by Mr. Pankaj Gupta, Director, RP Foam Home India PVT. LTD  

Indian consumers usually have a habit of going to store and feel the mattress by touching or sitting on it. This is how they decide the comfort level of mattress and take their decision which makes the offline mode of distribution more popular. Branded mattresses are broadly sold to two end users viz. residential and institutional. Growing housing demand has been increasing the sales of mattresses in the residential market all over the country. Whereas institutional demand is thriving owing to an increase in construction, real estate, and tourism & hospitality sector that requires hundreds of beds and mattresses. Hence, both residential and institutional demand is growing in India with the rising awareness regarding mattress types and brands.

 

Increased demand for customisation

The Indian market is observing an increase in the demand in customised mattresses, and major players in the market have already started to level-up their games.  Today, mattresses come in all shapes, sizes, and designs to suit windows, yachts, bolsters, and for added products like L-cushions, chair cushions, and T-cushions.  A fact about the Indian mattress industry is that 30 percent of the customers in India go for customised mattresses, whereas this number is only five percent for the customers abroad. Typically, Indian consumers get beds made from carpenters. Owing to the highly fragmented furniture market, size standardisation becomes an issue. Another factor is that customisation isn’t expected in just dimensions, but also on the consumer’s preferences and body condition. Hence, even mattress materials and layers are being customised to suit customer needs. Lastly, Indians are largely driven by their belief in Vastu and its rules, and accommodating their beds according to it requires customisation.

Spring mattresses

And this will be dominated by those going on vacation or business trips. When Indian consumers travel abroad, they are exposed to international levels of sleeping comfort of the finest innerspring mattresses. These experiences remain with them when they come back, as they hope and search for a similar experience back at home.

Spring mattresses should have died in the 80’s, like parachute pants and leg warmers, but they have remained popular because of their low-cost and high-profit margins (100%+). They also need replacing every 3-10 years which is great reoccurring income for Sealy, Serta, Simmons, Spring Air etc.With about 70% of the global population in developing and developed countries preferring to sleep on spring mattresses, this will give the manufacturing and acceptance of spring mattresses the much-needed thrust it needs in the Indian market.

 

Demand

2016-2022′ gives an in-depth analysis of mattress industry in India. A mattress is a large pad for supporting the reclining body, used as a bed or as part of a bed. Home and decor industry, being an important part of any nation’s lifestyle is growing at a rapid pace to meet the demands and tastes of variety of people. Mattress, which plays an important role in consumer’s lives worldwide, just used to get ignored in India. However, people are now getting informed and educated which has increased the importance of mattresses among Indian consumers. The growth in mattress market is largely led by the domestic factors such as increased income levels and also due to infrastructural development in terms of increased number of residential units and inflating number of hotels in the country. The organized mattress market encompasses of three types of mattresses namely Coir, PU foam and spring mattress. Indian consumers usually prefer a coir mattress or a foam mattress but the demand is now changing towards spring mattresses. Globally, majority of sales is in the spring mattress segment while in India the spring mattress category is at a nascent stage.

 

Functionality over Product

Generally, manufacturers are solely worried about the capitalization of their investment. Consequently, marketing is directed at promoting the product rather than promoting healthy sleep. This year has seen a gradual shift is this approach.

Due to the changing trends in the relationship between the manufacturer and the consumer, there is more emphasis on the promotion of a healthy sleep. In the future, mattress companies will not only convey the functional features of the product and focus on brand-building, but will also attend to the positive impacts of a good night’s sleep. Popular brands have realised that what is currently being done is not enough, and hence, will invest more on PR and marketing initiatives, conduct seminars and conferences in an effort to educate the public on the subject. This will help bring about a change in the mindset of people.

 

Growth In Mattress Market

The India mattress market has witnessed a growth in recent years on account of rising penetration of organized sector in mattresses segment fueled by  rising demand of good quality mattress by upcoming foreign players, rising health consciousness and entry of new  players in organized segment of mattress industry. The growth in mattress market has been largely led by the domestic factors such as increased income levels and also due to infrastructural development in terms of increased number of residential units and inflating number of hotels in the country. The mattress market is comprised of large companies, with Dream Mattress,  Kurlon, and Sleepwell being dominant players in the organized sector of mattress market in India. According to the research report, due to the aforementioned factors, the India mattress market will grow at a considerable CAGR rate thus reaching over INR 100 billion by 2020.

India Online Mattress Market

The consumers previously prefer going to the retail stores to buy mattresses so as to ensure quality and comfort. However, with services such as immediate return, discount offers and cash on delivery, the consumers are gaining confidence on online retailing.

The major players in the online mattress market of India are Pepperfry, Housefull.in, Urban Ladder, Mattress manufacturers,€™ exclusive websites and others. In FY 2015, Kurlon emerged as the leader in online sale of mattresses. Owed to the demographic dividend such as rising young population, rising standards of living, the demand for mattress from e-commerce portals is expected to witness an uptrend. The India online mattress market is booming consistently and is pegged to become INR 290 crore market in FY 2020. The players in organized sector should streamline supply chain for both good quality raw material and delivery of finished products to ensure minimization of risk. Additionally, new players should be to cater to the most of the catchment area and should focus on expanding their outreach to Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions of the country. However, lack of awareness, immature franchise models and non standardization of mattress and enhancing competition are few of the major challenges which will affect the growth of this industry in the future.