Dive Brief:
- Ikea U.S. launched a new line of mattresses, the furniture chain announced Tuesday.
- The retailer is offering foam, spring and hybrid mattresses, with queen-sized products and smaller retailing for under $600. The mattresses have comfort zones to suit the sleepers’ body weight and align their hips, shoulders and head, per a company announcement sent to Retail Dive.
- Ikea is offering customers a 90-day trial period and a 10-year warranty.
Dive Insight:
The rollout of its new mattress line signals Ikea’s investment in the sleep market. The company recently hosted a pop-up event, dubbed The Ikea Sleepeasy, in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood where shoppers could view the retailer’s latest line of sleep products.
“With the support of our extensive life at home research and studies, Ikea offers a complete range of products to help people improve their sleep quality,” Tania Moreira, bedroom business manager at Ikea U.S., said regarding the company’s pop-up event.
But as Ikea ventures further into the mattress market, it faces increased competition from DTC players. In January, the founders of Tuft & Needle launched the Boring Mattress Co as a way to simplify mattress shopping. That same month, Casper debuted its new interactive 2,700-square-foot store in Costa Mesa, California.
While Ikea U.S. already has a fleet of physical stores, DTC brands are shifting offline to reach more customers. Earlier this year, Casper’s then-CEO Emilie Arel noted during a panel at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show conference that while the brand started off avoiding the physical store strategy, brick-and-mortar stores are “where 80% of the mattresses in the U.S. are sold. So we can either get on board or we can be small forever. Those are the choices.” Similarly, Purple CEO Rob DeMartini said during an ICR presentation earlier this year that shoppers have indicated “a real resistance” to purchasing expensive mattresses online.
As DTC mattress brands warm up to the in-store shopping approach, some veteran mattress companies are searching for a path forward. Earlier this month, Tempur Sealy reported a 2.8% year-over-year drop in second-quarter net sales, reaching $1.2 billion. The results came as the mattress giant challenged the Federal Trade Commission’s decision to block its acquisition of Mattress Firm. Tempur Sealy Chairman and CEO Scott Thompson said the $4 billion deal would help the company get closer to customers through Mattress Firm’s physical stores.
