BEDDING SHIPMENTS AND SALES EXPERIENCE GAINS

Furniture World Magazine

The number of conventional adult-size mattresses and foundations produced and the dollar value of mattress and foundation shipments both rose slightly in 1996, according to the International Sleep Products Association's Annual Sales Survey. National shipments of mattresses and foundations were up 1.1 percent to 32.7 million units, while the dollar value of bedding sales rose 2.6 percent to $3.26 billion. The incremental gains of 1996 continue a slowdown in industry growth that began the previous year. In 1995, bedding shipments rose only 0.4 percent to 32.3 million units, and the dollar values of sales was up 5.4 percent to $3.18 billion. Those figures contrast sharply with the strong growth the industry enjoyed from 1992 through 1994, when unit shipments rose more than 4 percent each year and growth in the dollar value of shipments topped 7 percent annually. According to analysts at Association Research Inc., which conducts the annual survey for ISPA, the slowdown in industry growth can be attributed to a number of external factors, including higher interest rates in 1995 (compared to 1993 and 1994) that led to a decline in both housing starts and sales of existing homes in 1995 and early 1996. The results of the survey were published in July in ISPA's "1996 Mattress Industry Annual Report and Sales Statistics." The report offers a wealth of detailed information about the bedding industry and a comprehensive review of the past year in the business. The report includes an industry overview; detailed sales statistics (including regional breakdowns, 20-year sales histories, mattress and foundation sales by size, and much more); an analysis of business conditions and economic variables that affect the bedding industry; and a report on the year's key issues and the ways in which the industry responded to them. In addition, the report includes an exclusive report on the present situation and future outlook for the bedding industry written by noted furniture industry analyst Jerry Epperson of Mead, Armistead and Epperson. The report was distributed free of charge to all ISPA members, and is available to non-members from ISPA for $195. Established in 1915, ISPA is the international trade organization for mattress manufacturers and their suppliers around the world. ISPA hosts the biennial International Bedding Exposition (ISPA Expo '98 will be held in San Antonio March 11-14) and publishes BedTimes magazine.