Retailers Share Tips on Bedding Sales Success
David Perry -- Furniture Today, June 1, 2011
AVENTURA, Fla. - Furniture stores can stand out in the bedding arena with a focused approach to business, three Top 100 furniture retailers said here.
The three - El Dorado Furniture of Miami Gardens, Fla., Art Van Furniture of Warren, Mich., and R.C. Willey of Salt Lake City - have found success in selling mattresses with different approaches to the business.
Diane Charles, director of corporate communications at Art Van, talked about the retailer's commitment to open PureSleep mattress stores, which emphasize the energy from a good night of sleep and offer a spa-like atmosphere to make consumers feel comfortable. Art Van, a heavy promoter, is backing the concept with a strong advertising campaign.
 Charles |
 Hiatt |
 Capo |
The PureSleep stores feature a diagnostic selling system by Kingsdown designed to provide personalized sleep.
Art Van touts three products under its PureSleep umbrella: The right mattress, the right pillow and a mattress protector. And the retailer conducted an extensive inhouse training program to support the PureSleep program, awarding prizes to employees.
The program fits with Art Van's emphasis on promoting the power of a good night of sleep. "Art Van doesn't sell mattresses," Charles said. "We sell sleep."
Brett Hiatt, bedding buyer at R.C. Willey, reviewed several successful promotions used by the retailer. One that promoted Simmons Beautyrest beds invited consumers to visit the R.C. Willey website and print out an entry form for the contest. Consumers then brought that coupon to the store for a chance to win one of a number of Simmons Beautyrest beds.
Another promotion gave consumers a gift card worth up to $300 for a purchase after a new mattress had been delivered. And R.C. Willey has also done well with gifts with purchase, including Xbox 360 gaming systems (on the purchase of select mattresses priced at $599 or higher) and a barbecue grill or a Flip video camcorder (with the purchase of select mattresses at $799 and above).
Yet another winning promotion offered a whole room group package of headboard, frame, mattress and foundation, pillows, sheets and a 19-inch TV with the purchase of a queen Beautyrest Classic at $599. Hiatt admitted that promotion had a slender profit margin, but said it helped spark good traffic.
"It got people off the fence to come in and buy mattresses," he said.
"We take our mattress business very seriously," said Pedro Capo, chief operating officer at El Dorado. He said the retailer has taken several steps to boost its bedding business, including the establishment of a separate, higher commission for bedding to better compensate the sales team, the addition of higher price points to offer a stronger bedding assortment, and the decision to redesign and enlarge all of the mattress shops to create a stronger impact with consumers.
El Dorado also has done something unique: It invented a machine to measure the comfort level of its beds, and it uses its own comfort scale to guide consumers to the beds that are best for them. The comfort levels are extra firm, firm, soft, extra soft, plush and extra plush, and they are designated by color.
The comfort scale makes it "much easier for the customer to make a decision," Capo said, and it has also helped the retailer decrease its comfort returns.
El Dorado also emphasizes pillows, even asking shoppers to begin the mattress selection process by choosing their pillow type. And it follows a multi-pronged advertising strategy to get its mattress messages out, using print ads in catalogs, TV ads, billboards, bus ads and Internet ads, among others, Capo said.
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