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As the Duvalay story continues to unfold on the international stage, here’s a look back at the highlights of our recent visits to Germany and South Korea…
Our founders Liz and Alan Colleran flew to Frankfurt to personally attend the biggest international trade fair for home and contract textiles.
Setting the barometer for the business year ahead, Heimtextil is the place to go for a first look at key patterns, colours and trends.
“We went to Heimtextil to discover the future!” says Liz, who attended the event with Alan over two busy days.
“It’s 15 years since we launched our iconic Duvalay Sleeping Bag and, ever since, we have continued to focus on innovation – bringing new products to market that solve common sleep problems both in leisure vehicles and the home.
‘As an affordable luxury brand, we want every Duvalay product to look as good as it feels. A big part of that is being selective about the textiles we use – from the ticking we choose for our mattresses to the cover options we offer for our sleeping bags. Being able to see, touch and feel thousands of new textiles all under one roof, and to speak to suppliers face to face, was an amazing experience.
‘As well as meeting with some of the biggest names in the textile business, we also spoke to exciting start-up companies that are bringing new, exciting concepts to the marketplace. We’ve returned home to Yorkshire feeling totally inspired by what we saw and heard!”
In addition to researching upcoming style trends, Liz and Alan used their time at the fair to learn about new, high-performing fabrics that are better for the environment.
“We have already made the eco-friendly decision to upgrade to organic cotton covers across our pillow range, which is better not only for our customers but also for every person involved in our supply chain,” explains Liz.
“As a responsible manufacturer, we had lots of conversations at Heimtextil about how we can continue to make choices that lead to better outcomes for our planet.”
Together with their son Tom, who is an integral part of the family director team, Liz and Alan were recently invited to visit one of their favourite countries, South Korea.
In the capital city of Seoul, they met with their valued partners, who are setting up a network of Duvalay distributors throughout the country – bringing the style, quality and comfort of our award-winning Hilary Devey Collection of beds and mattresses for the home to this highly-developed nation.
“We are honoured to have received the hospitality of our hosts over six memorable nights in this exciting and vibrant city,” says Liz. “Internationally, Britain is renowned for upholding some of the most rigorous manufacturing standards. We are, therefore, proud to have been selected as a trusted, legitimate partner and to be shipping containers of our high-quality, natural products to discerning buyers in East Asia.”
During their visit, the Colleran family visited a concept store that demonstrated what the Duvalay retail presence in South Korea could look like in the future.
They also spent time immersing themselves in the culture and history of their hosts’ homeland.
“Family is everything to us, so it was an honour to spend time not only with our distribution partners and retailers but also their relatives, who were so warm and welcoming,” explains Liz.
‘We visited sacred temples and markets, as well as a museum about the Korean War. Having been trusted to help people in South Korea to sleep better, it is very important to us to better understand all aspects of everyday life there as we continue to respectfully nurture our relationships.”
To discover the Hilary Devey Collection for yourself, view the range.
