and recessionary market and historically low consumer confidence.

“Meanwhile our customers appear to remain resilient and focused on the health and well-being benefits of a good night’s sleep.”