Portland, OR 97236, US
Consumer Products
Retailing is not dead! The Mattress business is thriving and is mostly recession proof, and is a business that still depends mostly on brick and mortar locations to be successful: The first, most-important thing to know about a mattress is, Do you like how it feels?
This year, one Mattress Retailer of Specialty Beds will top a billion dollars in revenue with no significant competition. If you want this unique mattress technology–this billion dollar technology–for all practical purposes, you have only one place to go. More than 90% of this company’s sales come from their Retail Stores.
In the Portland, OR area, there are four stores in a fairly tight geographic region. These four stores should produce in excess of ten million dollars in revenue. (All figures and estimates taken from quarterly SEC filings). This market is ripe for one or two strong, properly-focused competing stores; DIRECT COMPETITORS, not conventional Mattress Stores that sell “ordinary” brands and products, or who merely dip their toe in with one or two “me too” products. That will be Sleeping On Air.
This company sells an excellent, high profit-margin product, but there are a few places where their business model is lacking. For example, dictated prices means no price negotiation, making them vulnerable to price competition from savvy, similar-product competitor. And all their mattresses are made-to-order; it takes up to two-weeks to get a bed. This makes them vulnerable to an In-stock, fast-delivery competitor. They are also weak on after-the-sale service. A more nimble competitor could out-perform them easily, making unhappy customers very impressed with your service.
This is a fantastic opportunity, with a realistic chance to grab 15% of the local market share in the first year, by providing comparable quality both faster and cheaper.The goal is to open one Sleeping On Air Store first, with a second location in 9-12 months. Recouping total investment in 12-18 months is very realistic.
We will completely change how the Ten-million dollar plus “Air Bed” business is done in the Portland Area.
We will maintain inventory of the best selling products and sizes; provide fast, economical (or “free”) delivery in days, not weeks; we will offer much longer “Non-prorated” warranty service, two to three times longer than the period offered by our only competitor. We will do personal warranty work at the customer’s home, not just send them parts to replace themselves.
The goal, when the customer asks, “How long will it take to get the bed?” is to answer, “How long does it take to get to your house?”
We will augment our mattress sales with other furniture or accessory items from local manufacturers or distributors, when possible.
This will be an “Air Bed” Specialty Store with perhaps 13 models covering all price ranges.
A Mattress Store can be a very streamline operation, usually requiring only one or two people on the sales floor. Initially, all operations and most sales will be done by the owner, who has previous experience building a successful Mattress Store. As the store grows, sales and delivery help will be added, eventually having 3 sales/operations personnel and two delivery helpers. (Initially, owner will help with all deliveries.)