Dreams is a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

-based bed retailer and manufacturer specialising in

bed A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...

mattress A mattress is a large, usually rectangular pad for supporting a lying person. It is designed to be used as a bed, or on a bed frame as part of a bed. Mattresses may consist of a quilted or similarly fastened case, usually of heavy cloth, conta ...

es, bedroom furniture and bed linen. The first Dreams store was opened in 1987 by Mike Clare, and today there are over 200 stores nationwide. The company has its own purpose-designed mattress factory, and currently employs around 1,500 people, across a network of retail showrooms.

History

The first Dreams store opened in

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...

in 1985. By 2000, Dreams had 50 stores, and opened its own mattress factory. In April 2013, Dreams PLC went into a pre packaged administration, and was purchased by Sun European Partners. It has since traded as Dreams Ltd. Sun European Partners put the retailer on sale in early 2017, advised by

N M Rothschild & Sons Rothschild & Co is a multinational investment bank and financial services company, and the flagship of the Rothschild banking group controlled by the French and British branches of the Rothschild family. The banking business of the firm covers th ...

TV advertising

Dreams was the main sponsor of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

reality television show ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Big Brother VIP'', is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, the housemates or houseguest ...

'' from its sixth series in 2009 to its seventh series in 2010. In 2013, they then sponsored the eleventh series of ''Celebrity Big Brother'', this time on Channel 5. Currently (winter 2019) sponsoring Challenge TV in the evening. Dreams produced a new advert "Sleep Like Log" featuring an animated log from late 2021 onwards.

Investigations

Investigations in to the business's operations have been conducted by the United Kingdom's

Office of Fair Trading The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economic regu ...

in 1998 and again in 2001, due to contracts in breach of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Following customer complaints, the company was also investigated and featured on BBC's ''

Watchdog Watchdog or watch dog may refer to: Animals *Guard dog, a dog that barks to alert its owners of an intruder's presence * Portuguese Watch Dog, Cão de Castro Laboreiro, a dog breed * Moscow Watchdog, a breed of dog that was bred in the Soviet ...

'' programme. In response to this matter Dreams made an apology on the programme. In February 2007, Dreams was investigated and censured by the Advertising Standards Agency for misleading claims in its promotional material. In 2010, another complaint against Dreams was upheld by the ASA, which ruled that Dreams' advertising broke the rules regarding truthfulness, and contained misleading advertising without evidence to back up its claims.

Awards

* High Street Recycling Champion 2008 *

British Safety Council The British Safety Council, a registered charity founded by James Tye in 1957, is one of the world's leading health and safety organisations alongside the likes of Institution of Occupational Safety and Health and International Institute of Ris ...

– International Safety Award 2015 *West London Business Awards – Retail Business of the Year 2017 *Sunday Times Profit Track 100 2018 *The Drum Social Buzz Awards 2018 – Best Use of Group/Community (Mumsnet) *National Bed Federation 2018-19 – Large Bed Retailer of the Year"2018 Bed Industry Awards Winners"
Retrieved 17.02.2020.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Furniture retailers of the United Kingdom Mattress retailers of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1985 British companies established in 1985 1985 establishments in England Home decor retailers Companies based in Buckinghamshire 2013 mergers and acquisitions