India’s sleep story is changing as after the pandemic many people have started considering sleep as part of a good health habit and are willing to invest in branded mattresses and tech-driven remote controlled sleeping solutions, said Mohanraj Jagannivasan, CEO, Duroflex.
“The industry used to hard sell premium mattresses earlier. But after the pandemic a large number of people seemed to have increasingly realised the importance of good sleep and are now wanting to invest in comfortable sleeping solutions. This trend will only get stronger,’‘ Mr. Jagannivasan told TheHindu.
According to him, customers in general are open to investing in good sleep and are willing to invest in branded premium mattresses. This wasn’t so before the pandemic. For instance, the premium segment accounted for 70% of Duroflex’s sales during the last fiscal.
“In addition to premium mattresses, we are also seeing niche segments growing rapidly with high net worth individuals, senior professionals, CXOs and affluent senior citizens investing in sleep solutions in the ₹1.5 lakh to ₹2 lakh price range,’‘ he added.
These tech-driven and remotely adjustable mattresses, which were introduced a few months ago, already accounted for 5% of the company’s sales, Mr. Jagannivasan said.
Duroflex, which invested ₹100 crore in the last couple of years in upgrading its retail front and building an omni channel, has a sales target of ₹2,000 crore by 2025, up from ₹1,400 crore in FY23.
A month ago, Duroflex roped in cricketer Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador and it was already seeing market traction, he noted.
Mr. Jagannivasan said the mattress brand was rapidly expanding its retail footprint to re-emphasise its market dominance in the southern markets and also to further expand its reach in the national market.
As of 2022, the mattress industry was valued at about $2.5 billion (approximately ₹20,000 crore) and growing at a CAGR of 10%, according to research firm Redseer.
Published - September 08, 2023 09:43 pm IST
