BrandSource Canada Launches BrandSource Sleep

An artist’s rendering of BrandSource Sleep, a new in-store bedding gallery lauded by BrandSource Canada dealers

New concept in mattress retail opens at nine locations

By Andy Kriege, YSN

Mega Group BrandSource Canada, AVB’s affiliate to the north, has launched a new in-store gallery program designed to increase sales volume and profitability in bedding.

Dubbed BrandSource Sleep, the new concept was initially rolled out to eight BrandSource Canada members, who held special grand opening celebrations for their new Sleep galleries across nine markets.

The new venture is the brainchild of Tania Dionne, a veteran of the bedding business and mattress merchandiser director at Mega Group since 2020. Dionne is aiming to have 30 stores participating in the program by the end of the year and has an ambitious goal of 60 BrandSource Sleep locations by 2024.

Dionne said the store-within-a-store galleries represent an innovative new concept in mattress retail that is grounded in the three product principles of sleep, recover and perform, and incorporate a simple five-step sales process.

“Bedding industry sales have grown by more than $200 million in the past 24 months or so, pushing past the $2 billion mark,” she said. “People are more and more into wellness, lifestyle and performance, and show increasing awareness about the value and role of sleep in their overall health. So, having a sleep gallery program dedicated to these ideas makes sense.”

The BrandSource Sleep program also extends beyond the mattress to embrace a wide selection of pillows, adjustable bases and bedding accessories. No less important is the retail selling space itself, which was crafted by Mega Group’s expert interior designer, Carole Vallières.

Another major advantage over the traditional approach to mattress sales is that it simplifies the selling process. “We want to make buying a mattress easy and delightful,” Dionne said.

Michel Tardif, whose two Meubles & Nous stores in Beauport and Saint-Georges, Quebec, recently unveiled BrandSource Sleep galleries, agreed. “This five-step system will help the team make more complete sales and demonstrate our professionalism in this department,” he said.

Along with trained sleep experts and the five-step sales process, the program is supported by a high-powered merchandising component that features top brands like Sealy, Beautyrest and Tempur-Pedic, plus a budget-friendly private-label option called Concept ZZZ.

The program will also feature another brand with real star power, GhostBed. Based in Plantation, Fla., and with a warehouse in Toronto, this direct-sale mattress specialist has recently signed American tennis superstar Venus Williams as its spokesperson. “They are great at D2C [direct-to-consumer], and we are building that ability on our retailers’ websites in partnership with them,” Dionne said.

The new BrandSource Sleep gallery at Barber & Haskill in Midland, Ontario, illustrates the five-step selling process.

Tom Barber of Barber & Haskill in Midland, Ontario, loves the design of the BrandSource Sleep gallery, which he described as “clean and welcoming to customers.”

“They can easily follow the steps with our staff,” he added, “leading them to a better night’s sleep.”

Traffic for the gallery grand openings was fueled by a promotional campaign produced by Mega Group, and customers on hand were rewarded with hors d’oeuvres, refreshments and special offers and drawings, including a chance to win their purchase.

The six other BrandSource Canada members who debuted the BrandSource Sleep galleries are:

  • Harris BrandSource Home Furnishings, Fort McMurray, Alberta
  • SleepMatters/Groves TV & Appliances, Goderich, Ontario
  • McLellan BrandSource Home Furnishings, Lower Woodstock, New Brunswick
  • Stubbe’s BrandSource Home Furnishings, Tilsonburg, Ontario
  • New Age Home Furnishings & Electronics, Weyburn, Saskatchewan
  • BrandSource Estevan, Estevan, Saskatchewan; and,

A second wave of BrandSource Canada stores is scheduled to open Sleep galleries in October.

BrandSource, a unit of YSN publisher AVB Inc., is a nationwide buying group for independent appliance, furniture, mattress and CE dealers.

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