Bensons for Beds appoints former Boots exec to head up owned brands
Bensons for Beds has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of former Boots executive Emma Forbes as director of owned brands.
Forbes previously served as own brand director at Pharmacity in Vietnam. Before that, she was senior brand manager at Boots in Thailand and has also previously worked with Aldi.
Subscribe to TRBIn her new role, she will be responsible for Bensons for Beds’ owned brand portfolio, which includes Slumberland, Staples & Co, Eve Sleep and Simply by Bensons.
Nick Collard, chief executive of Bensons for Beds, said: “Emma joins us at an important moment as we look to sharpen how our own brands work harder for customers and for the business. There is a real opportunity to create clearer choices across the portfolio, strengthen the role each brand plays, and use our scale, insight and manufacturing capability to create products that are more distinctive, more relevant and easier for customers to buy with confidence.”
“Emma’s blend of commercial, brand and category experience will help us accelerate that work and bring even greater focus to one of the most important growth areas for Bensons.”
Bensons is currently investing in product innovation, customer experience and its vertically integrated manufacturing capability, with its owned brands playing a central role in the strategy,
Forbes said: “What attracted me to Bensons is the depth of opportunity within the portfolio. There are brands with real history and credibility, alongside propositions that can be developed for how customers shop today.”
“My focus will be on making the portfolio easier to understand, more compelling in store and online, and more closely connected to the sleep needs, style preferences and life stages of our customers. I’m excited to get started and work with the team to build the next chapter.”
In March, Bensons announced that adjusted EBITDA grew by £5.7 million to £4.8 million in the year to 27 September 2025, to mark the group’s strongest EBITDA performance since 2019.
