T he king is dead! Long live the king! 


We use that old cry to introduce the new king of the bedding retail universe: bedding specialty stores. And we mourn the passing of the old bedding king: furniture stores. 


The changing of the bedding guard is a big deal. The specialty store model has been on the rise for years, at a time when the furniture store model has been declining. Generally speaking, the bedding specialists have been the more aggressive operators. And in this game, aggression beats complacency every time. 


So strong has the bedding specialists’ growth been that they’ve managed to turn the tables on furniture stores with a sizzling six-year run. Back in 2000, furniture stores had a 42% share of the bedding pie, a full 10 percentage points ahead of the bedding specialists. But, le...Read More