There’s an aggressive new entrant to India’s mattress industry, 90 per cent of which is in the unorganised sector. The Dubai Furniture Manufacturing Company (DFMC), which opened its first showroom in India in Bangalore last month, will operate in the premium range. The UAE market leader in mattresses and sleep accessories sells premium brands such as Serta and King Koil of US.

S. Sundar Rajan, CEO, says India offers a huge opportunity as the mattress market, estimated at around ₹700-800 crore, has hardly evolved. “Unlike other sectors such as telecom, IT, auto and real estate, this segment is still in its infancy, with spring mattresses accounting for less than 10 per cent.” In evolved markets, spring mattresses have 90 per cent market share. He estimates the world market at $14 billion, “of which the US alone accounts for $7 billion”.

Making the connect between a quality mattress and good health, specifically one’s back (“after all, you’ll spend a third of your life on your mattress), he says the spring mattress segment in India is small and marked by indifferent quality; “the spring makes noise or gives way after a while, leaving consumers thinking all spring mattresses are of poor quality and rejecting them”. But there are quality manufacturers in the coir mattress segment in India.

So which is better for your spine, coir or spring?

“Both have their advantages and disadvantages and are, once again, linked to quality. Most crucially, coir has to be treated well, if not it will breed bugs and insects. Similarly, spring mattresses make noise when not made well.”

Boasting annual sales of AED 150 million at its 17 showrooms in UAE, the company set up a factory in Pune last March. The unit can make 200 mattresses a day, but currently makes only about 30-35, “which is nothing”. But he expects this to change in five years as “the Indian market has potential to double from ₹800 crore at present to ₹1,600 crore.”

The spread The company is setting up a distribution network in India for the Serta mattresses; it already has franchisees in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. At its first showroom in Bangalore, the endeavour is to give the customer not only a “shopping experience but a complete sleep solution”.

Marketing manager Sudarshan Rai says their first customer was an IT professional in his 30s, “with a severe back problem. He tested a mattress by sitting on it. We told him to lie down for at least a few minutes. He did that and said ‘yes, this is the one’.”

But he was requested to try the other mattresses and select from the 11 kinds on display. He said he would return with his family.

The mattress he selected cost ₹90,000, says Rajan. Even though price-sensitive, Indian consumers are ready to pay for quality; “that’s our Indian experience”. To maintain high quality, raw materials manufactured at the company’s plush 2 lakh sq ft facility at the Dubai Investment Park are shipped to the Pune factory. The company was not satisfied with the quality of locally available raw material.

But mattress shopping and sales take time. On Day One in Bangalore, they sold only a latex pillow priced about ₹6,000. “Many people came and tested the products; in our category purchase doesn’t happen at the first attempt; and we have no readymade mattresses. Only after an order is placed, the mattress is custom-made and delivered by couriers trained in installation.”

The mattress thickness varies between 6 and 12 inches, with the premium segment at 10-12 inches and priced around ₹1 lakh for a double bed.

A marked difference in the Indian market compared to evolved markets is that people here buy the cot first and then the mattress. “We can supply that, but it is better to buy the complete set to enjoy the same experience you get at the showroom”.

The Bangalore store has the latest i-series mattresses from the Serta brand in the US. These contain cool, gel-infused foam to keep the mattress surface cool for the Indian weather.

Rajan explains that in the normal memory or slow-recovery foam — which takes the body shape — the surface tends to become hot. “I can’t use it and start sweating, but it is suitable for some people.”

Next on their horizon is a second showroom in Bangalore, followed by one in Chennai. “Once we go beyond 200-300 mattresses a day, we’ll think of another factory in India,” he adds.

Specially for baby

For infants, the DFMC makes special mattresses with two layers. The outer layer can absorb two litres of fluid. So if the baby wets the bed, the surface doesn’t become soggy; the outer cover can be zipped open and washed separately, while the mattress can still be used with the inner cover. Special anti-fungal and anti-bacterial material is used in these mattresses.

Also, the foam used is not too soft. Soft foam can result in SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), where the sleeping baby accidently suffocates when it turns over and buries its head in the soft mattress. “The impression of some mothers that a baby mattress has to be extremely soft is wrong. The foam used should be neither too soft nor too firm. It should be firm enough to support the baby’s spine during this crucial stage of growth.”

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