Sofology (formerly known as Sofaworks, CSL, Clayton Salerooms, and CS Lounge Suites Ltd), is a British furniture retailer specialising in

sofa A couch, also known as a sofa, settee, or chesterfield, is a cushioned item of furniture for seating multiple people (although it is not uncommon for a single person to use a couch alone). It is commonly found in the form of a bench with up ...

History

Sofology started out as CSL Sofas, and was originally an

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

rooms based in

Clayton-le-Moors Clayton-le-Moors is an industrial town in the borough of Hyndburn in the county of Lancashire, England. located two miles north of Accrington. The town has a population of 8,522 according to the 2011 census. To the west lies Rishton, to the ...

, Accrington,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

. In 1982, after including catalogue seconds lounge furniture, they moved into specialist sofa retail and manufacture. The company originally started as a high street store chain, selling only its own products. Around 2002, CSL Sofas ceased sofa manufacture in the United Kingdom, citing that it could source products in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

and the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

at better value. The business focuses on retailing leather sofas, fabric sofas, corner sofas and recliner sofas. In February 2016, Sofaworks re branded to Sofology, following the loss of a court case against a competitor who argued that the Sofaworks name infringed on one of its owned brands. In December 2010, it saw 260 complaints to the

ASA ASA as an abbreviation or initialism may refer to: Biology and medicine * Accessible surface area of a biomolecule, accessible to a solvent * Acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin * Advanced surface ablation, refractive eye surgery * Anterior spinal ar ...

. This was as a result of an advert created to remake "

Girls on Film "Girls on Film" is the third single by English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 13 July 1981. The single became Duran Duran's Top 10 breakthrough in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at Number 5 in July 1981. The band personally selected t ...

", by Duran Duran. This used scantily clad women around the sofas. However, the complaints were not upheld, and the advert was allowed to run. In October 2017, DFS announced the purchase of Sofology in a £25 million deal. The acquisition was ratified by the

Competition and Markets Authority The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the competition regulator in United Kingdom. It is a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom, responsible for strengthening business competition and preventing and reducing anti-com ...

in November 2017. The business was runner-up in the 2010 ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

'' ''Business of the Year'' (lost to

Pets at Home Pets at Home is a British pet supplies retailer selling pet products including food, toys, bedding, medication, accessories and pets. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History The first stor ...

). However, in 2010, it came first in Business XL ''Fastest Growing Business''. From 2013 to 2017, adverts for the company featured a

Three-toed sloth The three-toed or three-fingered sloths are arboreal neotropical mammals . They are the only members of the genus ''Bradypus'' and the family Bradypodidae. The four living species of three-toed sloths are the brown-throated sloth, the maned slot ...

named Neal and they were narrated by English actor

Craig Cash Craig Cash (born 11 September 1960)
Retrie ...

. Sofology featured

Owen Wilson Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has had a long association with filmmaker Wes Anderson with whom he shared writing and acting credits for '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and '' The Royal ...

in two marketing campaigns, which began in November 2017. From May 2021,

Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received various awards and nominations, including a British Academy Film Award a ...

has featured in their commercials.

References

{{Reflist Companies based in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Retail companies established in 1974 Furniture retailers of the United Kingdom 2017 mergers and acquisitions