By Alan Wolf, YSN
Despite the trials, tribulations and component shortages of 2020, Tempur Sealy International reported record financial performance for the year and thanked its retail partners for much of its success.
According to the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year earnings results, net sales for the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2020, rose 18.4 percent to $3.7 billion, and net income rocketed 83.5 percent to $349 million.
Business was even further ablaze in the fourth quarter, when net sales increased 21.3 percent to $1.1 billion and earnings grew an impressive 213.2 percent to $144.7 million.
Chairman/CEO Scott Thompson attributed the record results to innovative products, a powerful omni-channel marketing approach and robust global manufacturing capabilities, which position the company for continued success in 2021 and beyond.
“The fourth-quarter sales growth was broad-based across all geographies and channels,” Thompson noted. “Retail partners continue to drive sales with our products, and our online sales stood out once again as our U.S. web sales doubled compared to the prior year.”
In North America, which now includes results from Mexico, net sales through the wholesale channel increased 19.5 percent to $792.1 million year over year, driven primarily by broad-based demand across its retail partners, the manufacturer said. The mattress maker also reported higher gross and operating margin, which it attributed to favorable floor model costs and fixed cost leverage on higher unit volume.
The gains were partially offset by brand mix from new Sherwood OEM sales, a lower-margin business, and incremental advertising investments.
Like Tempur Sealy’s net results, “Our North American growth was broad-based by brand and channel,” Thompson observed, although sales were somewhat constrained by a shortage of key components, primarily innersprings.
Thompson also lauded the Tempur Sealy team for initiating industry-leading employee and customer safety programs during the pandemic, and noted significant progress last year on its environment, social and corporate governance initiatives (ESG), including a 28 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 91 percent increase in recycled waste, and 4 percent wage increase for U.S. salaried employees.
See: Tempur Sealy’s Playbook for the Pandemic
Thompson added that consumer awareness of, and purchase intent for, the Tempur Sealy family of brands has hit record levels, as reflected in early sales activity in the first quarter of 2021.
