Mattress industry veteran Tim Sommer opens consulting practice

Says retailers can improve business practices

David Perry -- Furniture Today, May 18, 2009

Tim Sommer

BURNSVILLE, Minn. — Bedding veteran Tim Sommer, returning to the mattress industry after a two-year absence, sees some positives, some negatives - and some opportunities for retailers to sharpen their business practices.

Sommer, who spent almost two years building an Internet stamp business that is now established and affords him time to resume work in the mattress industry, has founded SommerTime Consulting here.

In talking with bedding executives at the Las Vegas Market earlier this year, he said he was struck by the number of people who saw the glass as half empty rather than half full.

"In these difficult economic times," he said, "I found a group of intrepid individuals who were positive and truly believed that opportunity exists even now and were willing to act on it. That was an excellent surprise for me. But, to be honest, as I made my way around the market I found more people operating on the gloomy side than on the sunny side. The folks with the more positive view had more impact with me. I must admit that I am a glass-half-full kind of guy."

Sommer said retailers must realize that "there is no lightning in a bottle that will fix this economy and turn the business around next week." But he said there is an opportunity to attack areas of the business that are often ignored or set aside during busier times.

One area to address now, he said, is the sales staff.

"I believe that the market today is suffering from a shortage of scrappy, dogged, determined, always-be-closing kinds of salespeople," he said. "Certainly, there are salespeople in stores all over the country who possess those qualities. Perhaps they have simply forgotten how to use them. Asking the customer to do business, every time, every customer, no matter what, is the simplest way to increase sales, individually, and as a company. That strategy in no way conflicts with the softer customer-driven approach, of which I am a fan."

Retailers also need to realize, Sommer said, that consumers need a good night's sleep now more than ever.

"In these tough times," he said, "can anyone afford to perform at less than optimum levels? Improvement in sleep is perhaps the single most important and most controllable performance-enhancing action a person can take. This is not the time for anyone to settle for performance levels reduced by a mattress that no longer fits, is broken down, or is too small."

The most significant change he's seen in the mattress business is "the greatly reduced traffic, even in the superstar stores and even on the superstar products."

But he said that while traffic is down, it's not gone. "We still must find tools that will help us get the most out of the traffic that is coming. We need to work with what we have and work on what we have not."

SommerTime Consulting offers services for retailers and manufacturers. Among its areas of expertise are sales and sales management training and methodology, merchandising plans, retail store analysis, and customized programs, Sommer said. He can be reached at tim@sommertimeconsulting.com or by phone at (763) 670-6399.