Member Spotlight: Boyd Sleep – From Specialty Sleep to Mainstream
sleepinformation.org – 06/23/19
It’s 1977 in a vibrant midwestern college town on the shore of the Big Muddy in central MO where a young entrepreneur gazes out a sparkling window of his newly opened Waterbed Store. A gaze that eventually spans four decades, multiple retail stores, factories and warehouses and many thousands of happy well rested customers. Understanding his mission early, founder Denny Boyd sought to develop and bring to market products that provide “Quality Sleep for a Better Life”. Rapid growth in its retail business and the drive to innovate led the company into developing and manufacturing a wide array of sleep products. Boyd began manufacturing under Boyd Specialty Sleep and Accent Bedroom Furniture and was soon supplying retail chains nationally, as well the company’s own Missouri based stores, with Waterbeds, Airbeds, Memory Foam, Latex and Bedroom Furniture.
Since then, industry and consumer awareness of what constitutes healthy sleep and how it plays a vital role in the quality, longevity, and productivity of our lives has increased exponentially, continually reinforcing the importance of the mission Denny undertook with his company all those years ago. Denny Boyd is the first to say that his experience over the years as a retailer provides him with a deeper understanding of the priorities of his wholesale customers and retail consumers, as well as insights into product development to satisfy the end consumer’s desire for comfortable and supportive sleep surfaces. Combining advances in sleep technology with this unique understanding of the consumer’s expectations continues to power the ongoing success of his company in its mission to achieve “Quality Sleep for a Better Life”.
As part of the Specialty Sleep Association’s collective of retailers and manufacturers who tirelessly develop and bring to market mattresses that incorporate memory foam, latex, air and flotation into superior bedding products, Boyd continues to develop specialized patented mattress technologies, and innovations. Boyd Specialty Sleep has been voted to the Small Business Hall of Fame and the American Dream Award and has been recognized by Inc. Magazine 5 separate times as one of the nation’s 500 fastest growing privately held companies. Boyd Specialty Sleep has also been recognized by Walmart as a No.1 vendor for complete shipments and on-time deliveries. With over 35 patents and worldwide distribution of its products, Boyd Sleep is honored to be the only company in the industry to be recognized as both Manufacturer of the Year and Retailer of the Year by the Specialty Sleep Association. Sleep products traditionally marketed as “Specialty Sleep” such as memory foam, air and latex, have grown substantially in popularity in today’s marketplace and are no longer segmented at retail as “Specialty Sleep”. Boyd Specialty Sleep added traditional innersprings and Hybrid bed collections to its assortment of memory foam, latex, air and flotation bed-in-a box offerings as well as adjustable bases, platform bed frames, and decorative platform beds.
Adapting to changing consumer perceptions as well as the breadth of products now offered, Boyd Specialty Sleep changed its name to Boyd Sleep in 2017. Boyd Sleep is the only company in the industry to offer ALL the major types of specialty and traditional sleep surfaces under a stable of high-profile national brands that include Nautica Home™, Thomasville®, Drexel Heritage®, Broyhill® and Boyd Sleep™. These include waterbeds, air bed, latex beds, memory foam beds, innerspring beds and hybrid beds that combine two or more of these components. Boyd Sleep also offers a full line of temporary sleep solutions that solve a wide array of consumer needs for extra sleeping accommodations. Denny Boyd and his company continue to drive growth with cutting-edge sleep product technology and distribution and marketing strategies that have improved consumer sleep quality as well as increased the profitability and success of retail partners.
How mattresses are purchased has changed. Product research and shopping now occurs largely online where consumers demand convenience, choice and control as they shop. Having perfected the art and science of developing mattresses made of several material types that must decompress fully and correctly, Boyd Sleep began producing and shipping compressed mattresses in a box over 10 years ago. Today Boyd offers several collections of compressed Hybrid, Innerspring, Memory Foam, Latex, Air and Flotation mattresses, from the very simple inexpensive two-layer mattresses most commonly found on the internet, to complex multi-layer support structures that provide a range of comfort and support. This wide array of compressed bed in a box product includes patented technologies for cooling, and ventilation providing selection and choice of comfort badly needed in online mattress offerings. As digital marketing technology transforms the shopping experience for mattresses, and as consumers demand convenience, choice and control over the mattress purchase, Boyd Sleep’s Bed in a Box packaging strategy lends itself perfectly to these consumer preferences.
As the shopping trends unfold, industry analysts1 find a majority of consumers prefer shopping on-line in the comfort of their home and making final selections in a retail setting where they can experience the mattress. Boyd Sleep accommodates the Omni Channel retail process in several ways. Boyd Sleep’s company owned web sites https://topaire.com/, https://www.boydwaterbeds.com/ and https://www.nightairbeds.com/ offer the company’s waterbed and airbed sleep systems along with adjustable beds and platform bedframes with free returns and generous trial periods. The https://topaire.com/ site features the company’s proprietary innovation in air support that changes up your existing mattress into a personalized dual adjustable air bed, transforming any mattress to perfectly support you!
Retailers may purchase these products and have them available for customers who have found the product online but prefer to purchase in store. All Boyd Sleep mattresses may be shipped via Fedex or UPS direct to the consumers home. Boyd Sleep provides a full complement of digital marketing assets for retailers use in developing online andsocial mediaproduct presentations. Boyd Sleep also provides“My Mattress Now™” drop ship to the consumer service for retailers who want to offer their customers buying in store the convenience of shipping directly to their home.
Marking its 42nd anniversary Boyd is excited to announce its first Nautica Home mattress collection at the upcoming Las Vegas Furniture Market. Nautica® is a top searched brand online. Nautica® brand’s search frequency per month is equitable to searches for Sleep Number® and Tempur-Pedic® offering retailers a powerful brand opportunity to drive their sales both in store and online at full margins. The Nautica Home™ bed in a box collection attracts a wide demographic that includes the 18-65 age group with features that support an active lifestyle. The Nautica Home™ collection includes both Memory Foam and Hybrid Innerspring models with proprietary patented cooling and support technologies developed by Boyd Sleep.
Fast forward 42 years, and Boyd Sleep finds itself perfectly positioned with products, national brands, omni channel retail tools and the passion and purpose to ride the wave of industry change into an exciting and bright future as they continue developing and bringing to market products that provide “Quality Sleep for a Better Life”.