The appointment of Mike Schmidt, former finance director of DFS and B&M, is a strong move for Poltronesofa (ScS’ Italian owner) as he brings a wealth of experience of the UK upholstery market and its closest competitor. His knowledge of the market will help Poltronesofa avoid a Bunnings-type disaster, where the Australian DIY retailer’s lack of understanding about the UK consumer and unwillingness to adjust its offer to the UK market after acquiring Homebase, doomed it to failure. An early priority for Schmidt should be to improve ScS’s brand consideration among upholstery shoppers, says GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.
Poltronesofa has been in a state of transition since acquiring ScS in January 2024, refurbishing its stores and developing its offer to focus more on design. The retailer has recently put the capstone on this conversion through rebranding its stores to the ‘Poltronesofa at ScS’ fascia. Now with this phase complete, the next step is to communicate this new offer and fascia to prospective customers and become more considered among shoppers, which was challenging in 2025.
Matt Walton, senior data analyst at GlobalData, comments: “GlobalData’s consumer data* found that ScS ranked eighth in its best performance for consideration among upholstery shoppers in 2025, in Q2 2025. This places it consistently behind the likes of Argos, IKEA, John Lewis and DFS for consideration. This is especially pertinent now that the conversion of ScS has been completed and the retailer aims to appeal to a wider customer base from its previous more price-sensitive shopper, through its new more design led offer.”
ScS’ pivot towards design and customisation from being more price-focused started before the acquisition when it adjusted its advertising to have more of an emotional appeal. This shift towards design is the right strategy as buying into a new look remains a key driver for upholstery purchases. However, there is a risk in going after a different customer base which is already well served by other upholstery retailers.
Walton concludes: “The challenge for ScS will be to retain price-sensitive customers while also attracting a more affluent shopper, which is already served by multiple other retailers. The rebrand should support this as it creates a clear break and adjusting its interest free credit offer up to five years, as it did in January 2026, should further encourage shoppers to trade up. However, with DFS reporting that footfall has softened since the start of 2026, ScS is attempting to change course in stormy seas.”
*The consumer research is from GlobalData’s Monthly Home survey of 1,667 respondents conducted between January and December 2025. These months are then rolled up into calendar quarters to ensure a robust sample size.
