HOM seeks to be No. 1 in bedding
Sales gains impressive, market share up
By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, November 4, 2001
Coon Rapids, Minn. — Several months ago, executives at HOM Furniture made an unorthodox merchandising decision about the company's very successful bedding department.They decided to downgrade the highest-priced model on the sales floor.While that would seem to fly in the face of recent trends, which have seen retailers push the top price points above $5,000, keep in mind that HOM's "downgrade" meant the new price ceiling was $3,199. That's hardly low-end.
"I was actually getting a few turns out of a $4,999 king," said Tim Sommer, HOM's bedding buyer. "But the $3,199 turns very well. We're very pleased with the way it has performed."
Sommer, in fact, has been very pleased with just about everything in HOM's bedding department this year. It has racked up impressive sales gains during a period in which when many retailers and manufacturers are struggling to stay even with last year.
"We know we've gained some market share," he said. "It's a category we're serious about."
And to have any hope of being successful, the nine-store HOM chain has to stay serious about bedding. Fellow Top 100 retailers Slumberland and Mattress Giant, as well as department store powerhouse Dayton Hudson, provide stiff competition. They team with a host of smaller players to make the Minneapolis-St. Paul area one of the most competitive mattress markets in the country.
But Sommer relishes such a challenge. He believes HOM's wide product selection, knowledgeable sales force and stellar customer service has put the retailer in a position to displace Slumberland from its longtime perch as the top mattress retailer in the area.
"I want to be the number one retailer of mattresses in my market, … and I'm going to figure out a way to do it," he said.
Sommer said stores have been particularly successful with value-oriented promotions where HOM teams with one of its innerspring vendors (Serta, Spring Air or Kingsdown) to offer a "special purchase" sleep set typically retailing for $499 to $899 in queen.
Such promotions drive traffic into stores and typically result in high closing ratios for salespeople and good margins for the retailer.
"We don't use these special purchases as a way to sell people (higher-priced bedding)," he said. "We actually sell a lot of the advertised model. We usually get huge turns."
However, Sommer believes one of HOM's best moves was last year's decision to shift to a dedicated sales force in bedding. That allows salespeople to become more knowledgeable not only about product, but about the value of a good night's sleep.
"The results have been fantastic," he said of the dedicated sales force, now known as certified sleep specialists. "The closing rate is 60% or more, … and since the salespeople are more comfortable selling better goods, the average ticket is way up."
Although many of HOM's salespeople initially were wary of become sleep specialists, those jobs are now among the most coveted in the store. Sommer said most have seen their commission income jump 20% to 30% since moving into bedding, and they don't have to spend nearly as much time completing paperwork since there are no special orders and few customer service problems.
"They don't talk about coil counts or the box spring or stuff like that unless the customer forces the issue," he explained. "And as a result, the customer buys better goods."
| HOM's mattress advertising, such as this two-page spread in a summer circular, touts the retailer's well-trained sales staff, as well as its large selection of innerspring bedding, specialty bedding and futons. HOM routinely advertises price points of more than $1,000 in queen size and occasionally above $2,000. |
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