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Serta offers tools to help retailers grow

Notes key advertising elements

By David Perry -- Furniture Today, April 17, 2008

Schaumburg, Ill. — Serta officials and members of their America's Mattress team rolled out a series of presentations at a retailer meeting here, outlining the support they offer to their dealers in the Serta-exclusive sleep shop network.

Officials said they have the right national advertising, retail advertising, store displays, products, sales education and service — the key elements of the "Serta marketing star" — to help the America's Mattress retailers survive and thrive in what is expected to be a challenging year.

The meeting, the first in two years for the America's Mattress retailers who together operate more than 300 stores from coast to coast, gave the retailers insights from top Serta officials. Serta supports the America's Mattress retailers, but the retailers own and operate the stores.

More than 100 America's Mattress owners and operators attended the two-day meeting, held at the Renaissance hotel here. Prospective America's Mattress retailers were also in attendance.

Bob Vearling, an executive with extensive experience in franchising who is directing the America's Mattress program, welcomed the retailers to the meeting.

Serta President Bob Sherman gave the retailers his overview of the challenges and opportunities that face the bedding industry this year. He warned them that a "perfect storm" of tough economic conditions lies ahead. But, he said, the America's Mattress retailers can boost sales and profits by learning lessons from some of the most successful sleep shops in the industry, who generate high margins, pay high commissions and are expanding rapidly.

He said those retailers are growing even in a difficult sales climate. "More stores make you money, they don't cost you money," Sherman said. "Look at expansion as a way of lowering your costs.... Rapid expansion makes you more profitable and gets rid of competition."

Sherman reviewed advertising and sales support programs Serta offers its America's Mattress retailers. He said the next generation look of the America's Mattress stores introduces "a whole new environment that will knock your socks off."

Andrew Gross, senior vice president of marketing at Serta, reviewed findings of a detailed consumer research study conducted last year. He said that shoppers coming to sleep shops need help and are seeking out the expertise provided by the shops. Only 20% of those shoppers describe themselves as having "excellent" or "very good" sleep, compared with 30% for all mattress shoppers.

The research also revealed that consumers purchasing in a sleep shop spent more on a mattress for themselves — $996, on average, versus $862 for all recent mattress shoppers.

Gross said that selling better goods is better for the consumer and the retailer. Recent purchasers who rated their sleep quality as excellent or very good spent almost $250 more on their mattress than those who rated their sleep quality as fair or poor.

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