Simmons aims for more growth
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, April 20, 2008
Atlanta — Simple selling stories, strong specialty sleep lines and a broad lineup of bedding products combined to help power Simmons to success last year, company officials said.
And those elements remain in place as the bedding major takes aim at another year of gains.
"I'm now in my ninth year at Simmons," said Charlie Eitel, chairman and CEO, in a presentation earlier this year, "and I've never seen so much strength in our product lines."
In 2007, he said, Simmons may have recorded the biggest gain in market share in the company's history. The company hasn't reported sales for the full year yet, but said sales through the first nine months of 2007 were up 16.3% from a year earlier to $857.3 million.
Excluding the Simmons Canada operation acquired last year, domestic net sales were still up 10.9%.
Eitel said Simmons has continued to simplify its selling story. "We are not a gimmicky company," he said. "We are focused on trying to figure out how to help people sleep better."
The company learned from its early failures in the memory foam category. "We failed twice," Eitel admitted. But then "the foam geeks" from ComforPedic arrived to resurrect Simmons' fortunes in the memory foam segment, he said. Simmons acquired the company last year and has placed the new ComforPedic by Simmons line at retail with more than 100 dealers.
"We floored the product with tremendous success," Eitel said, adding that those were "profitable retail sales. That is the power of getting it right."
Eitel said Beautyrest Black "continues to amaze us all," and said it benefits from "probably the best marketing I've ever seen." The line continues to grow strongly at retail, he said.
Steve Fendrich, president and COO, said the launch of the new Beautyrest line in early 2007 was "the most successful launch of any product line ever." He also said the promotional DeepSleep line is "doing very well."
-
Serta says sales grew 7% in 1Q
May 19, 2011 -
Bedding producers offer many new lines
Apr 28, 2011 -
Serta dethrones Sealy
May 23, 2012 -
Serta dethrones Sealy as U.S. bedding sales leader
May 21, 2012
Merinos Home Furnishings opening display room, Boyles addition
Ernest Warsaw, founder of Sheffield Corp., dies at 91
‘Mega vessels' likely to boost capacity, stabilize freight rates
HOM Furniture adds flooring to six Twin Cities stores
21 companies from Turkey, Taiwan and China to exhibit at Showtime
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
