The Homestyle subsidiary is understood to have looked at in-town locations such as London’s Tottenham Court Road and Hampstead for space for a standalone store that would stock its Kingsdown beds. The US-made beds and mattresses are only available in the UK at 68 of Bensons’ 220 stores at present.
The stores also carry a computer profiling system to select suitable mattresses for individual customers.
Bensons for Beds managing director Bill Carrahar said: “Kingsdown was pioneered in the US and the company invested millions in researching sleep patterns. Sales for the brand are growing and a standalone format with a smaller footprint would mean we could solely target high-end customers.”
Last month, the retailer also launched six ranges of bedroom furniture in its stores. The collections offer matching ranges to its bed frames, including bedside tables, wardrobes, chests of drawers, mirrors and dressing tables and stools.
“We already offer a complete range of beds, so the logical next step was to start offering bedroom furniture too,” said Carrahar. “In order to be a destination for sleep, we need to offer everything for the bedroom. Being able to show customers roomsets helps boost sales because it gives them inspiration for the whole room.”
Meanwhile, Bensons is gearing up for its Boxing Day Sale and, for the first time, has launched its TV ad campaign nationwide this year.
The retailer has taken a humorous approach rather than the traditional price-cutting strategy. The ads will focus on the quality of sleep, with straplines such as “A Bensons bed. Once you’re in it, you’re out of it.”
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