Listen to the segment from 1 May 2024, featuring Rachel Beard from A.H. Beard.
Listen to our segment with Catherine Sayer, FBA CEO here: https://familybusinessassociation.org/article/hear-from-catherine-sayer-on-3aw-australia-overnight-with-tony-mcmanus
Listen to our segment with Michael Stillwell from Stillwell Group and special guest, David Mann here: https://familybusinessassociation.org/article/hear-from-michael-stillwell-from-stillwell-group--and-special-guest-david-mann-on-3aw-australia-overnight-with-tony-mcmanus
Listen to our segment with Emily Hammon from Scenic World here: https://familybusinessassociation.org/article/hear-from-emily-hammon-from-scenic-world-on-3aw-australia-overnight-with-tony-mcmanus
Listen to our segment with Ray Borda from Macro Group Australia here: https://familybusinessassociation.org/article/hear-from-ray-borda-from-macro-group-australia-on-3aw-australia-overnight-with-tony-mcmanus
Listen to our segment with Grant Menzies from Adina Watches here: https://familybusinessassociation.org/article/hear-from-grant-menzies-from-adina-watches-on-3aw-australia-overnight-with-tony-mcmanus
Listen to our segment with Daniel O'Sullivan from Abbe here: https://www.familybusinessassociation.org/article/hear-from-daniel-o-sullivan-from-abbe-on-3aw-australia-overnight-with-tony-mcmanus
View the transcript here:
Tony McManus
Meanwhile, it is time for Family Business Association.
Every couple of weeks, we talk about family business, Family Business Association, and some of the amazing Australian businesses, some of whom you may have never heard of before, so this is probably an example. A.H. Beard are passionate about one thing, and that is sleep. They've been making beds for 120 years of experience crafting quality mattresses and it's a topic they certainly know plenty about.
I wonder if Rachel Beard gets out of bed and actually sings that song on a regular basis. Rachel Beard is Sleep Wellness Manager, A.H. Beard, Family Business Association member. Hello, Rachel.
Rachel Beard
Hello, Tony. Thank you for having me.
Tony McManus
It's lovely to talk to you. I know you're in a faraway land. Is that just on secondment or? But thank you for joining us, on secondment or you're based there given the size of this amazing business A.H. Beard?
Rachel Beard
Yes, so I'm currently living and working in London in the UK. So, fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to come over here to do a bit of study, and broaden my horizons over in the UK, but normally and based in the head office in Sydney, Australia. So, the timing works perfect for me being only 3 o’clock in the afternoon here.
Tony McManus
So, it works perfectly for us. So, it's a thrill to have you on the programme. If I went round through this office here at 3AW or 5AA in Adelaide, and I said, have you ever heard of A.H. Beard? With great respect, I'm not too sure how many would link it in with the production of mattresses in Australia.
Rachel Beard
No, you're definitely right. I think our family brand of A.H. Beard hasn't really been at the forefront of our messaging up until recently, maybe over in the last 5 years. If you were to ask people if they were more familiar with King Koil, for example, so King Koil by A.H. Beard is one of our bigger brands that we manufacture. There is definitely more of a recollection with people with that brand, but definitely something that the business has been working on recently to get A.H. Beard to the forefront because as you said, we're actually celebrating 125 years this year and to be that old and still not as wildly recognised is something that we want to change.
Tony McManus
I'm just looking at the date, that makes probably A.H. Beard, one of the oldest, tell me if I'm wrong about this, family businesses in Australia.
Rachel Beard
I, to be honest, I'm not actually sure if we are the oldest, but we are definitely up there.
Tony McManus
The one of surely.
Rachel Beard
That's for sure. One of definitely. So yeah, very proud. I'm a 5th generation Beard family member, so it was my great, great grandfather. So, definitely something that should be shouted from the rooftop.
Tony McManus
Rachel, just share with the listeners here, 5AA in Adelaide, 3AW in Melbourne. Where did it all begin all those years ago? As you say, nearly 125 years.
Rachel Beard
So, it was, as I've mentioned, my great, great grandfather, he landed in Sydney, Australia in the late 1800s, who came with his pregnant wife and his children and noticed that other immigrants like himself were arriving with things like cutlery, crockery, furniture and clothing and saw a section of the market that nobody had anything to sleep on, so started hand making mattresses all the way back then. They were made with horse hair and kapok and they were hand sewn and hand tufted and really kind of pioneered the business that we now get to talk about here today.
Tony McManus
Do you know where it all started and which part started in Sydney, or which part of Australia?
Rachel Beard
Yeah, so it started in Sydney, correct. So, he arrived in Sydney and that's where the first beds were being made. Then, we slowly, over the years, started to expand across Australia and in New Zealand, and now exporting products around the world as well, but home-grown roots in Sydney, Australia.
Tony McManus
Presumably, Rachel, going back 125 years, very humble beginnings. I mean, it would have been, presumably, only a 1 person show.
Rachel Beard
It was a husband and a wife, so yes, definitely there was, I think a true family business. Everything's kind of done and grassroots homegrown, and that stayed through the business through a few generations before starting to expand and acquire other businesses to grow our footprint. But yeah, you're definitely right.
Tony McManus
So from where did the great, great grandfather originate?
Rachel Beard
So, he was from the UK, I'm not sure if I'm factually correct, but I think it was Birmingham.
Tony McManus
Birmingham. So, at some point he looked at his better half and said, let's get on this ship, let's head to the great unknown. This thing called Australia.
Rachel Beard
Exactly right.
Tony McManus
What a story.
Rachel Beard
And luckily he did. I know.
Tony McManus
What an amazing story. So, growing up then, Rachel, were you acutely aware? And this is really a question for anybody in a family business, at what point did you realise how amazing the heritage of the family business was?
Rachel Beard
We get asked this question a lot. I often get asked how long have I been working in the business and I often joke saying, my whole life. We grew up working in the business, whether it was bagging cot mattresses or doing the filing or washing our team’s cars in the driveway, so it was always. We were always around it in terms of the factory, and hearing the stories as well, as like every family business talking about it at the dinner table.
I think it really started to resonate as I got older and started to become a member of associations like the Family Business Association, and getting to hear other stories and hearing statistics like under 3% of Australian family businesses make it from the 4th generation and beyond. So, when you start to hear things like that and how integral family business is to Australia, and just to learn the stories and what the family business has gone through over the times, and what particularly my mum and dad have been through and my extended family, it's hard not to feel this sense of connection and loyalty to want to be a part of it and share the story and contribute to it really.
Tony McManus
Rachel, it must have been a pretty difficult time, presumably, early 1900s, World War 1, a lot of those issues for any business, was that ever spoken about and how tough that must have been for anybody trying to run a business such as A.H. Beard, in manufacturing?
Rachel Beard
There's been so many heartaches throughout the business and challenging times. I know my grandfather went to World War 2. We've been through lots of really big challenges like that. Off the top of my head, particularly around the early 90s, I was born in 92, so I'm not sure off the top of my head but those, among many other times, have been some real challenges that the business has gone through and there's real, raw emotion being that it's family, and those stories get passed down quite personally and it's hard not to think that there's not going to be more of them, but knowing that we share the stories and we do talk about them helps us as we continue to grow and move forward.
Tony McManus
I want to explore more about those challenges in just a moment.
Rachel, as you're speaking, I'm getting texts coming through. One in particular, ending in 739, that says, delivered for Forty Winks. So, I know W.H. Beard well.
Rachel Beard
That's fantastic. Yeah, Forty Winks is one of our retail partners and have been for a long time, so that's great to hear.
Tony McManus
No, not at all. Rachel, you stay there. We'll come back in just a moment. We're talking all things to do with Family Business Association.
If you've just joined us for the first time, Rachel Beard, who is a very important family member of A.H. Beard, Sleep Wellness Manager, based at the moment in the UK, for this extraordinary business for over 125 years, as part of a member of the Family Business Association.
Rachel, are you happy to take a couple of calls while you're there with me?
Rachel Beard
Yeah, sure.
Tony McManus
OK, say hi to Constance. Constance, good morning. Rachel Beard is our very special guest. Good morning to you.
Caller - Constance
Good morning, Tony and Rachel. Rachel, one, I'd like to commend your company. I don't know if you know this, Tony, if you did any background, A.H. Beard was one of the Australian companies that repaid the Covid payments that they got from the government.
Tony McManus
I didn't see that but I'm glad you shared that story, Constance. Rachel, were you across that?
Rachel Beard
Yes, definitely. Thank you, Constance. I think that is one of the many moments that I personally am really proud of and a great story to share. Obviously, like many industries, Covid hit a lot of people, and as did our family business, and we went from that tough time to all of a sudden seeing people at home and wanting to upgrade their mattress and focusing on their mental health and their overall health and wellbeing, and therefore buying new mattresses. So, we found our business was in a position where our orders skyrocketed, and we no longer needed the money and the business made the decision to give it back, as well as back pay our employees for the time when we had to cut everybody's hours, and Dad often jokes that if Grandpa was still around, he probably wouldn't have agreed with the decision, but something that we're really proud of.
Tony McManus
Rachel, you're sitting around a table, the family and the leaders of the business. That must have been a fascinating conversation during some very tough times.
Rachel Beard
Look, I'm not in a position to be sitting around the big conversations yet, but obviously seeing what they went through and knowing what they would have had to go through to make that decision, it was incredible and testament to the leaders of our business that we have and also, to the focus and the direction of where the business is going and what we truly stand for.
Tony McManus
Our very special guest, Rachel Beard, Sleep Wellness Manager with A.H. Beard. Margaret, Lower Templestowe, say hello. Good morning.
Caller - Margaret
Hello, I just got out of my bed to read the mattress that I was sleeping on. Prestige Supreme Eclipse. Very comfortable.
Tony McManus
Prestige Supreme Eclipse and it's just branded that? Do you know where you purchased that mattress, Margaret, do you remember?
Caller - Margaret
I can't remember where it was. It was about 10 years ago. I got it, but it's very comfortable.
Tony McManus
And still nice and cosy. Is that one of the labels with which you are familiar, Rach?
Rachel Beard
Yes, so Eclipse is one of the brands that we manufacture as well, and yeah, really good quality mattress. And Margaret, yourself like many people, generally, we have a mattress for around 7 to 10 years, so hopefully maybe you can start considering whether you're in need of replacing a new one, or whether that one is, like you said, still comfortable and working for you and giving you a great night's sleep. That's what's most important.
Tony McManus
Great night sleep. Margaret, so you said it's nearly 10 years old. You still find it comfortable? Is it single, double or king?
Caller - Margaret
Well, because I'm on my own now but it's great, very comfortable because it's got like Latex.
Tony McManus
Oh yes, beautiful. Gorgeous. Margaret, thank you for share like a bear. We love that.
Greg and Shelton, morning Greg.
Caller - Greg
Good morning, Rachel.
Rachel Beard
Good morning, Greg.
Caller - Greg
I had an uncle, Keith, and uncle, Harry, and an uncle, Wally, and they were all Bills, used and Bills’ Brothers, BBB. Where do they fit into your part of the competition of that?
Rachel Beard
Sorry, let's start again. Did you say the Bills’ Brothers?
Caller - Greg
Yeah, they were my uncles.
Rachel Beard
I’m not familiar.
Caller - Greg
But they started Bills’ Brothers, which was BBB mattresses.
Tony McManus
So they were doing mattress. Are they still in business, Greg?
Caller - Greg
No, they're taken over by Dunlop, I think, going back a bit. But with Rachel, I just wondered if, where they were based, I suppose, they would have been in competition, wouldn’t they?
Rachel Beard
They probably would have been.
Tony McManus
All those years ago, how long ago was the?
Caller - Greg
That's what I'm trying to find out.
Tony McManus
Yeah. How long ago was it do you think it may have been taken over as many of those great businesses were, Greg?
Caller - Greg
Oh well, I suppose it would have been, let me have a think. After the war, I suppose.
Tony McManus
Okay, so post war. It's one to sort of maybe do some research and have a look at Greg, but thank you very much for that contribution. It just makes you think it must have, all those tough times where, I mean, everybody's got a bed. That's a good thing, I guess, about any business such as yours. Everybody in Australia really needs a bed, and sometimes, as many as one every 10 years.
Rachel Beard
Yeah, exactly right. That's definitely, I mean, everybody sleeps. Well, everybody should be getting sleep, and the reality is that not all Australians are doing it well. And I think 40% of Australians are currently not getting the sleep that they need and the mattress plays a really key role in that. But also, around my role around Sleep Wellness Manager is to help highlight what even is sleep and what role does it play in every aspect of our lives and how do we get more of it? So, definitely an important space to be in, and one, like you said, that touches everybody in Australia and beyond.
Tony McManus
I certainly know Gerald Quigley and I often talk about how important, and listeners talk about how important sleep is. We have a regular contributor on the programme just talking about sleeping, particularly, for example, those that do shift work. How vital that is to our, as you say, mental health and overall well being.
Rachel Beard
Yeah, definitely. I think sleep as a topic is, there's no one size fits all. Everybody's got different demands in their life, in their lifestyle, in their work lives, and I think it's really understanding what is important for you and really doing your research and understanding how to get the right amount and good quality sleep, what A.H. Beard call premium sleep, and it's to make sure that you can live a long, happy, healthy life because they play such an essential role.
Tony McManus
I guess, hopefully, most people would spend, on average, anywhere between 6 and 9 hours a day in their bed.
Rachel Beard
Exactly. We spend roughly a third of our lives sleeping, which is a long time to be in intimate contact with a product being a mattress. So, you want to make sure that you do your research and was it Margaret that had the latex mattress? So do your research, find what you like, and look for things that are going to help benefit your sleep. Things like temperature, pressure relief, support, all of those things that really combine to create a good night's sleep.
Tony McManus
Is price point a consideration, obviously for any purchase, but does it become important and how's that navigate with purchasing a mattress for example?
Rachel Beard
Yes, I always suggest to people that we shouldn't buy a mattress or choose a mattress based on cost or convenience. It's, as we just mentioned, you use it roughly 7 to 9 hours every single night and it directly impacts how you look, how you feel and how you perform the next day, so costs really shouldn't be a deciding factor when looking for a mattress. But that being said, everybody's got a different budget, which is why A.H. Beard makes beds for every type of sleeper and every type of budget. We've got one that starts from $699 all the way up to $20,000, and that's not to say that the most expensive is the best because sometimes it's not. Everybody's comfort is different. Comfort is subjective. It's like I mentioned, do your research, go into the store and lay on some and find out what you like the feel of and choose that way.
Tony McManus
Rachel, a lot of texts, which is just amazing talking about beds.
G'day, Tony. And Rachel, this is from Pam, who says, I was born in 41. I had a horse hair mattered when I was a child. Just thought I would share that with you. They were handmade. It may have been A.H. Beard mattress back in 1941.
Rachel Beard
Oh, that's incredible. Yes, it's crazy to think that all the way back then they would hand sew what kind of look like a sausage in casing out of fabric and stuff it, like you said, with things like horse hair and kapok and kind of beat it until it resembled the rectangle and handcuffed it. And that was what mattresses were made of then, and it's nice and I'm really proud to say that some of those traditions we still use today, but they're used now in our ultra premium offerings like handcuffing, for example, is a craft and it's one that we really honour and like I said, still used today, but I would probably suggest people maybe move away from just plain horse hair beds to something a little bit more innovative.
Tony McManus
Ellen says, the turning over bit. She's got a long text, but essentially she's saying she's had one, an A.H. Beard mattress for 4 to 5 months, gives it a pretty high rating. 7, I'm assuming that's 7 out of 10. It's about rotation. How important is rotation and do we all do it as often as we should?
Rachel Beard
I would say no, people don't do it as often as they should. It is essential, particularly for a brand new mattress in the early stages. The way A.H. Beard makes beds is made to order, so everything is new and fresh. So, it's essential to rotate the mattress so that the comfort layers can settle in, and particularly if you've got one person in the bed or maybe if you've got two people in the bed and they're different sizes, you want the whole sleep surface to settle at the same time. It helps to minimise things like body impressions or body signatures and will just help with the longevity of the overall mattress. So, particularly important right at the beginning, but also essential to increase the life of your mattress.
Tony McManus
So many questions still to come. Rachel Beard, Sleep Wellness Manager at A.H. Beard, Family Business Association.
Our very special guest and how good is Rachel Beard, Sleep Wellness Manager at A.H. Beard. Thank you for your time, Rach. I'm thinking the joy that you can get by spending 25 minutes walking through, it could be David Jones, one of the many other great stores around Australia, and they're looking at beds and certainly looking at bed linen or is that just me? To make that space really attractive and look restful as you enter your bedroom.
Rachel Beard
Yeah, definitely. I think, sometimes, the bedroom in totality gets overlooked on how important it is to help you get a good night's sleep, and that's things like what you sleep on, what you sleep in, things like your lighting and creating your own sanctuary or your own sleep oasis. It can definitely get lost in the choices. But understanding that it does play a huge role is equally as important.
Tony McManus
Denton pillows, one of the all time great brands, been around a long time as well.
Rachel Beard
Yes, definitely Dentons. They've got great pillows and partners in Melbourne.
Tony McManus
They're wonderful. Tell us the generations. How many generations working in the business that is A.H. Beard as we go to air this morning?
Rachel Beard
So currently, the business is being run by the 4th generation with 5th generation working in the business.
Tony McManus
And they would vary in demographic, obviously. So, some young people coming through?
Rachel Beard
Yes, so.
Tony McManus
Of which you are one.
Rachel Beard
I am one. Yes, I'm the youngest at the moment, working in the family business of the 5th gen and yeah, I've got my brother, my sister, my cousin, my dad and my uncle.
Tony McManus
Which is just great. So, tell us about the manufacturing. We all know the world has changed, certainly since great, great grandfather started all those years ago. The world of manufacturing has changed and continues to change. Is that something on which execs keep an eye?
Rachel Beard
Definitely, I think innovation has always been a really important focus for the business. From very, very early on with my grandpa always being really innovative in terms of machinery, and the way that we make beds, and even up to today, constantly looking at what countries like the USA and the UK and Europe are doing, in terms of product design, and innovation, and the research and technology that's coming out around how do we create a surface that helps people get a great night’s sleep. So yeah, definitely the manufacturing process itself, as well as more recently, the end life of the mattress and what happens to it after as well, so looking at that full circle.
Tony McManus
So, I guess that's an important thing. I mean, what happens to them all? All the mattresses that are no longer loved.
Rachel Beard
So, a lot of them, unfortunately, are ending up in landfill, which is something that our business and a few other manufacturers as well have been pioneering to change that. It's obviously quite a large item and we don't want to impact our beautiful country that is Australia. So, what we've been working on with the Australian Bedding Stewardship Council is how do we divert them from landfills and get them recycled. So currently, about 70% of mattress components can be recycled and working towards, obviously, increasing that as we move forward, which comes down to the way beds are made, what's in them and what people do with them at the end of their life.
Tony McManus
Another text coming in from Maggie, who says, hi, Rach. I've restored double bed, must be a century or so, old brass and iron. Already it sounds gorgeous. Apart from losing a cast or two, current dilemma is buying a new mattress. Obviously, it would need to fit on the slate, making your choice of mattresses not easy. I guess, probably, that's how important your partners are in retail that helps support the idea and provide some feedback on those options.
Rachel Beard
Definitely, we really value our partnerships across Australia, from the top ones being Harvey Norman, Forty Winks and Domayne for example, and it's being able to educate them about our business, about what makes us different, as well as how to choose the right mattress and how to connect the features and benefits to the individual customer needs because, as we mentioned earlier, everybody is different. If you suffer from back pain or restless legs or maybe you've got asthma and allergies, like these are some of the questions that you should be considering before going into store and looking for a new sleep surface, and ones that we really try and keep at the forefront when we're designing mattresses.
Tony McManus
The majority, Rachel, or all of, all made in Australia?
Rachel Beard
Yes, so we've got manufacturing facilities across every state in Australia, as well as in New Zealand, so majority of them, obviously, are made in Australia, with some being made in New Zealand but that's it.
Tony McManus
Fantastic. Now, I'm going to hazard a guess and say how many people at factory level. I would have thought, given right across Australia, I'm going to say a team of at least somewhere between 60 and 80.
Rachel Beard
So overall, across Australia and New Zealand, we've got a team of just under 400 people. Majority of that is on the production floor. Our head office, being in Sydney, in New South Wales, is our biggest branch and we do the same manufacturing process and the same way of making beds in every one of our states. It’s just comparable by size.
Tony McManus
400. The reason that I became involved and fascinated by the idea of family businesses, Rachel, was the late, great David Haymes, paint manufacturer based in Ballarat. Friend and mentor for many, many years, and David would often say about any great family business. You're responsible, in your case, for 400 families.
Rachel Beard
Yes, it's one of our values or part of our DNA is that we're a caring family of families and that although at the core of our family business is the big family that we are a family of 400 and I'm proud to share that we have multi-generational families working within our multi-generational family business. So Neville Middleton, for example, is one of our master craftsmen. He works with my grandpa, he works with my dad and now he's working with us as the 5th gen, so I think that whole idea of family of families is something that is at the core of our business. 100% echo that testament.
Tony McManus
I love those stories. Isn't that just in itself an amazing story? Rachel, as a young woman, can I just compliment you on how extraordinary you are? I wish you well. Thank you for spending a bit of time with us and wish you well, and I think now we know a bit more about the brand that is A.H. Beard, but all those great sub-brands that probably people would be more familiar, but it just to get you to think next time you're buying a bed. It may be, hopefully, an A.H. Beard bed.
Rachel Beard
Yes, thank you so much, Tony. I really appreciate the time. I think if anyone's looking to improve their sleep or whether they're in the market or not for a new mattress, it's definitely something that should be prioritised and something that we truly do care about, and I appreciate the opportunity to share our story and hopefully, maybe, we'll meet again shortly.
Tony McManus
I hope we do, Rachel. Well done, you. Rachel Beard, Sleep Wellness Manager with A.H. Beard, Family Business Association.
