Nelson firm ties up seating deal with Burnley FC

Nelson-firm REM has joined up with Premier League club Burnley FC to give Clarets fans the chance to emulate manager Sean Dyche.

After refurbishing the two technical areas at Turf Moor over the summer, the salon furniture specialists created a range of replica ‘dug-out’ seats for the club’s supporters.

And Dyche has already given the new chairs his official seal of approval after visiting REM’s factory to watch them being made.

“I think it’s a brilliant idea,” said the Burnley boss, who was joined on the factory tour by first team stars George Boyd and Lukas Jutkiewicz.

“Dug-outs have changed considerably over the years, from the days of wooden benches and confined areas which weren’t particularly well defined to the technical areas we have now.

“Personally, I don’t sit down much during games - I prefer to be in and amongst it on the touchline. But the new seats we have at Turf Moor are certainly visually striking and very comfortable so I’m sure the replicas will go down well with our fans, particularly in the run up to Christmas.”

Chris Blakey, finance director at REM, came up with the novel idea for the new seats, which are a carbon copy of the ones Dyche and his backroom staff use on matchdays.

He said: “As a die-hard Burnley fan I’m so proud to be involved with the football club that I love. It all started in the summer, when we came up with the idea of producing beds for the club’s medical department in the club’s colours.

“On the back of that we then supplied 34 new seats for the two technical areas at Turf Moor. Then we thought, ‘why don’t we do replica chairs for the club shop? It’s something a bit different and as far as we are aware I think Burnley are the first club in the country to sell replica dug-out seats.”

Like the real dug-out seats at Turf Moor, the replica designs are claret and blue and incorporate a headrest with sponsors name ‘Fun88’ and a chair back with ‘REM Salons’ embroidery.

Peter Johnson, client relationship partner at Cassons, accountants for both REM and Burnley FC, said: “It’s great to see two of our clients working together in such an innovative way. Businesses need to diversify and develop niche markets and this is a great example of an East Lancashire company thinking outside the box.”

REM is one of the leading suppliers of designer furniture and equipment for the hair and beauty industry. However Chris hopes the firm’s move into the glamorous world of football may open up a whole new business line.

He added: “The seats are basically the same product we’ve always produced and easy for us to manufacture. Who knows where this might lead. If they take off then it might lead to us working with other Premier League clubs.“Working with the football club has certainly got the factory buzzing. A lot of our staff are Burnley fans so they were made up when Sean, George and Lukas took time out to visit the factory and see how the new seats are made.”