Comfort Solutions turns up the heat
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, April 25, 2009
Willowbrook, Ill. — Bedding producer Comfort Solutions is bucking the sales slowdown in the mattress industry with an aggressive growth strategy that defies conventional wisdom. Sales are up in a down market, and company officials see even more growth this year.
The group's licensee structure, once the dominant business model in the bedding industry but now a rarity among major bedding producers, continues to pay handsome dividends for Comfort Solutions, officials say.
The goal: To secure "a relevant and profitable position in the industry," one in the midst of major changes.
Rather than hunker down and slash spending, as many producers are doing, Comfort Solutions is upping the ante and investing for growth. At a time when other producers are trimming their executive ranks, Comfort Solutions is expanding its senior sales staff, bringing on seasoned industry executives and giving them plenty of freedom to grow the business. The new sales execs include Kevin Damewood, recently named senior vice president of sales and business development, a new position.
Comfort Solutions also is rolling out new traffic-building retail programs, designed to help cash-strapped consumers with rebates on everything from groceries to their electric bills.
And the Top 10 producer, based here in this Chicago suburb, has made inroads with an aggressive product offering that includes value-priced models in the Laura Ashley line, a broad new foam-core line at premium price points, and the first collection of bedding by a major producer aimed at overweight consumers, company officials said.
The passion, unity and resourcefulness of Comfort Solutions' licensee operators is paying major dividends in an industry now dominated by private equity-owned producers, according to Dave Roberts, CEO and president of Comfort Solutions.
"We have 11 domestic licensees," he said. "Eleven heads are better than one. We get input from 11 people who are very passionate. The bigger the bedding bureaucracy, the less passion you see in the company. It's just a job for those executives.
"But with a licensing organization like ours, it is the owner's job. In our group, when someone comes up with an idea, that idea gets improved by the engagement of our licensees."
The group includes licensees in key markets across the country, including California, where industry icon Earl Kluft is one of the newest Comfort Solutions licensees.
"It's great for us to have Earl in our group," Roberts said. "He is highly regarded nationally. His legacy is his fanaticism about quality. It is good for him to be associated with us and us with him. It's a great partnership. He makes everybody better."
Another new licensee is Sleeptronic, based in Dallas. Owner Andy Sunderji has written a stirring success story, Roberts said.
The addition of those new licensees last year, and the addition of business from a major Northeastern bedding retailer, helped push Comfort Solutions into positive sales territory for the year, according to Roberts. He said sales overall were up about 2.5% — this in a year when the industry suffered a double-digit sales decline, according to preliminary industry figures.
The outlook for 2009? "I'm almost embarrassed to say that we are looking for sales growth of more than 10%," Roberts responded. "That sounds like a public relations comment when the industry is forecasting declines of about 10%."
But, he continued, growth like that is possible because Comfort Solutions sees the current industry downturn as offering the group a unique growth window.
"When times are good," Roberts said, "we are challenged to make headway. When things are going well, retailers are less likely to make changes. When fewer people are looking for mattresses, retailers are looking for new names and new ways to stimulate traffic and close sales. Now is the time for us at Comfort Solutions to spread our wings and show how we do things differently. Our focus is to boost retail traffic. We are looking at the things we can do to create traffic."
Earlier this year, Comfort Solutions sought to help consumers stretch their dollars with a coupon book that brought savings on a variety of goods and services. Those books were tied to Comfort Solutions product offerings. Now the company is offering rebates of up to $200 on electric bills for consumers who purchase Comfort Solutions products. A similar program, offering rebates on grocery purchases, is also in the works.
"These promotions bring a value to the retailer," Roberts noted. "We are giving consumers a particular reason to visit a retailer and buy a new set of bedding."
The key to Comfort Solutions' programs for 2009 is a companywide commitment to growth.
"Our board and our licensees have said that now is the time to make investments in the future of the organization," Roberts said. "Everyone is building for the future. We are a licensing company, and our licensees are committed to growth and they have stepped up. We feel this is the right strategy, especially in these challenging times. It's a time for us to be more aggressive."
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