Kurl-on, India’s leading and largest selling mattress, home furniture and furnishing brand, has announced the launch of ‘STR8 Technology’-, a first of its kind innovation that provides the right balance of firmness and softness in mattresses enabling appropriate muscle relaxation and growth, much needed for the vast majority of people today, leading hectic lifestyles with very less exercise. Additionally, it makes the mattress 20-40 percent lighter, making it easy to use and maintain.
The new technology to be introduced in Kurl-on’s coir mattresses at first, before it is gradually extended to the foam and spring mattresses as well will be a key differentiator for Kurl-on’s mattresses besides reiterating the brand’s synonymous association with quality, when it comes to mattresses.
Kurl-on has announced increased focus on innovation and new technology to expand its portfolio of products that cater to the modern, young and globally exposed Indian consumer and said it plans to launch more than 125 diverse, new products and innovative technology across the mattress and home furniture category in the next two years.
The expansion plans are part of Kurl-on’s broader growth strategy in the last few years to emerge from being India’s largest mattress brand, to a holistic home furniture and furnishings brand, with the category seeing a significant growth in sales in the last year. Kurl-on had earlier this year launched a range of sofas, catering to the hitherto untapped semi-premium sofa market in India.
Kurl-on will also rapidly expand its retail presence across the country to 2,000 stores by 2020, through both multi-brand and franchise outlets as well as its two exclusive brand outlets- ‘Kurl-on Homes’ and the newly launched ‘Home Komfort by Kurl-on’, targeting the mass, mid-priced market and the high-end, premium market respectively.
The company aims to expand the Kurl-on Home stores from 430 at present to 1000 in the next two years and Home Komfort to another 100 outlets. The retail expansion, together with the increase in product portfolio will enable Kurl-on consolidate its growth and emergence as a serious and larger home furniture & furnishings brand, besides being a leader in the mattress market.
Speaking to media after formally unveiling ‘STR8’, T Sudhakar Pai, Chairman and MD, Kurl-on said, “Our sales last year was Rs 1,050 crore and we are targeting to grow at the rate of twice the industry growth. The ’Kurlopedic technology’ we launched two years back has seen huge success in the market and the product sales has grown 1.7 times in the last two year. From being a brand synonymous with mattresses, we are gradually emerging to offer a range of products and solutions that provide greater comfort at home.”
“Kurl-on has been steadily expanding its product portfolio in the home furniture segment and we have 18 product categories and SKUs at present, including the recent launch of sofas. All of these products will be available at the exclusive brand outlets, besides our strong network of 2,000 franchise outlets across India. Our ten manufacturing units across regions are equipped with the best infrastructure and we have installed capacity of 5,000 per day. This will allow us cater to the growing demand of customers across regions to invest in better quality of products for their homes, to invest in better comfort at home,” he added.
Speaking of the new product, Ashutosh Vaidya, Chief Marketing Officer, Kurl-on said, “The Indian sleep scorecard says Indians are more prone to insomnia and sleep disorders more than ever before, thanks to hectic work routines, media intrusion and changing lifestyles. We have seen the market evolve and as a brand, we have grown with our customer to provide more and better quality of products, driven completely by consumer adoption and behaviour insights. We continue with the same approach to bring out futuristic products with modern technology, designed for the new age consumer, who seeks better comfort and is willing to invest in the same. STR8 is a breakthrough technology since it not only makes the mattress significantly lighter but makes the mattress firm and resilient, thus enhancing quality of sleep, muscle relaxation and muscle growth.”
Residential mattress market directly linked to the growth in housing demand is estimated at 78 percent of the total mattress market, estimated at 10,000 crore by 2022. The Indian mattress market is still largely dominated by the unorganized segment with a large number of regional players. Being a market leader in the segment, Kurl-on is spearheading the path in building better consumer awareness and making available a wider and better choice that addresses modern health & fitness requirements. Add to this, a growing market for home furniture and comfort products, Kurl-on’s growth strategy is well positioned to transition the largely unorganized market and establish itself as a national market leader in the larger home comfort space.
