Textiles firm secures contracts worth £5m

A Magheralin-based supplier and manufacturer of design-led bed-linen has finalised new business deals worth over £5 million, it was revealed today.

Bedeck secured the deals during a joint Irish Linen Guild/Invest NI presentation at Heimtextil in Frankfurt, the world’s biggest exhibition for the fabric industry.

Among the contracts are a licensing deal with Sanderson, a UK brand that’s acknowledged as an international leader in bed-linen, which will see Bedeck takeover the management and product sourcing for its network of 40 concession shops in major stores such as the House of Fraser, and a £450,000 deal to supply products to a retail chain in Australia.

The Sanderson deal establishes Bedeck as a leading UK bed-linen retailer with an extensive network that also includes over 20 Bedeck concessions/shops, including one at Lisburn Road in Belfast, and seven factory outlets in Great Britain. The company also supplies bed-linen to top retailers for sale under their own brands.

Andrew Irwin, Bedeck’s operations director, said: “Heimtextil was a tremendously important show for us. It enabled us to meet with many existing and potential customers in addition to new suppliers. We were able to tie up several major contracts which will see the business build on its existing reputation for innovative designs and quality products, some of which we make in Northern Ireland but most are now sourced through our international supply chain."

Leslie Morrison Invest NI’s chief executive, welcoming the company’s success, he said: “Bedeck is an excellent role model for other businesses in the textiles and clothing industry. The company was ahead of the field in developing the imaginative strategy that was later recommended in the Kurt Salmon Action Plan for the future of the industry.

"The actions recommended were based on the need for a sharper focus on market niches and on the development of new design-led branded products that could be sourced from global manufacturers to strengthen overall competitiveness."

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