Strong retail partnerships create growth for Jamison
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, March 25, 2007
Franklin, Tenn. — Privately held Jamison, which has been making bedding for well over a century, has found success by relying on strong relationships with its retailers, company officials say.
"Retailers enjoy doing business with Jamison," said Thad Pettyjohn, vice president of sales, "and the feeling is mutual."
With 123 years of experience in making mattresses and building loyal dealer relationships, Jamison stands out in the highly competitive bedding arena with its emphasis on service. Customers really do come first, officials say.
"Our philosophy," Pettyjohn said, "is that the retailer is No. 1. And he wants to be treated as if he is No. 1."
Jamison is knocking on the door of the list of the top 15 U.S. bedding producers. Industry observers say Jamison's volume approaches $50 million. And Jamison officials say their company is on a fast-growth track. Sales have grown 15% to 20% in each of the last three years, a rate well above the industry average, the officials say.
Jamison is a substantial player in the hospitality market. Its beds are in most of the Marriott hotels in the United States, gaining wide exposure for a specialty sleep model that Jamison supplies to that chain.
The producer also has a strong network of independent retailers in its Southeastern sales base.
"We are in partnership with independent retailers," said Frank Gorrell, Jamison's president. "Ten years ago, everyone was saying the independents were going to be extinct. Now their sons are taking over their businesses and they are looking for partners."
Jamison's product line retails from $399 to $2,499. The producer has a strong foam bedding offering, and notes that its best-selling bed is a $2,000 model made from Talalay latex. "We see foam growing much faster than springs," said Pettyjohn.
Jamison has created a stir in the marketplace with its high-end bedding division, Hypnos. That line, produced under license from Hypnos in the United Kingdom, features bedding carrying the Royal Warrant of the Queen of England. The appropriately named Majesty, the top model in the Hypnos line, retails for about $20,000 in king.
"That model has been a very pleasant surprise," said Adrian Jones, director of sales for Hypnos. "It is fast becoming our best seller."
Hypnos, which shows in High Point in the Arthur Brett space at 330 N. Hamilton St., enjoys a "solid" retail business and is now expanding into the hospitality market, targeting boutique hotels and high-end bed-and-breakfast establishments, Jones said. At this market, Hypnos is introducing a hospitality collection of three beds, retailing from $3,000 in queen to $6,000 in king. One of those beds is a latex core model, a first for Hypnos.
The same attention to detail that goes into the making of the Hypnos line characterizes the Jamison line, officials say. And the product quality makes the beds a hit with discriminating retailers, the officials add. "Eighty percent of all retailers who carry Jamison and another brand sleep on our products," Pettyjohn observed.
Jamison builds dealer loyalty by going the extra mile with its retailers. "When the retailer knows you care more about their business than yours, they are loyal," Pettyjohn said.
Gorrell summarized the company's philosophy this way: "We teach our guys not to just sell a product, but to move it off of the retailer's floor. We are an extension of their bedding department."
Jamison enjoys a strong niche in the marketplace, according to Gorrell. "A long time ago," he said, "we decided that we weren't going to be the biggest bedding producer. But we can be the best. That's what we instill in our people."
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