Simmons Freezes Product Prices Again This Year Following Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Simmons, a sleep specialty brand, has announced a price freeze on its products this year.

Simmons stated on the 2nd that, following last year, there are no plans to raise prices this year either. This is in contrast to the bed, furniture, and rental industries, including Ace Bed, Tempur, Sealy Bed, Coway, Hanssem, and Hyundai Livart, which have all raised prices simultaneously. Simmons CEO An Jung-ho emphasized, “(Simmons) has no plans to increase prices for the time being,” adding, “It is more important to move forward together during difficult times and to be loved by consumers for a long time.”

Ace Bed raised prices by up to 20% last year. Sealy Bed and Tempur also implemented price increases twice. Duxiana also raised prices. Hanssem and Hyundai Livart raised prices five and three times respectively last year. IKEA Korea and Ilum also raised prices three times. Additionally, Shinsegae Casa, Emons, and Enex joined the price hike trend last year. Many parallel importers also saw consumer prices surge significantly due to the soaring won-dollar exchange rate.

Price increases continue in the furniture industry this year as well. Sealy initiated price hikes of up to 10% at the beginning of the year. Rental company Coway is also raising mattress prices. Hanssem and Hyundai Livart have also implemented price increases at the start of the new year.

A Simmons representative explained, “In a difficult situation where everyone is struggling due to economic recession and inflation, we cannot pass the burden onto consumers and partners because of immediate difficulties,” adding, “Although it may be somewhat challenging to defend operating profits at the company level, we will explore other methods such as reducing marketing costs to overcome this crisis together.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.