It's been a busy year for UK leather sofa manufacturers with many changes occuring in almost all departments. The cost of leather increased for the fourth time in May 2010 in a period spanning less that 10 months. In addition this was compounded with problems with leather supply when the first shortfall was reported in Novemeber 2009 as a result of a world wide shortage of raw hides. This valuable commodity became a big problem for Manufacturers not only in England but also in Europe.

Behind the scenes the company has been working hard to find alternative leathers to hold prices to our retailers, and we are pleased to be able to announce that prices will be held at 2009 rates. The introduction of a new leather range ensure sofa prices are not affected, the company is now pleased to offer three qualities of leather, Stadard, Vintage and Premium. In September we expect to release our latest catalogue - expanding on the success of the sofa collection an additional 6 models will be featured. Updated leather swatches will also be available by the end of August or Early September.

Fabric sofas have remained relatively unaffected, and the supply of quality fabrics and designs is still provided by ROMO and MODE fabrics. New additions to the fabric range include ROMO Sasso available as a plain, pattern fabric, and two stripes increasing the size of our standard swatch by approx 30 colour ways..

The Sofa Collection website will be updated with the latest new designs, and these additions will appear in their respective catagories.

"Premium Leather Sofas", "Contemporary Fabric Sofas", "Vintage Leather Sofas" and "Accessories".

After a week of fine tuning The Sofa Collection website went live today. The website supports our latest brochure and showcases our new range of sofas and arm chairs under the catagories; "Premium Leather Sofas", "Contemporary Fabric Sofas", "Vintage Leather Sofas" and "Accessories". This website is designed to act as a sales tool to assist our retailers as the "Find a Retailer" function directs members of the public to their nearest store, stocking our range.

We will promote the site using various digital marketing techniques and aim to achieve a monthly traffic volume in excess of 1000 unique visitors per month.

17.0 Our 32 page catalogue is now available, featuring many new designs and examples of some of our best sellers reshot with excellent effect. A stunning range of premium leathers has also been introduced and the fabric sofa collection will now include and feature an exclusive range from ROMO fabrics. Expect our agents to be presenting the range early in 2009 but to register your interest early please e-mail info@forestsofa.co.uk

17.0 Forest Sofa Ltd raised money for charity by GIVING AWAY over 40 pieces of furniture. The event took place in our factory just before we broke for Christmas, and was promoted by the Salford Advertiser. Many of our team helped prepare for the event by sorting the factory and compiling a list of stock items to give away. The Saturday morning giveaway was well attended, with over 100 people coming through the doors to look at the many items of furniture they could take away for free ! There really was no catch, we simply asked the local community and those taking furniture to donate money to our nominated charity the NSPCC and all proceeds went directly to the NSPCC. We managed to raise a few hundred pounds for the charity as well as supporting the local community giving new furniture to homes that otherwise may have gone without, and the Salford advertiser maintained their interest in the event following up with a brief editorial on our efforts.