'Bed is Science' vs 'Unwavering Comfort'... Fierce Competition for 1st and 2nd Place

Ace Bed Changes from Consignment Sofa Sales to Direct Purchase
Sales Expansion Effect by Reflecting 'Retail Price'
Simmons Aims to Widen Gap with Premium Products

The competition in the bed market is heating up. Ace Bed, which fell to second place behind Simmons last year, has taken steps to expand sales. Simmons has adopted a premium strategy to maintain its number one position.

According to industry sources on the 19th, Ace Bed changed the sales method of sofa brands Jacomo and Essa from consignment sales to direct purchase sales earlier this month. This appears to be a measure to increase sales.

Ace Bed Ace Square Nowon Branch Store. (Photo by Ace Bed)

Ace Bed has been selling Jacomo on consignment since 2021 and Essa since last year. Consignment sales only take a sales commission, but direct purchase involves buying and selling products directly. Changing the sales method also affects accounting sales. When switching to direct purchase, the retail price, not the commission, is recorded as sales, which can increase sales figures.

Ace Bed primarily operates through dealerships. There are store owners who run the stores, and Ace Bed supplies products to the sales locations. In this case, Ace Bed’s sales at dealerships are recorded at wholesale prices, but sofa sales are recorded at retail prices.

On the other hand, Simmons changed its operation system to run all stores as directly managed stores starting in 2019, and sales began to be recorded based on retail prices. As a result, Simmons’ sales started to catch up with Ace Bed, and ultimately, Simmons became the number one in the bed industry in terms of sales last year.

For Ace Bed, which had held the top spot in the industry for 20 years, this is a painful point. The change to direct purchase sales for Jacomo and Essa is interpreted by the industry as a short-term measure to increase sales, given that dealership operation remains the main method. Ace Bed stated that the change was made due to limitations in operating the existing sales policy.

New product from Simmons' 'Beautyrest Collection'. (Photo by Simmons)

Number one Simmons has emphasized premium products to widen the gap with Ace Bed.

Earlier this month, Simmons introduced a new product in its representative collection, the ‘Beautyrest Collection.’ This product applies ‘vanadium’ to high-strength steel wire made by POSCO. Compared to the existing Beautyrest Collection, it has superior flexibility, elasticity, and durability. The company stated that the collection improved quality by adding vanadium and breathable ‘jacquard’ fabric to all products.

Simmons expects to expand sales based on the changed product composition from the existing collection. Simmons recorded annual sales of 313.8 billion KRW last year, while Ace Bed posted 306.4 billion KRW, with a sales gap of only about 7 billion KRW between them.

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