Bedding producer, retailer Royal-Pedic adds overseas stores

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, May 2, 2012

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Luxury bedding producer and retailer Royal-Pedic, based here, is expanding to South Africa and the Middle East.

The company said it will open three stores in South Africa and additional locations in the Middle East.

Royal-Pedic has signed a licensing agreement with Zamhat Trading Ltd. of Cape Town, South Africa, that will result in the first shop opening in suburban Johannesburg by the end of the year. Once the first store opens, additional locations will be selected in South Africa. All the shops will have a similar look and feel to Royal-Pedic's signature location in Beverly Hills.

"There's an elite group of people in South Africa who are interested in luxury goods, but they often must travel abroad to purchase them," said Royal-Pedic CEO Tony Kelemen. "More manufacturers are recognizing the opportunity in this emerging market and high-end producers are beginning to come to them. We see this as Royal-Pedic's chance to get in at the ground level to target an underserved niche market - it's an extraordinary opportunity for growth."

The stores will bear the Royal-Pedic name and offer a full spectrum of Royal-Pedic products, including its Natural Organic Collection and at select locations, its top of the line Dream Spring Mattress Collection, officials said.

Modeled after the Beverly Hills shop, the overseas locations will sell only Royal-Pedic products to include top-of-bed items such as linens, pillows, and comforters, with 10 to 15 mattresses on the showroom floors. The company anticipates making some design alterations to its products in order to accommodate overseas preferences, including adjusting mattress sizes and adding wooden legs to mattress foundations as preferred in South Africa.