Promotion, training pay off for specialists
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, November 30, 2009
HIGH POINT — Bedding specialty stores are gaining share because they are promoting bedding more frequently than their competition, they have more professional sales associates, and they give customers a better shopping experience.
Those are some of the reasons that leading bedding producers cite in explaining the continuing growth of the bedding specialty store channel, which gained one percentage point of market share in the past two years in Furniture/Today's latest distribution study (published July 27) and now commands 42% of the retail bedding market.
That gives the bedding specialists a three percentage point lead over the furniture store channel, which was the leading distribution channel for bedding with a 39% market share in 2004.
But the bedding specialists have turned the tables in recent years with an aggressive approach to the category, leading producers say.
“Specialty stores are gaining market share because they promote the category 52 weeks per year,” said Gerry Borreggine, CEO of Therapedic. “Their aggressive posture has paid dividends as consumers become accustomed to seeing the frequency of their message, and consequently have become more comfortable in viewing the specialists as a potential purchase destination.”
“Bedding specialty stores hold a unique position in today's marketplace,” added Ron Passaglia, president of Restonic. “In order for them to survive and thrive in today's difficult market conditions they have been able to capture the elements for success: Key retail locations, continued training for the retail floor salesperson, high perceived value in product offerings, wide selections for the consumer, and a strong, consistent advertising program focused on mattresses. Their core focus allows them to concentrate on these important business principles day after day.”
“The driving force of business at a bedding specialty store is bedding,” said David Binke, executive vice president of sales at Comfort Solutions. “Specialty retailers have the ability to increase their locations and drive more efficiencies in both marketing and logistics, while gaining market share through their keen focus on growth.”
Added Rick Robinson, president of Spring Air International: “Bedding stores will continue to build share because they have a laser focus on the mattress business, generally have broad selection, are widely distributed, and promote heavily, even in today's environment.”
Kerry Tramel, president of Lady Americana, sees three keys to the growth of the specialty stores: “The number of specialty stores is increasing, they have more effective advertising than any other channel when it comes to bedding, and they offer convenience for the customer.”
That strong advertising focus is one of the biggest factors in the specialists' growth, producers assert.
“One thing the bedding stores have continued to do is advertise,” noted Jeff Scorziell, president of Anatomic Global. “The bedding customer comes into the market so infrequently and for such a short period of time you need to be speaking to them. Most bedding chains even in a difficult retail climate like this keep their names in front of the buyers and they gain share because of that. One thing that has helped them to advertise consistently is positioning lesser known brands that can give them higher margins so they can keep advertising.”
Bob Naboicheck, president of Gold Bond, has similar views.
“Bedding specialty stores are gaining share because of heavy promotion that leads to greater perceived value by consumers,” he said. “In today's challenging economic climate, the consumer wants the best deal, and through weekly ads in the newspaper or radio/television promotion, the consumer is lured into the showrooms. I also think that many of these stores have gotten much better in terms of customer support and the entire shopping experience over the past few years. While price may be a key driver to get the customer into the store, the better training and softer sales approach in the better sleep shops helps close the deal.”
The strength of sales associates is also cited by Mike Zippelli, CEO of Classic Sleep Products.
“I think sleep shops finally understand that while aggressive pricing might get the consumer into the shop, closing the deal requires a retail sales associate closing the sale by talking about a better night's sleep,” he said. “The customer is really responding to this in a big way. Also, increased training is making the RSA more knowledgeable and helpful to the consumer, making the process much better and yielding stronger results for the channel.”
Not all producers see the specialty stores as being on the rise. “I do not believe that specialty stores are gaining share,” said Dave Young, CEO of VyMaC Corp., parent of Verlo Mattress Factory Stores. “I do believe they are holding their share of the bedding market in this economy.”
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