Englander chief: 'S' brands aren't enough
Says good retailers are the brand
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, September 28, 2008
NORTH BILLERICA, Mass. — The chairman of Top 15 bedding producer Englander is a highly competitive bedding veteran who sees plenty of opportunities ahead for his group.
Chuck Warshaver, president of Englander's World Sleep Products licensee here, says his group “is doing phenomenally well” despite a poor business climate and the ever-present competition from the big “S” brands.
“If only the 'S' brands are distributed, is there enough product differentiation and margin for retailers to survive?” he asked the other day, seated at a conference table in his office in this city 30 miles north of Boston. His answer is a resounding “no.”
“With traffic being down in retail stores, retailers need margin,” Warshaver continued. “Quality stores don't need an 'S' brand to draw traffic. A good store is the brand. We make a better bed at a better value and we offer better profits for the dealer.”
That kind of candid talk is the norm for Warshaver, 47, a former All-American tennis player in college, who admits his competitive instincts remain strong. He runs, bikes and swims to stay in shape. And he is always aiming to find a winning edge in the bedding marketplace.
“I'm always looking for the next best niche to separate us from the big boys,” Warshaver said. “You can't go head to head with them. There is always room for a producer who can customize products and bring innovation and make products that others don't want to or can't make.”
His study of the U.S. marketplace tells him that green products offer one such niche. World Sleep Products is leading the green charge at Englander. Last year, the company developed an eco-friendly bedding line for Englander. Now the producer is upping the ante with an organic line that made a successful debut at the recent Las Vegas Market.
Englander is taking the unusual step of sharing its organic certifications with its retailers and consumers. It has certificates attesting to the organic qualities of its New Zealand wool, cotton, natural rubber latex and sustainable wood components. Integrity is critical when it comes to the green movement, Warshaver said.
World Sleep Products has made a corporate commitment to eco-friendly practices. The producer searches for materials that are eco-friendly in all aspects of production, and, whenever possible, chooses materials that are natural and processed without toxins. It also conducts regular energy audits to make its lighting as energy-efficient as possible, prints brochures on recycled papers, recycles plastic, aluminum, paper, foam and all scraps from the factory, and seeks out eco-friendly office supplies, such as recycled papers and inks.
The company's eco mattress lines feature 100% natural latex rubber, soy-based base foams and quilt foams, and sustainable wood in the foundations.
Warshaver sees the eco-friendly category as one that gives Englander a significant advantage over many other bedding producers. Another is two-sided beds, a type of construction that Englander has been touting for the past year. “We never abandoned two-sided beds,” he said. “It's one of the mousetraps that we use to sell against our competitors.”
Warshaver learned the bedding business from one of the masters, his late father, Leonard, the long-time owner of Serta Northeast.
“When I got into the business,” Chuck Warshaver recalled, “it was fun to work with my Dad. I learned a lot from him. In the seven or eight years we worked together, there was so much interaction. He was as good a teacher as I could have had.”
Leonard Warshaver, who died in 2003 at the age of 76, spent more than half a century in the mattress business. He was the principal owner of Serta's Boston licensee for many years, building that business into one of the largest Serta plants in the country.
In 1992, three years after the Warshaver family sold that business to Silentnight Holdings, a United Kingdom bedding manufacturer, the Warshavers were back in the business with World Sleep Products. Leonard Warshaver played an advisory role, watching proudly as Chuck Warshaver and his team built the business.
Warshaver is proud of what he has accomplished. “Money has never been my god,” he commented. “People are happy here. We have flex time. We have no turnover. Our culture is relaxed and fun, but we have to make a profit to survive. We preach quality of life to our employees.”
While some bedding leaders struggle with balancing work and family responsibilities, Warshaver is committed to spending quality time with his family. He doesn't miss a chance to watch one of his two daughters compete in a squash or tennis match.
Warshaver has pursued a fiscally conservative path in business. World Sleep Products is debt free.
“If we have to borrow money,” he said, “we pay it back as quickly as we can.” Now the company is well positioned for the tough times that have hit the mattress industry. “We can weather the storm,” Warshaver said. “We are not choosing the wrong type of sales, which can have a big impact on who you are. We have not cheapened our products. If we need to raise the price, we raise the price.”
While Warshaver admits the bedding industry has changed dramatically over the years, he says he's still having fun. “What really jazzes me is selling, marketing and merchandising,” he said. “If we see something we like, we do it. We move quickly. We are very nimble. If our retailers need something, we listen and then we roll it out. We're not afraid to listen and to make products they need.”
That same spirit motivates the Englander group, according to Warshaver. “We are seven guys who get along really well,” he said. “We are all good mattress manufacturers.”
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