There’s been an awakening at Sleepeezee since its acquisition by France’s Adova Group last year. Informed by revelatory market research, the Kent-based bed manufacturer’s entire ethos has been refreshed – and it’s already paying off, CEO Joe Wykes tells Paul Farley …
How are people buying beds? Understanding consumer behaviour, both in-store and online, is essential in today’s marketplace.
After years of disruption to the traditional retail norms, it’s not enough to simply carry on down the same path – but overreacting to new pressures can be equally dangerous.
Hence the need for good market intelligence. Joe Wykes recognised this upon his appointment as the head of Adova UK, and commissioned PwC to conduct market research into what UK consumers felt – and how they behaved – when buying beds.
Are they led by particular brands? What drives their purchases? And – with the promise of a £5m investment over four years – what might Sleepeezee achieve in this context?
“We found that one in three people buy their beds and mattresses online,” says Joe, “and just one in 10 did so having not been to a store at all.” The number of consumers making solely digital purchases, with no store engagement at all, is considerable – “a £210m market, and it will get bigger”, says Joe. But of greater significance is the proportion of consumers (90%) that do visit a physical shop during their purchase journey.
“A bed is a considered purchase, and the store plays a vital role in that consideration,” says Joe, before revealing further findings: the average in-store price of a bed/mattress is £499, while online it’s closer to £350; a consumer typically makes six touchpoints (a combination of in-store and online visits) while buying; the buying period typically runs from four to six weeks; and, alarmingly, a quarter of people going into that journey don’t conclude it by transacting, or defer their purchase.
Identifying why people don’t buy is as important as discovering why they do, says Joe, citing some of the factors putting them off: “There’s too much technical jargon in bed sales, and retailers have a propensity to show clones of the same models – they all look the same, and they’re all called the same thing. Both of these approaches just confuse the consumer.”
More worrying is the persistence of an insidious sales culture based on hidden commissions.
“When people ask to see a retailer’s best mattress, or seek advice on what model would suit them best, it’s astonishing how often they’re directed to the same one,” says Joe. “But consumers are typically quite savvy about this. They know when they’re being led on.”
Quite why anyone would risk eroding the consumer’s trust in their staff – one of bricks-and-mortar retail’s biggest advantages over its online counterpart – is a debate for another time. For now, says Joe, it’s enough to know that shoppers want a combination of clarity, transparency, and the ability to shop both online and off.
“Our research went on to rank the purchase drivers,” he continues. “We found that size is the principal driver, followed by price, then accessibility/delivery. The secondary criteria are brand and strapline, and the perception of quality and durability.”
Sleepeezee’s research then went on to explore the tipping points which can seal the deal: a guarantee or warranty; free trial (de rigueur for those disruptive bed-in-a-box brands); customer reviews; the mattress’ design; and bundled ancillary products, such as bedding.
It unearthed some surprising results. Another weapon in Sleepeezee’s arsenal is its coveted Royal Warrant – an accolade held by just one other bed manufacturer. It’s an eminently powerful asset in the bedmaker’s overseas activities, yet PwC’s findings suggest that its domestic heft should be kept in perspective.
When investigating whether people were more or less likely to buy products with a Royal Warrant attached, PwC found that 50% couldn’t say one way or another, and 25% didn’t even know what it was.
Of the remaining 25%, 17% said they’d be more likely to buy a product bearing the mark, while 8% were actually less likely (“we had one stockist request its removal from a particular range, as in their experience some customers felt it meant they didn’t get value for money,” says Joe). In all, viewed dispassionately, this makes the net value of a Royal Warrant in the UK just 9% – so not a USP upon which to base an entire marketing campaign.
Taken together, PwC’s findings led Joe to re-evaluate the company’s entire consumer-facing strategy, starting with adjusting the brand’s website to mirror those key purchase drivers.
“We’ve always developed great products and offered great margins,” he says, “but we’ve never had the consumer at the heart of what we do. We had to make our story much more attractive to them.
“But, at the same time, it’s all very much with the retailer in mind. We want to drive people in-store, we want them wanting Sleepeezee. At the moment you could argue there’s only one other bed brand taking that approach.”
Emerging competition from bed-in-a-box brands is more problematic, says Joe, mindful of Adova’s abortive plan to bring US rolled mattress brand Beautyrest by Simmons to the UK.
“It’s a mug’s game,” he says. “They spend so much on marketing, and it’s not yet clear whether it’ll ever pay off. For a search term like ‘best mattresses’, Google charges the advertiser around £5.50 per click – and the result is a conversation rate that’s lower than 2%. It just doesn’t add up.
“Credit where it’s due, their story is good – just four clicks to purchase, very slick, clean and clear. But to spend so much on marketing a brand without any proof your audience will make repeat purchases?
“Take Eve Sleep. They went live in 2014, so in theory their first turnaround period [in the customer mattress replacement cycle] is coming up now. Will their initial customers buy Eve again? If they do, we’re looking at a different ball game, but I’m doubtful.” Joe admits that Sleepeezee has learned a lot about marketing and purchasing from the disruptor brands, and has even gone so far as to implement its own 60-night sleep trial. “It’s not actually a money-back promise, but an exchange trial,” he says. “Our mattresses can be returned within 60 days and replaced with another from the brand.”
This strategy is not as risky as it sounds, says Joe, who looked closely at Adova’s previous experiences in the French market, and Sleepeezee’s low returns rate, before committing to this pledge. It would seem that the more spontaneous the purchase (four clicks, perhaps?), the greater the likelihood of its spontaneous return. “Traditionally, our huge advantage is we don’t offer a one-size-fits-all solution,” explains Joe. “A Sleepeezee bed is not just a big block of foam.”
The replacement policy is just one example of Sleepeezee’s commitment to better customer service and to developing closer working relationships with stockists. “Most of our more traditional rivals are not coming up with these sorts of solutions for their stockists,” says Joe.
This might mean developing exclusive models, or support for consumer advertising campaigns (the brand has already helped fund and film a TV commercial on behalf of a local stockist), and even goes as far as holding stock for and sharing delivery costs with particularly open-minded partners.
“I’m looking at things more holistically,” says Joe, “and trying things out that might revitalise our range. Ultimately, the discourse is simple – give us some leeway and we’ll grow your sales.”
To bolster its consumer presence, Sleepeezee formed a partnership with Good Housekeeping magazine in February. That month, it also enlisted celebrity doctor Dr Ranj Singh (of TV’s CBeebies, This Morning and Strictly Come Dancing fame) as its brand ambassador.
The connection is far from tenuous – Ranj’s mother works for the business, and Ranj himself completed a summer placement there in his youth. As an NHS clinician, Ranj is well aware of the benefits a good night’s sleep can deliver the next day – and its these that take centre stage in Sleepeezee’s own TV advertising campaign, ‘Everything is easy when you Sleepeezee’.
“NHS guidelines suggest we should have 8-9 hours’ sleep a night, but the average Briton only sleeps 6.25.” says Joe. “To date, everyone else in our sector has focused on the sports story, but physicality is just one of the benefits – a proper night’s sleep means you’ll make better decisions, be more patient and listen better. There are links between good sleep and a decline in dementia rates, and the BHF says it reduces heart murmurs.”
Through Ranj, Sleepeezee is broadening its horizons. Early analysis indicates that his presence has bolstered Sleepeezee’s profile among the UK’s Indian and Pakistani population, while, as a columnist for gay lifestyle magazine Attitude, Ranj has enabled Sleepeezee to reach out to that often-overlooked demographic.
“At the same time, we’re building our social media following,” explains Joe. “In the past few months alone, our Facebook followers have gone from 3000 to 10,000. If you take Ranj’s reach into account, our social media reach now totals around 200,000 people.”
Carefully timed to coincide with this fillip, May saw the launch of Sleepeezee’s Perfectly British collection. Offering three models – Strand, Regent and Mayfair, priced from £699-899 – and cleverly marketed along a Monopoly theme, the collection exclusively comprises British raw materials, enabling Sleepeezee to meet one of today’s most important consumer demands head-on.
“Sustainability is a big focus for us – as a company, and a Royal Warrant holder – so we asked ourselves what it might look like, product-wise,” explains Joe. “Our deliveries will always create a carbon footprint (and running an electric lorry fleet is unrealistic), but why not reduce the footprint created by our supply base? Why not skew our supply chain towards UK-based businesses?”
The story doesn’t stop there. For every mattress sold, £10 goes to homeless charity Crisis, adding to a rich CSR programme that has seen Sleepeezee raise more than £250,000 for good causes over the past three years.
“Let the other brands talk about technology and craft,” says Joe, “while we bring things to the fore consumers can actually relate to.”
Sleepeezee is upping its game behind the scenes too, with new hires, machinery and factory space. Merchandisers have been appointed in the North and South to handle the majors, 400m2 has been added to the factory to house finished goods and enable faster response times, and, drawing on Adova’s investment, plans are in place for further expansion.
Sleepeezee’s status as an approved supplier to the Minerva Furniture Group is already opening new doors, while independent stockists are benefiting from fresh POS in line with their promotional campaigns. Meanwhile, Joe is encouraging greater staff interaction, and has implemented new KPIs to identify which models are selling (and which aren’t), and where.
“There are big changes going on here,” says Joe, “and having a team that’s bought into our new philosophy so quickly has made all the difference.
“We’re thinking about how to make and sell mattresses better and faster, and our market research proved so useful that we’re doing another round of brand awareness assessment with PwC.”
The initial results speak for themselves. Sleepeezee’s Q1 sales were good, but as it entered the summer months (admittedly against some relatively soft comparatives), the emergence of its new direction, partnerships and products saw sales grow by +24% YoY in April, and an astounding +88% in May – a country mile ahead of the NBF’s sector benchmarks. Joe grins as he executes a quick calculation, before stating that he expects overall growth in H1 to be +12% YoY.
“The market’s against us, but we’re certainly outperforming our rivals now,” he concludes. “It’s been hard work, but we’ve got a stronger range, greater reach, and a better grasp of the brand’s values than ever. And there’s plenty more to come …”
Visit Sleepeezee at this year’s Bed Show, on stand J50.
Pictured: Joe Wykes with Mayfair, from Sleepeezee’s Perfectly British collection
