Time for that bounce

LAUNCH: Mattresses are mattresses are mattresses, right? No, says King Koil.

Brand stores for furniture are commonplace. But mattresses? King Koil, a 118-year-old US-based brand is all set to do that in India.

"So far," says R Sundar Rajan, director, King Koil Sleep Systems, the Indian licensee, "there have been no exclusive mattress showrooms in India. We will create a particular decor and ambience, where people can experience our products before buying them."

The first of these is coming up in Bandra, Mumbai, a 2,500-sq-ft store which will showcase some of the 20 product ranges that have been selected for India.

The company plans to set up about 40-50 such outlets within the first year of operations, proceeding from the western to the northern and southern markets in India, in that order. The next of these would be coming up in Pune.

The Dubai-based holding company has been granted a two-year licence to import and sell these mattresses in India, at the end of which local manufacturing would start, by plan.

A mattress is a mattress is a mattress, you're tempted to respond, so what's the big deal?

But it's just the product which could do with a strong dose of differentiation, says Rajan. "King Koil is a spring mattress, a category which at present forms about 80 per cent of the overall mattress market globally. In India, spring mattresses contribute only about Rs 20 crore to the overall mattress market of about Rs 600-700 crore," he says.

But can coir be overthrown?

It can, feels the company, and now is the time, with so many new homes being built across the country. India's big builders and interior designers are part of the target group, as also the bustling hospitality industry.

Globally, the brand supplies mattresses to such hotel chains as Sheraton, Le Meridien and Hilton, an association it hopes to continue in India as well. In fact, Rajan expects the industry to contribute about 40 per cent to overall sales.

In addition, the company is eyeing the furniture retail business which could also do with a makeover. Homemaking sensibilities have gone global at India's upper end, but the retailing remains mostly shoddy.

For now, the attention is on the mattresses. These have been customised to suit Indian markets. "In the US," elaborates Rajan, "people prefer the softer mattresses that they can sink into, whereas in India people prefer the mattress to be slightly firm." Firm, yes. But the bed-of-nails caricatures are long gone, thankfully.