Merchandising Moment: Sleep Country Goes Fashion-Forward

Mebane, North Carolina-based retailer Kingsdown recently completed eye-catching “Style + Substance” window displays for 13 mall-based retail outlets of Sleep Country, which boasts 290 stores in total across Canada.

“Our challenge in all of our mall locations is to look like we belong with all the apparel companies surrounding us,” Stewart Schaefer, chief executive officer, says. While the retail outlets previously kept the windows empty so that shoppers could peek into the stores — which stock between six to 11 Kingsdown mattresses — it slowly began adding accessories and home fashions to blend in with nearby stores, eventually leading the retailer to its sleek, new displays. Featuring mannequins draped in stylish clothes juxtaposed among a bold, graphic background, giving shoppers a glimpse of the fashion-forward brand from the store’s exterior.

“Our goal in partnering with Kingsdown was to visually heighten awareness of our brand as a retailer, and to add a sense of glamour — using our windows just as Kingsdown does with trade buyers at the Las Vegas Market. In other words, we want to stop shoppers in their tracks.” The new strategy seems to be a success.

“We went through numerous iterations in the designs, with the mandate being to drive more traffic into the stores … even if it’s initially simply out of curiosity,” says Kingsdown Chairman Mike James. “With installations completed last month, it’s already clear that we’re organically raising awareness of our brand in the process, because customers are walking into the stores and asking the RSAs about Kingsdown.”