Spring Air entering India bedding market
Expects licensee to have three plants there by 2010
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, June 20, 2008
TAMPA, Fla. — Spring Air says it is entering the India bedding market through a licensee and expects to have three plants there producing 500 pieces a day, with 30 branded Spring Air stores in the country by 2010.
Licensee W.J. Towell & Co. will work with Ashok Sharma, CEO of Spring Air Middle East, to create a joint venture called Spring Air India.
The first plant is set to open in September just outside New Delhi and others will go online by the end of 2009 near Bombay and Bangalore. Stores will open as the manufacturing capacity grows, the company said.
Spring Air said that only 7% of India’s retail bedding market is innerspring (foam is big there) but the share is expected to climb to 25% over the next five years.
“This is very exciting news, both for our licensee and our company as it gives us a great footprint in one of the fastest-growing consumer markets in the world,” said Spring Air CEO Bob Hellyer.
