HOM Furniture is one of the largest furniture retailers serving customers in the Upper Midwest, with 17 stores in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The independent retailer got its start in 1979 as The Waterbed Room, eventually becoming the largest retailer of flotation sleep products in its region. Today, the retailer carries almost every furniture category, but bedding is still an essential part of its business.
“We started in the waterbed business, and we still are strong in the mattress business,” said Kyle Johansen, executive vice president at HOM Furniture. “It’s an important part of our mix. We’re dedicated to the category, have good sleep specialists in the stores and are focused on marketing. We have the best brands and a winning formula.”
Part of that formula is maintaining a carefully curated assortment that evolves with consumer preferences. A few years ago, HOM added Avocado to its floors to appeal to consumers interested in natural and organic sleep.
“We try to offer a wide enough variety of products for customers and what we think are the best brands for them today. We’re not afraid to throw (a brand) off the floor if the brand goes cold or the products are not performing well and try something else.”
Inside all HOM Showrooms is the retailer’s Sleep Express concept, which carries Aireloom, Avocado, Beautyrest Black, Bargain Shop Mattresses, Casper, Helix, KidsLife, PranaSleep, Thomas Cole Sleep, Total Comfort and Tempur-Pedic. In Minneapolis, Helix and PranaSleep are only available at HOM Furniture.
In its market area, HOM is the exclusive seller of Aireloom, Helix and PranaSleep.
“Exclusivity with products is important to us as well,” Johansen said.
At the same time, Johansen has witnessed significant changes in the bedding industry over the past two decades. Where a handful of manufacturers once dominated the market, today’s landscape is far more fragmented.
“If you look back 20 years ago, the top three (companies) probably did 90% of the mattress business,” he said. “Today it’s spread out between brands like Purple, Casper, Helix and so many others. Then you had everything that was done online with all these boxed-bed brands.”
With so many new bedding brands launching, to varying degrees of success, Johansen said it can create confusion for consumers who aren’t sure what’s good and what’s bad.
Private labels can help eliminate some of that decision fatigue, when shoppers can purchase a mattress brand from a retailer they trust. Although private-label sleep products aren’t a novel concept, they’ve been gaining popularity in the bedding industry in recent years, and HOM has found success with them. (This trend was also emphasized by Jordan Beck, president of Rome, Georgia-based mattress manufacturer Heritage Sleep, in a recent Bedding News Now interview.)
“Our private labels have been strong lately,” Johansen said. HOM offers two bedding brands in the category, Thomas Cole Sleep and Total Comfort.
“We’ve been able to give a little better value to customers than the national brands typically offer, as well as more flexibility with promotions, bedding packs, bundles, adjustable bases and gift-with-purchase programs.”
Unlike many national brands that operate under minimum advertised pricing policies and promotional restrictions, private-label products allow HOM greater flexibility in how it markets and merchandises its assortment.
The retailer’s emphasis on value comes as consumers continue to navigate inflationary pressures and higher living costs. Johansen said those economic realities have helped drive demand at both ends of the market, while mid-tier products have faced greater challenges.
“Our better and higher-end business has been strong,” he said. “The lower-end customer is just tighter with their funds. You don’t have to have a new mattress. It’s nice to get a new mattress, but it’s not necessarily an emergency purchase.”
As consumer preferences evolve and new brands emerge, HOM continues to adjust its assortment accordingly while remaining committed to the tenets that have fueled its success.
“I don’t believe in changing things just to change them,” Johansen said. “If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.”
