Multiple retailers have reported that March was a down month, with lower traffic and reduced sales. April was a little better, and these slumps exemplify why sales holidays will be even more important this year.
The other reason is that sales holidays have always been important to the mattress industry. However, the industry is changing the message from “$X amount off your purchase” to “Come change your life with a better mattress.”
Presidents Day was better than many retailers expected, according to those we spoke with, but no one knows how the big three summer sales holidays — Memorial Day, July Fourth and Labor Day — will turn out.
At High Point Market, we spoke with several industry members who had predictions about Memorial Day, which is coming up in two weeks.
Derek Leishman, director of sales at Mlily USA, said sales holidays have become more important in the past year, with Labor Day and Black Friday providing the industry a bump.
With price increases, retailers need to go big with their marketing, according to Leishman.
“We are instituting a price increase of 8%-10% starting June 1,” he explained. “We purposely have them kicking in after Memorial Day, and we’re doing big promotions until then. We also gave our retail partners 45 days’ notice instead of the typical 30 days.”
One of these promotions is through Mlily’s partnership with soccer club Manchester United. The messaging of the campaign spotlights the athletes’ need for recovery and performance, and they are displayed on large red signs that catch the eye. Leishman said it’s a message that appeals to even those who don’t like soccer.
“The FIFA World Cup is the most-watched sports event in the world,” Leishman said. “It’s a great opportunity to drive consumers into mattress stores.”
Mike Juoni, vice president of sales at Molecule, adds that manufacturers should be helping their retailers drive foot traffic by building ads for them.
“It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy,” he said. “If we spend more on ads, then that helps drive traffic to our retailers, which makes the money flow.”
Molecule recently launched a large ad campaign at the Boston Marathon and will run all summer. Juoni says the company is taking “big leaps” with aggressive advertising.
Kyle Borreggine, vice president of specialty sales at Therapedic Worldwide, said that retailers who focus on higher to mid-tier products will win.
“Baby boomers will buy mattresses if they’re merchandised properly,” he said. Those who are realistic about their expectations for Memorial Day will be happy.”
John Schulte, president of Symphony Sleep, said many retailers will have to deal with price increases this Memorial Day. And because it seems like events change every day, it’s hard to know how to gain momentum.
“Retailers should focus on alternate ways to get products into new homes, like using health and wellness as an angle,” he said. “Retailers can partner with local chiropractors and have patients sent to them to solve their back pain.”
Ian Hayes, vice president of sales for Magniflex, said he expects Memorial Day to be strong.
“People tend to wait for promotional holidays to buy large purchases, especially today,” he said. “There’s pent-up shopping angst that needs to be released. But for retailers, despite how you approach pricing, you should focus less on margin percentage and more on margin dollars.”
Shifman President Bill Hammer adds, “Holidays will push business no matter what. The question is, how good will they be, and what are they comparing that to?”
