Mebane, N.C. — Although the first two Kingsdown Sleep to Live stores opened not far from the company's headquarters here, the concept will soon be expanded far beyond the borders of North Carolina.
And most of the new Sleep to Live stores will be opened by existing Kingsdown dealers, company officials said.
"We are already in talks with various parties," said Eric Hinshaw, Kingsdown's chairman and chief executive officer. "The vast majority (of stores) on the drawing board are with existing dealers.
"That's the best way for this concept to work."
The first Sleep to Live store was opened by Boyles Furniture at Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, N.C. Last month, Kingsdown opened its first company-owned Sleep to Live store at The Streets at Southpoint in Durham, N.C.
Hinshaw stressed that Kingsdown will not be opening company-owned Sleep to Live stores where the company would compete with existing Kingsdown dealers.
Enhanced retail perspective
In addition to expanding distribution to markets it doesn't currently reach and strengthening its presence with existing dealers, the Sleep to Live stores will give Kingsdown a better understanding of the issues facing retailers, Hinshaw said. That will help Kingsdown better meet its dealers' needs.
One of the keys to the success of the stores, according to Kingsdown officials, is that they will provide a powerful introduction to the Kingsdown story of better beds scientifically matched to the consumer.
"So many of the consumers who experience a Kingsdown sleep system will eventually purchase one, and Sleep to Live stores are an ideal setting to introduce those shoppers to Kingsdown," Hinshaw said.
He said the concept, in which consumers get an overview of the importance of a good night's sleep and then can try out beds scientifically matched to their body types, will work best in retail venues with high traffic counts.
In many cases that will be a mall setting, but the stores will also work well in free-standing furniture and bedding stores, Hinshaw said.
The Sleep to Live stores will average about 1,500 square feet and offer about nine beds, retailing from approximately $1,500 to $5,000 in queen.
The stores will prominently feature Kingsdown's proprietary DormoDiagnostics computer body-profiling system, designed to take the guesswork out of buying a bed.
Don't be surprised if Sleep to Live stores show up around the world.
"This concept has international implications," said Tom McLean, Kingsdown's senior vice president. "We have the opportunity with this concept to go anywhere in the world."
