What are the prevailing retail challenges in the mattress category?

How do you see the market of home furnishing is evolving in India? Kindly state few numbers to quantify the same?  

The Home furnishings and Mattress market has seen substantial growth in the past few years. Thanks to the Internet, consumers are now much more aware about not just local trends but also global trends. They are a lot more conscious about their investments and make very educated purchases. The recent spread of awareness on the importance of sleep has given rise to small to mid-sized mattress firms, both, online as well as offline. This has increased the percentage of organised sellers in this space. The mattress market alone is expected to have a CAGR of INR 100 billion by 2020 and the online market to have a CAGR of INR 290 Crores. 

How did Foam Home started? Also shed light on your entrepreneurial journey so far?

Foam Home (India) Pvt. Ltd started its journey in 1976 as a mattress trader. Over the past 4 decades it has emerged as a leading mattress manufacturer, retailer, Franchises and licensor for premium bedding and sleep products. It is also a recipient for a Global Patent on its Ergoshell range of mattresses, a technology launched in Germany in 2017. 

I was born into a family of mattress makers and determined to join the tribe at a very early age. I have completed by BCOM for Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, done my Masters from S. P Jain Institute of Management and Research then did a program from Harvard Business School. All along being in touch and part of the growing business. My primary role is to expand the market through Franchising and Client acquisitions. I also manage all our marketing activities. The journey has been enriching and I’ve been extremely fortunate to have met the maestros of our Global Industry.

Kindly shed light on your distribution in online as well as offline space? Also going forward what are the plans to scale up the distribution? 

Foam Home has presence in 7 major cities. We have our iconic store in the heart of Mumbai which see customers from all over India. Since we are very particular about our quality and experience we only operate through our own stores or authorised franchisees. Our plan is to further grow our franchising network and also partner with a few international chains in India and abroad for our patented Ergoshell Mattresses.

Companies such as Kurl-on are the market leader in this category. What is your strategy to beat the competition? 

We have carved a niche for us in the market which mainly comprises quality conscious and luxury-centric clients. Our major clientele comprises Business tycoons, Celebrities, Politicians, Doctors and Business families. Moreover India is a huge market and I believe there is enough for everyone so rather than trying to beat competition, I prefer focusing my energy on how I can do and deliver better for my customers compared to yesterday. 

According to you what are the major retailing challenges in the categories such as mattress? 

There are several challenges, as there would be in every industry, but the one I’d like to highlight is the cost of Logistics. Mattresses are a bulky product and expensive, we do not have affordable transport companies to handle the same. This restricts our markets geographically and forces us to run our own Vehicles for the purpose of delivering. 

Kindly shed light on your price points. Also what are the plans to expand product range? 

Mattress by Foam Home start at a price of Rs. 11,200/- for a single bed to Rs. 1,00,000/- for the same. This range comprises 15-20 types of distinct models made of various sophisticated materials. Foam Home has the largest range of mattresses and pillows in the country. Our latest launch the Ergoshell Mattresses have added another 6 models to our range and is capable of further customisation. We have also introduced Down and Feather pillows straight from Spain. 

Have you raised any sorts of funds so far or plan to? 

Foam Home is a Family Owned and run Business, we have always raised internal capital and we plan to continue with the same.

At last, kindly highlight your growth plans? 

We wish to cater to all of India’s niche segment. We do not intend commercialising our products. Our philosophy is simple – we want to make only quality products and scale up the business to the extent where we don’t have to compromise on our service. Having said that, we are a very dynamic brand and wish to continue creating quality products and launching new technologies for the Indian consumers. Our Ergoshell mattresses hold lots of domestic and global potential and we are working toward exploring the same in the coming year.