Retailer Awards

Medium NBF Retail Champion Award

(Independent bed retailer with three to 20 stores)

This award recognises a retailer who goes the extra mile to deliver an outstanding customer experience, develop staff knowledge, and stands out in a highly competitive marketplace.

It is only open to retailers who are current NBF Premier Retail Champions or NBF Retail Champions with three to 20 stores and evidence submitted must be relating to the period July 2025 – June 2026.

The judges will be scoring the entries on the following criteria, so please ensure you address these in your entry:

Financial Performance (relating to your beds category) – i.e. increase in turnover, profit, average order value, conversion rate and website traffic.  Use percentage figures if you do not wish to share actual monetary data. Any sensitive information that you DO NOT want to be shared MUST be designated as such in the entry, e.g. ‘not for publication’.

How you support NBF-approved member brands – the NBF brands you stock or sell.

How you support the NBF and its values, and how you promote your NBF Retail Champion status – please provide photo/screenshot evidence of in-store POS and online support (if applicable).

Customer Service – online reviews & testimonials, examples of outstanding service.

Staff training & Development – new initiatives, induction procedures (eg NBF Introduction to Beds course), factory visits, performance reviews.

Marketing/Sales Strategy – include details of any particularly successful campaigns in the period July 2025 – June 2026.

Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility – mattress recycling initiatives, zero-to-landfill, charitable or local group support etc.

Online Bed Retailer of the Year

(At least 80% of sales via the internet)

For this award, judges will be looking at everything from website design, product imagery, use of video, user experience, and product choice to the marketing techniques employed to drive direct sales and overall performance in the qualifying period, July 2025 – June 2026.

You must be UK-based, and at least 50% of your product offer must be from NBF members.

The judges will be scoring the entries on the following criteria, so please ensure you address these in your entry:

Financial Performance (relating to your beds category) – i.e., increase in turnover, profit, average order value, conversion rate and website traffic.  Use percentage figures if you do not wish to share actual monetary data. Any sensitive information that you DO NOT want to be shared MUST be designated as such in the entry, e.g., ‘not for publication’.

How you support NBF-approved member brands – the NBF member brands you stock or sell.

How you support the NBF and its values, and how you promote your NBF Retail Champion status (if applicable) – please provide screenshot evidence.

Website Design

Product Imagery

Use of Video

Product Choice

User Experience

Customer Reviews

Marketing/Sales Strategy

Sustainability

Corporate Social Responsibility

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS & TOP TIPS – PLEASE READ

• The main elements of your entry should be the Executive Summary of no more than 750 words. Entries exceeding the word limits given in the criteria will be disqualified. Add your main point at the beginning and reinforce it.
• Please study the criteria the judges will be looking at in the category and ensure you address each one in your summary.
• Clear support of the NBF (its purpose, what it does) and NBF member brands is a crucial element of your entry. This is not limited to simply stocking the brands, we want to see how else you support and showcase the NBF and NBF member brands to your customers.
• Your entry can be accompanied by no more than 2 attachments of supporting detail. Please, no fancy presentations or videos. They won’t influence the judges’ decisions, which will be based on content.
• This will only be looked at IF the Executive Summary persuades the judges it’s worth delving further! Please do not include links to further material in your supporting documents.
• Do not reprint general information that can easily be found on websites or in company literature.
• Allow yourself plenty of time to consider and develop your entry, but don’t miss the deadline.
• Back your entry up with solid evidence for any specific claims or statistics you make in your entry, e.g. screenshots of Google Analytics, your CRM or social media insights.
• Include feedback and endorsements. Independent feedback, especially from customers or suppliers, can be very persuasive, whether it’s from evaluation forms, social media comments or complimentary emails.
• Use spell check and ask someone outside of your business to proofread your entry – this will make sure that it makes sense. Save and read again later with fresh eyes.
• We may ask you to provide further details about your entry, if necessary. So please ensure correct contact details are provided.