Sales savvy
Fla. Badcock unit has become bedding specialist
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 25, 2002
In the Badcock chain of more than 300 stores, Robert Stringer is regarded as the bedding specialist. For Stringer, owner of the Badcock store in Ruskin, Fla., it makes perfect sense. "Bedding is the most profitable category and the best category we've got in the furniture industry," he said. "It's a cash-and-carry item. There's very little service attached to it. The warranties are great. The reasons just go on and on."
Stringer, who works the floor of his store with two associates, believes every shopper in his store is a potential bedding customer, and he brings the subject up every chance he gets. While 14% of Badcock's furniture sales are bedding, Stringer manages to keep his store up near 18%.
His approach is not based on a hard sell. Rather, he helps people recognize that perhaps a new set of bedding might help them sleep and feel better. "All you've got to do is start a conversation about your back or your health, and then you steer the conversation around to how you're sleeping," he said. "Typically, 90% of the responses you get are, 'My mattress is OK. It's only 15 years old.' "
With that kind of a set-up, Stringer can talk about how bedding is "absolutely the best investment in any product you can make in terms of price per day. The first thing I try to do is let the customer know I'm interested in their health and their needs. I don't overdo it, but I give them a little education about what to look for in a mattress."
During the second half of last year, Badcock upgraded its mattress merchandising, consolidating with one national brand, Serta, to complement its own Badcock Bedding brand. Badcock Bedding starts at $329 for a queen set and moves up to $499. The Serta lineup runs from $499 to $1,199. Previously, the company's top price point was $799 queen.
The merchandising shift has helped Stringer and others raise their average bedding sale from $599 to $699. "In my opinion, $599 is the bottom on where you should be for a nice bed," he said.
To appreciate a nice bed, the consumer has to lie down, which has always been a bedding salesperson's greatest challenge. "That is the hardest part," Stringer said. "Everybody wants to hang their feet off the bed, but if you do that you're going to put pressure on your back, and the mattress isn't going to be comfortable." To alleviate his customer's reticence, Stringer will get up on the mattresses himself, even clown around if it helps them relax.
Badcock offers several add-ons, including fabric protection, sheets, comforters, pillows and bed frames. "I think you should be able to add at least $200, and we have sets that run higher," Stringer says. "That's the only way you're going to get fashion introduced to the sale."
| When customers shop for bedroom furniture, bedding is a natural add-on, says store owner Robert Stringer. |
| Among the Badcock stores, this Ruskin, Fla., unit is regarded as a bedding specialist. |
|
