Mattress Industry Stays on Sales Rollercoaster Ride
Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, June 8, 2011
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The bedding industry's wild rollercoaster ride this year continues, with bedding unit sales growing a scant 1.4% in April and the dollar value of shipments up 3.8% from a year earlier, as indicated by the International Sleep Products Assn.'s monthly Bedding Barometer report.
But industry leaders are still predicting a growth year for bedding as the key summer sales season gets under way.
April's slight growth reflected a big change from the robust ISPA monthly report for March, which showed a 9.6% jump in units and a soaring 17.6% leap in the dollar value of bedding shipments. In contrast, February showed a 3% decline in units, although dollar sales were up 4.9%.
Bedding observers say the industry continues to face a challenging business climate, with spotty results at key medium price points. Business at lower and higher price points, in contrast, has been stronger.
Complicating the picture, observers say, is the fact that a number of bedding retailers have cut back on their promotions, hurting their prospects of achieving strong sales gains.
Overall bedding promotion was strong during the recent Memorial Day holiday, observers reported. That continues the trend of retailers focusing their promotional efforts on major holidays.
The Memorial Day holiday marks the launch of the summer selling season, the most important months of the year for the bedding industry.
According to ISPA, June typically accounts for 8.36% of bedding units shipped during the year, while July accounts for 9.14% and August 9.83%. July and August are the top months for unit shipments, ISPA says.
ISPA's latest monthly sales snapshot, which reflects the performance of 19 leading producers in April, showed a 2.3% gain in the average unit price, to $202.04. For the first four months of the year, the average unit price was up 4.5% to $197.33.
The industry remains in positive sales territory, according to the April report, with units up 2.6% and dollars up 7.2% for the first four months.
ISPA cautions that the performance of the companies participating in the monthly report, who account for a majority of bedding shipments in the industry, "may not necessarily reflect the performance of the full mattress industry."
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Mattress industry sales cool off in March
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ISPA ups 2011 Bedding Growth Forecast to 7.5%
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