Tempur-Pedic gaining share in luxury market
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, June 15, 2008
HIGH POINT — Luxury brands operated by two top bedding producers continue to struggle, according to Furniture/Today's latest bedding market share report. The report reveals that another high-end brand — Tempur-Pedic — continues to gain share.
It all adds up to an increasingly competitive high-end bedding marketplace, one that virtually all bedding producers are addressing with their own lines. The competition is producing some strong winners — and some big losers.
Perhaps the biggest loser is the venerable Stearns & Foster brand, a well-known name at the high-end of the marketplace, but one that has slipped steadily in recent years. In its latest market share report, Furniture/Today estimates that S&F recorded wholesale shipments last year of $130 million, a whopping 32.3% sales decline from 2006. And that $130 million figure means that Stearns & Foster has lost approximately half of its volume since the brand peaked at $258 million in 2002.
S&F is one of three brands in the Sealy portfolio. The others are the flagship Sealy brand itself, and the Bassett brand. Bassett had another sales decline last year, falling from $20 million in 2006 to $16 million in 2007, according to Furniture/Today estimates. That was a 20% decline.
But the mainline Sealy brand grew 9% last year, recording wholesale shipments of $1.3 billion. That brand continues to be the main growth driver at Sealy, the market share analysis reveals.
Spring Air, another big bedding producer with a luxury brand (Chattam & Wells), also found tough sledding in the luxury market. The C&E brand lost another $5 million in volume last year, falling from $15 million to $10 million, a 33% decline. Two years ago, C&E had estimated shipments of $22 million, meaning that brand has also lost half of its volume in a relatively short period.
There have been some high-end winners in recent years. Both Tempur-Pedic and Select Comfort, the two specialty sleep powerhouses on the Top 15 list, have remained on the ascent. While those companies have had some struggles in 2008, their 2007 numbers were positive.
Last year, Tempur-Pedic, which doesn't even compete below the $1,000 price point level, recorded a 20.6% sales gain. And Select Comfort, the airbed company which also focuses on the high-end market, had a 2.6% sales gain.
Those gains show that some companies continue to find growth at the high-end of the market, even as brands like Stearns & Foster and Chattam & Wells flounder.
In addition, Simmons has done well with its high-end Beautyrest Black offering; Simmons had overall growth last year of 12%.
Earl Kluft has gained traction with his high-end company, E.S. Kluft & Co., and high-end imports like Hastens, Hypnos, Duxiana, Hollandia and Magniflex have all joined the crowded high-end marketplace.
| Breaking out the brands | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Brand | Estimated U.S. wholesale bedding shipments in $ millions | Percent change 2006 to 2007 | |
| 2007 | 2006 | |||
| Figures are by estimated U.S. wholesale bedding shipments. All figures for calendar 2007 and 2006. All sales information, except for that supplied by publicly held companies that break out U.S. wholesale bedding shipments or companies that provide accountant-verified or audited figures, are Furniture/Today market research estimates. Figures exclude shipments to Puerto Rico and returns and include EITF 01- 09 sales allowances, incentives and cash discounts. Figures have been rounded to the nearest million. Source: Furniture/Today market research |
||||
| Sealy | Sealy | $1,291 | $1,184 | 9.0% |
| Stearns & Foster | $130 | $192 | -32.3% | |
| Bassett Bedding | $16 | $20 | -20.0% | |
| Total | $1,437 | $1,396 | 2.9% | |
| Spring Air | Spring Air | $262 | $314 | -16.6% |
| Chattam & Wells | $10 | $15 | -33.3% | |
| Total | $272 | $329 | -17.3% | |
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