Guaranteed Irish welcomes Harvey Norman support for Irish Suppliers

April 1, 2019

Guaranteed Irish welcomes Harvey Norman support for Irish suppliers and manufacturers including Meath-made homeware and interiors

Harvey Norman unveils dedicated advertising campaign worth €220,000 to promote Guaranteed Irish products available in stores nationwide

Guaranteed Irish, the not-for-profit business membership organisation championing 600+ homegrown and international businesses in Ireland, is today welcoming a new campaign unveiled by retailer Harvey Norman to promote the very best of Irish-made homeware and interiors.

The campaign has been launched to coincide with Guaranteed Irish Month, an annual event that aims to shine a spotlight on businesses in Ireland that create sustainable jobs and add significant value to their local communities, and encourage consumers to buy products, gifts and services from businesses based in Ireland.

Harvey Norman is supporting Guaranteed Irish members through a €220,000 investment in advertising across print, radio and TV, with a focus on promoting high-quality Irish craftsmanship in bedding, furniture and interiors. The campaign will showcase a range of leading Irish brands including The Briody Group (Briody Bedding Ltd, Bona Vista Ltd & Deerpark Ltd) a family-run bedroom furniture manufacturer in Ballinacree, Co Meath. It employs 90 staff, some of whom have been with the business for over 40 years. To complement its extensive range of mattresses, Bona Vista Ltd also manufacture bedroom furniture from top quality sustainable timber, finished in a range of colours and designs.

Pictured: Robbie Auckram, Harvey Norman, Brid O’Connell, Guaranteed Irish and David Briody, Briody Group

Harvey Norman currently has 15 stores across the island of Ireland, employing over 900 people, and has just celebrated its 15th year in Ireland. In addition to its flagship Tallaght store, Harvey Norman has outlets at Swords, Carrickmines, Rathfarnham and Blanchardstown in Dublin, two stores in Cork at Kinsale Road and Little Island and additional stores around the country at Castlebar, Drogheda, Limerick, Naas, Tralee and Waterford.

Guaranteed Irish has over 600 members which make a significant contribution to the Irish economy every year, both in terms of turnover and employment, as well as to their local communities.

The organisation considers three core criteria when assessing an applicant for membership – evidence of delivering quality Irish jobs, supporting local communities and a commitment to Irish provenance.

Brid O’Connell, CEO of Guaranteed Irish, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Harvey Norman, who are a proud supporter of businesses in Ireland. There’s a wealth of talent and craftsmanship on display across their range, and, by purchasing quality, Irish-made homeware, consumers can be confident that they’re benefiting Irish communities and supporting Irish jobs in the process.”

Robbie Auckram, Bedding General Manager at Harvey Norman Ireland, said: “At Harvey Norman, we love to support local craftsmanship and you can see that when you walk into our stores and find that 75% of mattresses are made in Ireland. We’re incredibly proud to be supporting members of Guaranteed Irish. Ireland is home to some of the world’s best furniture and bed manufacturers and we work with as many Irish brands as possible, like Briody Bedding, Bona Vista, Kaymed, King Koil, Odearest, Wellbeing, Morans Sofas and Scatterbox, just to name a few.”

David Briody, Director at the Briody Group, said: “Our relationship with Harvey Norman began in 2011 and has grown and strengthened ever since. Their commitment to our brand was underpinned by a tour of our production facilities where sales team members from all 15 stores discovered our story, met our staff and found out exactly how our products are made. It’s this attention to detail when it comes to staff training that gives us confidence that our product is being presented to their customers in the best possible way.”