Name: Dreamland

Phone: 01384 74155

Address: 23 Mill Street, Brierley Hill

Website: Dreamlandbedding.co.uk

Social Media: facebook.com/dreamlandbeddingcentre

Opening Hours: Monday-Saturday 9am-5.30pm, Sunday 11am-4.30pm

Who are you? I’m Mike Brown - owner and operator of the largest local independent bed retailer.

When did you open and why? I opened the business in the spring of 1976. My family have always worked in the industry and prior to opening I worked in local furniture stores. I noticed the lack of customer focus by many of the furniture businesses and I found I enjoyed the bedding departments and thought this is where customers need the most advice, which is still a core ethos of the business today – offering the best service to customers by making sure the staff are trained to the highest level to offer

unbiased advice.

Tell us about your business? Dreamland is the largest local independent bedding specialist.We have over 130 beds on display. We cater for all tastes and budgets, and have every type of bed on display from memory foam to traditional handmade natural filled mattresses. We have recently expanded our offering for adjustable beds. This week we have a large delivery of upholstered and Ottoman bed frames coming in for display as this is set to be the biggest trend within the industry.

How did you decide on the name? When I first opened we only had 12 beds on display and specialised in one brand Slumberland, we made sure we knew everything about these beds and wanted to incorporate part of the name so we used “land” and so “Dreamland” was born.

Who works there? Some members of the staff have been here since the start, most of the staff have been with us over eight years. I send all the staff to manufacturers to know how mattresses are made and to see the difference between the brands – this

knowledge and experience really helps when advising customers.

Who are your customers? Historically most come within a couple of mile radius of the store, but in the last five years we are find many people are travelling longer distances to have the advice from our staff and to see the huge selection we have. We find

that we serve many generations of the same families which is really nice to see.

What is your most memorable / proudest moment in business? We get invited to manufacturers where we help develop ranges which is great. Being awarded Retail champion by the National Bed Federation and extending the shop three times.

Have you had any strange suggestions from customers? We have had customers ask if we can try the mattress with them a few times which always raises a few eyebrows. And we sometimes hear how customers have worn their mattresses out!

What are your ambitions for the future? We plan to stay ahead of the curve making sure we have the beds and mattresses that are at the cutting edge of technology but still maintaining stock of the traditional handmade beds all at good price. Staff training means we continue to offer the best advice. Currently we have a lot of measures in place for the safety of both staff and customers.

Anything else we should know? We don’t charge for delivery, instead we raise money for the Mary Stevens hospice. Over the last decade we have raised over £175,000.