Yataş Group may not have the brand recognition of Tempur-Sealy or Serta, but the brand is well known in Europe, where the company is the largest manufacturer in Turkey and the second-largest furniture manufacturer.
Now publicly traded, the brand has been built not only on manufacturing but also on its retail arm, which gives it a better understanding of the retail market. The company has 700 branded retail locations in 40 countries and is becoming a global company that does over a $1 billion a year in bedding and produces up to 7,500 pieces a day.
Part of that expansion process is hitting the U.S. market, which is what the company is focusing on right now.
“Our goal for a long time has been to break into the U.S. market; however, we understood that we needed a significant amount of people on the ground in the States to man the operation,” says Jason Kennedy, brand manager for Yatas Bedding, the brand’s mattress sector. “Our clients are able to source several categories from one manufacturer. And we’re not sourcing these products from several different countries, these are all coming out of our own factories in Turkey.”
In addition to mattresses, the company offers adjustable bases and storage beds, headboards and top-of-bed textiles. Kennedy says that being able to put at least those three categories on one shipment cuts down on the cost of shipping.
“Our real drive is to not only increase margins for dealers but increase the return on investments and owner square footage because we know how valuable the slots are in the stores,” Kennedy says. “What we want to do is we want to sell the whole package, the sleep solution. We’re expanding on this in a way that allows small, average and large retailers to be able to display this in a way that looks professional, captures the customer’s attention but also emphasizes the function and benefits of the products.”
Kennedy shares that the company has put together a discount program that also includes incentives to discounts on everything from under bed to top of bed. He says this is available to all dealers and starts from three to 10 slots. “Whatever space we’re working with, we can size it just right and make it look really nice with light boxes and other features, like in our showroom in Las Vegas or High Point.”
He adds that it seems like some of these smaller and midsized retailers are the ones that are really doing the most work and driving brands they believe in, which is the type of customer Yataş is looking for.
“We want partners who are growing their own business and building a following,” Kennedy says. “And they’ve got customers that trust them and rely on them. That’s really the heart of what’s going to grow our brand. It’s all about if the dealers are happy with the product and if they’re having success with it. To me, that’s the best marketing strategy you can have.”
A rich history
Like many companies in the mattress industry, Yatas Group has a deep and interesting history.
As one of the first companies in Anatolia, the company was founded in 1976 and started producing beds as well as beds with sponge with new investments in 1979. A few years later, it started producing spring beds, and Yataş Yatak ve Yorgan Sanayi Ticaret A.Ş. (Yataş) was founded in 1987.
In 1996, the company’s shares were offered to the public as the first furniture company on the stock exchange. Enza Home brand was created in 2010 in order to strengthen the brand perception in the furniture sector and to get more share from the sector.
However, a large-scale study aimed at renewing the organizational structure and corporate identity in the same period has been started. In this process, which modernized all processes in the company from top to bottom, the company got its new logo. Thus, the trust in Yataş brand was reinforced with a rich service of understanding and quality.
In 2011, Yataş Group merged with İstanbul Pazarlama A.Ş. through acquisition, thus aiming to reduce many operational expenses. At the end of 2017, investments covering bed, sponge and sofa areas were completed. As of November 2017, both Enza Home and Yataş Bedding have been included in the scope of Turquality, which enables them to increase their existing exports and benefit from government incentives in the best way.
Based on its collaborations with some of the world’s largest technology manufacturers, it has received numerous awards with its innovative product portfolio, as it is the only brand that uses the materials of world-famous brands such as Woolmark and Dacron in its beds.
Yataş Puffy is the sleep products brand that Yataş Group has promoted and positioned as Puffy Center and Puffy for approximately 25 years in the past. The company decided to expand the Selena brand, renew its product portfolio and change its brand strategy with its technology and additional facility investments in 2017-2019.
The company will have multiple product categories on display at the upcoming High Point Market. It is showing in the International Home Furnishings Center, Space C659.
