Furniture Industry, Companies Enter Market One After Another
Ace Bed and Simmons Market Share Decline
The dynamics of the bed market are shifting. As major furniture companies enter the market, the rental home appliance industry is also joining in, intensifying competition. Ace Bed, which had maintained an unrivaled number one position, is facing the risk of relinquishing its throne after two consecutive years of decline.
According to the bed industry on the 7th, the traditional bed market was dominated by the duopoly of Ace Bed and Simmons. Ace Bed held an unshakable first place, with Simmons closely trailing. In the past, the combined market share of these two companies reached 60%. However, recent industry estimates show their combined share has dropped to only 30-40%.
This is due to intensified competition in the bed market. Furniture industry leaders Hanssem, Livart, and Shinsegae Casa entered the bed market around 2020. Hanssem has been expanding its influence in the bed market by increasing sales not only of its mattress brand ‘Four Seasons’ but also of ‘hotel bed’ frames. Shinsegae Casa is directly challenging Ace Bed and Simmons by exclusively importing and selling overseas premium brands.
Hyundai Department Store Group, which operates Hyundai Livart, has targeted the mid-to-low price market through Zinus. In May 2020, Hyundai Department Store acquired the mattress specialist Zinus to expand its sales network. Zinus recorded approximately 100 billion KRW in domestic sales last year. The plan is to increase Zinus’s domestic business sales to around 300 billion KRW by 2025, which is similar to Ace Bed’s sales last year.
The entry of the rental home appliance industry has also heated up competition in the bed market. In particular, Coway’s growth is steep. Starting with the launch of the ‘Virex Volume Frame’ in February, Coway plans to release the ‘Virex Reclining Massage Bed,’ which won the 2024 CES Innovation Award, within the year. Coway’s mattress division sales last year approached 250 billion KRW.
On the other hand, Ace Bed, which had maintained its unshakable number one position with the advertising slogan ‘Bed is Science,’ is seeing its status shaken. Last year’s sales were 306.4 billion KRW, down 11.5% from the previous year. Operating profit was 57 billion KRW, a 12.7% decrease over the same period. It recorded two consecutive years of decline. Although it enjoyed a COVID-19 boom in 2021, growth immediately stalled the following year, halting a decade-long growth streak.
Ace Bed’s decline is largely due to prolonged economic recession causing consumers to turn to mid-to-low price brands and rentals. The market situation remains challenging this year as well. Simmons, its sibling company and the industry’s second largest, is closely pursuing Ace with aggressive marketing. It is actively engaging young consumers by launching vegan mattresses and other initiatives. Industry insiders predict that Simmons may surpass Ace’s sales this year.
An industry official explained, “With furniture companies, rental industries, and numerous startups entering the bed market, the competition is excessive. The era when consumers chose based solely on brand is over, and the bed market landscape will change significantly going forward.”
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