Rising demand for high-end mattresses

The US-based Sealy is globally acclaimed for its tech-based range of mattresses, and within a short period of their entry in the local market, has quickly established its retail network. In a conversation with Shipra Srivastava, Puneet Verma, Managing Director of Sealy India, highlighted their growth strategy for the next few years.

Kindly throw more light on your activities in the country?

Our network of exclusive Sealy galleries has quickly expanded to Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and NCR, and they enable customers to gain a deeper insight of our range of mattresses.

The domestic mattress industry is currently dominated by the unorganised sector. Is there a viable market for technology-based mattresses that you offer?

Yes, the local mattress industry is largely dominated by unorganised players, and they offer products made from coir, cotton and foam.

And, as there are no global players in the domestic spring mattress segment, sales growth in this category is still quite sluggish. However, over the long-term, the growth prospects in the premium segment are bright, given the expanding base of ‘aspirational’ consumers.

What are the challenges you face in India, and how did you overcome them?

Our biggest challenge relates to highlighting the health-related aspects of our products amongst consumers. And, while demand in key metros is expanding, but we are also expanding our presence in tier-II and smaller towns.

Our products are targeted at customers in the premium segment, and we also conduct numerous marketing-related initiatives to ‘educate’ our target audience vis-à-vis the health benefits of our mattresses.

What are your expansion plans?

We are planning to expand our presence in the country, and would open standalone galleries in several cities on a pan India basis.