High-end Swedish beds save day for Connecticut retailer Sleep etc.
David Perry, Bedding editor -- Furniture Today, March 9, 2009
NORWALK, Conn. — Swedish beds came to the rescue of mattress retailer Sleep etc.
The two-store retailer, based here, is headed by bedding veteran Jeffrey Klein, whose family name has been well-known in the metro New York market for decades. His uncle, Herb Klein, ran Kleinsleep for decades, and his parents, Fred and Shirley, ran Kleinsleep stores in Connecticut for many years.
Now Jeffrey operates the two former Kleinsleep stores here and in Stamford, Conn., that his parents once operated. And he has found success in this ultra-competitive market by bringing in two high-end Swedish mattress lines, Hastens and Carpe Diem Beds of Sweden.
“I would be out of business if not for those lines,” Klein said. “In this era of reduced traffic, we have a high closing rate with those lines. Swedish beds have become approximately 45% of our business.”
Importantly, he said, those lines, and others he developed with Top 15 bedding producer Englander, are not offered by his competitors. That gives him some unique selling opportunities.
The Swedish sleep sets are not inexpensive. The Hastens line, featuring horsehair and all-natural materials, retails from about $5,500 to about $25,000 in queen.
The Carpe Diem Beds of Sweden line, which features innerspring units and natural latex, cotton and wool comfort layers, retails from about $6,000 to $23,000.
Klein has become a big believer in the power of those Swedish lines. He became the first U.S. dealer for Hastens eight years ago, and he has seen how the line has met his customers' comfort needs.
“I think those beds are wonderful,” Klein says. “They are as conforming as Tempur-Pedic” — another brand with Swedish roots that Sleep etc. also carries.
“Tempur-Pedic has great marketing,” he said. “We like Tempur-Pedic because the name is a draw. And consumers who buy Tempur-Pedic are very satisfied with their beds.”
Klein decided to add the Carpe Diem Beds of Sweden line after a visit to Sweden, where he asked retailers which line they recommended.
“They said the Carpe Diem line was equal to the Hastens line in quality,” he said. So three years ago he brought in the Carpe Diem beds, and watched the line take off.
“It's been phenomenally successful,” Klein said. The beds offer customized comfort and superior conforming qualities, he said.
The Hastens and Carpe Diem lines have sent his sales tickets into the stratosphere. The average ticket on a Hastens bed is about $12,000, he said, while the best-selling bed in the Carpe Diem line retails at about $17,500 in king.
Don't think those lines are just for the affluent consumers who live in this part of Connecticut.
“Our customers do a lot of research on the beds,” Klein said. “They may have a bad back. You would be surprised at how many customers save up for those beds. They may be a real stretch for them.”
But the consumers who purchase them are delighted with their new sleep sets, saying they offer “a deeper, more restorative, more restful sleep. The overwhelming majority are so thrilled that they call us and tell us,” Klein said.
He's such a fan of the Carpe Diem Beds of Sweden line that he has partnered with two other veteran home furnishings executives, Chuck Warshaver of World Sleep Products, and Dennis Soboti, a former retailer, to further introduce the Carpe Diem line to the U.S. market.
The three have formed Scandinavian Bed Co. (www.scandinavianbedco.com) to bring the Carpe Diem line to a select group of U.S. retailers.
Klein says retailers will enjoy the high tickets, protected distribution and high consumer satisfaction that the Carpe Diem line offers. He speaks from experience.
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