Specialty sleep category won't sink like waterbeds
By David Perry, Executive editor -- Furniture Today, March 28, 2004
Sealy's announcement last week that it is developing new specialty sleep products is the latest evidence the specialty sleep category remains in a growth mode.
Sealy revealed, in response to questions from Furniture/ Today, that it is developing "alternative product offerings and designs for launch in 2004." Sealy will discuss those products with key retailers at the upcoming High Point market.
"The number of competitive offerings will increase in this (specialty sleep) product category as other manufacturers respond to the consumer interest and attempt to protect their retail space," Sealy CEO Dave McIlquham told us.
Sealy's upcoming entries in the category will further intensify what is already a fiercely competitive marketplace, and will only add more interest to a question I'm asked more and more these days: How long can Select Comfort and Tempur-Pedic keep their amazing growth stories going?
I looked into the broader question of the future of specialty sleep in our Bedding Today special section last week. I found plenty of bedding majors predicting that specialty sleep has a strong future.
Interestingly, a bit of bedding history — the rise and subsequent fall of the waterbed market — was brought up a couple of times. Some innerspring purists see that as a cautionary tale for specialty sleep, but even they don't see specialty sleep going down the drain (so to speak) like waterbeds.
Ron Ainsworth, president of Fashion Bed Group, who was a waterbed guy in an earlier business life, referred to the "sophisticated, informed consumers" who are buying specialty sleep products nowadays. In many cases, it's aging baby boomers who are buying those products. Translation: These are mainstream consumers, a far cry from the hippie-types who bought waterbeds.
Sealy doesn't pursue fringe product categories. As the world's largest bedding producer, it addresses major consumer markets.
A number of conventional bedding producers already have strong specialty sleep programs in place, and most of them are expanding offerings rapidly. Most of these efforts are on the foam side of the equation, where Tempur-Pedic is positioned. Restonic is making waves — or should we say clouds? — with its introduction of air-cushioned innerspring models, but so far there has been little interest by the bedding majors in pursuing the airbed market.
Since nothing breeds success like success, we wouldn't be surprised to see more competition in the airbed market.
One final note onspecialty sleep: Sadly, hard data on the size of this market is virtually nonexistent.
The International Sleep Products Assn. is collecting data on the category and will be reporting its findings down the road. That's a good thing. We all know specialty sleep is growing. Eventually we may be able to learn how big that category really is.
Opinion columns are available online at www.furnituretoday.com.
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