Breakfast briefing: Dreams, Net-a-Porter and more

Dreams bidders line up

MLily, a foam manufacturer in China, and its rival mattress-maker King Koil, are competing with British mattress-maker Silent Night for Dreams in a £400m takeover, The Telegraph reported.

Steinhoff, the South African furniture and household goods retailer, had also explored a takeover option but gave up, owing to competition concerns.

Dreams has been put up for sale by Sun European, which has hired Rothschild to run the auction. 

Net-a-Porter appoints new global buying director

Net-a-Porter has appointed Elizabeth von der Goltz as global buying director, Drapers reported.

Von der Goltz, former manager at Bergdorf Goodman in New York, will join Yoox Net-a-Porter Group’s London headquarters in mid-summer.

She will report to Net-a-Porter president Alison Loehnis and managing director Matthew Woolsey.

Amazon customers get refunds without returning items

Amazon customers in the UK can get refunds on items costing under £10 without returning them, This Is Money reported.

This ‘No return’ practice was already used in America but is new to Britain.

Consumer watchdogs say it would be uneconomical for the company to take back such a high volume of items.

Amazon declined to comment.

Sports Direct staff agency Transline to be rescued

Sports Direct’s staff agency Transline may be rescued by Assist Resourcing, a subsidiary of Russell Taylor Group, Sky News reported.

The privately owned recruitment group is in talks to agree a takeover of Transline, which may take place next week.

Transline’s statement said: “We have been involved in a number of negotiations, and are now at an advanced stage with one of the parties we have engaged with."

"We have a clear timeline to complete the agreement with the party in question within the 10 days."

Russell Taylor Group could not be reached for comment.

MyOptique reports a loss of £14.7m

MyOptique has reported a loss of £14.7m before tax in the year ending April 30, compared with £7.4m in the previous year, The Telegraph reported.

The online eyewear retailer reveals the loss despite an increase in turnover from £30m to £51m.

The retailer reported a 74% increase in the cost of sales and administrative expenses.

The company acquired German rival 4care and UK-based premium eyewear retailer Eyewearbrands last year.

A spokesperson for MyOptique said: “The group accelerated investment in growth within strong customer lifetime value product categories, giving rise to a greater short-term loss.”