Dubbed Beyond Sleep, the store displays mattresses pads, toppers, bedroom wares, pillows, scented candles, and cleaning appliances, and has “sleep education-certified” employees who provide counselling services. (image: Hyundai Department Store)
SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – One of the newest trends for Korean retailers is “sleep consulting” – a concept store, or a service, providing everything one needs to know to improving quality of sleep.
The Hyundai Department Store in Mokdong, Seoul, was among the first to introduce such an outlet.
Dubbed Beyond Sleep, the store displays mattresses pads, toppers, bedroom wares, pillows, scented candles, and cleaning appliances, and has “sleep education-certified” employees who provide counselling services, recommending the perfect mattress while taking into consideration each customer’s body pressure distribution and sleep patterns.
Clients can also order customized pillows, choosing between ten material types and five weight classes.
“Talk of the store spread rapidly (since its launch in August), bringing in 3,500 customers in September, which jumped to 6,200 in November,” said furniture buyer Ko Tae-won at Hyundai Department Store. “We’ll be introducing the outlet at other key Hyundai department store branches, while at the same time expanding the products and the services offered.”
Furniture maker Cherish introduced in December Sleep D, a consulting brand targeting specifically customers seeking to furnish their sleeping space. According to Cherish, the goal of the new brand is to help customers experience the kind of sleep they would come across at a luxury hotel in a holiday destination.
The service recommends mattresses and pillows best suited for customers, while visitors of Cherish outlets can purchase some 80 bedding items and 40 related accessories at a separate Sleep D section featured in the store.
Dubbed Beyond Sleep, the store displays mattresses pads, toppers, bedroom wares, pillows, scented candles, and cleaning appliances, and has “sleep education-certified” employees who provide counselling services. (image: Hyundai Department Store)
Bedding brand Evezary currently operates Sleep & Sleep, a personalized sleep consulting brand with professional “sleep coordinators” counselling customers and analyzing body type to provide an optimal sleep experience.
In addition to conventional bedding products like pillows and toppers, which store visitors can experience first-hand, Evezary outlets offer various accessories, such as sleep shades, that could help improve a customer’s bedroom experience.
“We’ve seen a growing interest in functional bedding products and sleep accessories,” said Evezary’s marketing director Ko Hyun-ju. “We expect to increase the number of outlets to 100 by the end of the year (from 85 in November).”
Industry watchers point to the busy livelihood of modern-day men and women that leads to the degenerating quality of sleep. The spreading awareness of sleep’s close correlation to one’s health has also urged retailers to adopt the idea of sleep consulting.
“Quality of sleep is determined not only by the bed, the pillow, and the blanket, but also by other factors such as the visual and the olfactory elements of the bedroom, which ultimately lead to the growth of consulting services introducing such products,” said an industry official.
By Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
