Highgrove Beds Group plans to use this year's NBF Bed Show as a launch platform for its new bricks-and-mortar retail-only brand, HG Beds – as well as several new models and innovative covers throughout its Highgrove and Sanctum brand collections.
The Highgrove Beds Group has taken a strategic decision to further strengthen its support for traditional bricks-and-mortar stockists, while at the same time recognising that consumer buying habits are changing as internet purchases take further market share.
Consequently, HG Beds will be focused towards the entry level, with traditional Bonnell and 1000-pocket specifications combining high-tech upholstery with modern stretch and damask covers. HG Beds will also be supported in-store with high-impact PoS including branded footmats and pillowcases, available free of charge to stockists.
The introduction of the HG Beds brand will free up the group’s moresleep brand to become its principal online offering, which will be made available to stockists requiring internet-only products.
The flagship Highgrove brand has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and Highgrove Beds Group states that its Ambassador Stockist programme, which was introduced last year, has brought real benefits to both the company and its appointed independent retailers.
In the past year, 30 new bespoke in-store Highgrove displays have been installed throughout the UK, reflecting an investment of more than £100,000.
Highgrove Beds Group’s head of marketing, Shane Harding, is confident that the investment has paid dividends. “The modular nature of the displays means that we’ve been able to tailor each one to our customers’ needs and, despite a challenging market, we’ve seen a 34% incremental sales increase where displays have been installed,” he says. The company aims to have at least doubled this number by the end of 2018.
Highgrove Beds Group will also be adding to its Equasleep temperature control and ErgoSense soft foam ranges – both of which have proved popular new additions in the past year.
Sanctum is another brand that has benefited from in-store investment, and several new models will be unveiled at the Bed Show. Targeted at the premium market sector, Sanctum’s new models will feature improved base and drawer options, along with natural pillowtop specifications to enhance the brand’s reputation for luxury sleep comfort.
Shane believes that Highgrove Beds Group’s latest innovations in both brand and product development will help maintain the company’s plans to achieve major growth. “With our extensive product offer and unrivalled service, we are attracting new independent and multiple customers,” he says, “and we’re confident that our continued investment will help us reach our goal of doubling turnover in the next 3-5 years.”
Visit Highgrove Beds Group at the Bed Show this month, on stands H30 and J30.
