A strange thing happened in mattress stores on the Presidents Day weekend. Sales were surprisingly soft. That’s no way to honor two of our greatest presidents, both of whom slept on mattresses and did lots of good things. And it’s no way to inaugurate what is widely expected to be a growth year for the industry.
I will hasten to add that it’s way too early to hit the panic button, but we didn’t see this hiccup coming and it’s not a welcome development.
As the mattress industry emerged from the recent Las Vegas Market on a collective high, with refrains of “best market in years” echoing in showrooms across the World Market Center campus, optimism was on the ascent.
I was impressed with the bullish assessments that I found as I made the rounds in Las Vegas in my four days of showroom visits. “This is by far the best show that we’ve ever had,” John Merwin, CEO of 3Z Brands, told me when I arrived at his showroom Monday morning. “We’re very bullish on our prospects for the year and the bedding industry’s prospects,” he added.
(You can see my video with Merwin, in which he saved the day for me after I lost my voice at market, here. Thanks for the assist, John!)
Those comforting thoughts buoyed the industry as January came to a close. But February brought an unexpected chill — and it wasn’t just those cold temperatures that descended on much of the country.
Peter Keith, the longtime Piper Sandler analyst who tracks the mattress industry closely, revealed in a recent report that his preliminary checks for furniture and mattress sales over the Presidents Day weekend were “quite disappointing.” Retailers he checked with noted “fading sales momentum thus far in February.”
On the key question of what this lackluster performance might mean, Keith wrote: “Some initial theories retailers had on the emerging weakness in February revolved around recent policy changes by the Trump administration causing consumer pause/anxiety. In particular, cuts to federal jobs presenting uncertainty to workers in numerous industries — as well as ICE/deportation concerns amongst certain demographics.”
He observed that some retailers “are still assessing the weakness” in February, and that’s a good thing to keep in mind as we ponder his preliminary reports.
For my part, I would add that manufacturers I met with in Las Vegas did acknowledge that there are questions about what the new administration’s policies will mean for the overall economy and for the mattress industry. Business likes certainty, and it’s simply too early to know how new government policies will affect the economy.
Still, I strongly agree with those who are forecasting a growth year for the mattress industry this year. We are overdue for a good year.
Peter Keith correctly observed that “one month doesn’t make a trend.”
So let’s take this apparent Presidents Day slump in stride and stay focused on what we can do to boost our business this year and get back to our traditional growing ways.
