There's no way that Jonathan Warren is resting on his laurels.
The director of Milnsbridge-based online bed retailer Time4Sleep is wide awake when it comes to further building up the business he launched in 2006.
The company, which employs eight people at Colneside Business Park, is on track to meet its ambitious 2014 growth targets, having exceeded its year-on-year first quarter revenue by 60%.
The firm, which specialises in high quality bed frames, divans and mattresses, aims to achieve annual revenue of £4m by the end of its 2014 financial year in October – 33% higher or £1m up on the figure for 2013.
That will continue a positive trend for the company which has seen turnover increase in all but one of its seven years. First-year revenues totalled £350,000. Turnover in year eight was £3.2m.
Jonathan launched the company in response to the boom in online shopping.
Now the company plans to meet its ambitious targets by expanding its product portfolio with new ranges, reducing delivery times further, boosting its team and increasing marketing investment in the brand.
Sourced from trusted suppliers around the world, the Time4Sleep range provides customers with savings of up to 40% on high street prices.
Jonathan says: “We’re delighted to have had such a great start to our financial year, following seven years of rapid growth.
“It’s an exciting time for the business, and we’re extremely confident of hitting our biggest ever annual revenue target this year.
“We created Time4Sleep when the market for buying furniture online was still in its infancy, but had a clear strategy in place from day one.
“The aim back then was simply to source bed frames directly from overseas manufacturers in order to provide quality products to British consumers at the cheapest possible price.
“The online retail environment is extremely fast-paced and so the key to long-term success is to continually evolve and respond to the latest market challenges and changing customer needs.”
Jonathan grew up in Beaumont Park and attended Moor End High School and Greenhead College before gaining a business degree at Manchester University.
“I was always fascinated by business,” he says.
“I did a four-year sandwich degree, which included a one-year placement with a wallpaper manufacturer.
“I have always been interested in home-related businesses.
“Later, I went into marketing for Shaw Carpets and was there five or six years.
“The company went into administration. Carpet manufacturing in the UK was a dying industry and faced competition from Belgian imports.”
Jonathan went to work for Dorlex Beds in Halifax, where he was also involved in marketing.
“I really enjoyed being in a manufacturing environment,” he says, “I like to see things being made.”
But he says: “I had 12 years in employment working in highly competitive industries and I never really felt I had that much job security,”
In his early 30s, Jonathan took the plunge to set up his own online business.
He says: “At the time, I had come into some money, I had the experience and the internet was starting to take over.
“People were getting used to buying books or booking holidays online. The only thing holding me back was myself - and a fear of the unknown.
“I had met my partner Vicky, who became my wife. She had a good position, which provided a safety net, so I could afford to take a little bit of a risk.”
The business model proved a success - importing bed frames from trusted manufacturers in the Far East and selling direct to cut out the wholesale margin and remain competitive on price.
“We work in a traditional industry which is slow to adapt,” says Jonathan. “Because we have our own supply network, we can react more quickly to changes in trends in the market.”
Time4Sleep started out in a 12,000sq ft unit at Albion Works on Manchester Road.
Jonathan recalls: “We had one-and-a-half containers of beds and a showroom with space for seven or eight divided from the warehouse by a curtain.”
The company later moved to Leeds Road, where it expanded further before moving to its present site three-and-a-half years ago. Now it has 43,000sq ft of warehousing and 5,00sq ft for its offices and showroom.
Its stylish beds and bedroom furniture include ones sourced from China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Ninety per cent of what Time4Sleep sell is exclusive to the company.
“We invest massively in marketing. We have always invested heavily on search engine optimisation and we have had very good rankings.
“That investment has been one of the keys to our success.
“We have grown throughout the recession as the internet has grown – and we are fortunate to be in a growing sector.
“We deliver anywhere in the mainland UK with the vast majority of our orders coming from customers in the London area. Perghaps the south east is a little more affluent!”
Says Jonathan: “In the past two years, there has been more changes in our industry than in the previous five years.
“It has become more competitive and more aggressive in terms of price., but it is increasingly all about trust in the brand.
“There are a lot of big players in the market backed by venture capital businesses who are prepared to lose money to gain market share in the long run. A lot of companies have had t
“o adapt their business model.”
But Jonathan adds: “We have no aspirations beyond the bedroom furniture market, which is huge. We will always focus on what we know.”
At home in Barkisland, Jonathan’s time is fully committed to wife Vicky and children Olivia, five, and four-year-old Louise.
“I have always enjoyed swimming and I used to do a lot of wind surfing and sailing,” says Jonathan.
“I also enjoy mountain biking and when the girls are a bit older we’ll be able to do that together.”
Role: Director
Age: 40
Car: BMW
Family: Married to Vicky with daughters Olivia, five, and Louise, four
Holidays: I love the food and the scenery in Croatia, but I have travelled to lots of places, including South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam, India and America
First job: My first job was delivering the Weekly News, but I’ve also worked at Dixon’s ice cream parlour, Superdrug, in a builder’s yard and in pubs
Best thing about the job? I really enjoy developing products and bringing them to market
Worst thing about the job? The administration that goes with running a business and here for a bit.
Business tip: Work hard and stay focused on customers and colleagues
Work: National online retailer of beds, mattresses and bedroom furniture with a Huddersfield-based showroom
Site: Milnsbridge
Phone: 01484 500560
Email: info@time4sleep.co.uk
Web: www.time4sleep.co.uk
