Kurlon repositions itself into home comfort segment

Kurlon is now looking into an extensive brand extension, and a complete makeover - from sleep comfort to home comfort. Part of the Rs2,000 crore Manipal Group of companies, Kurlon is repositioning itself as a major manufacturer in the comfort industry rather than a leader in just the mattress business.

''Kurlon has entered into opening its own showrooms - which will offer all products under one roof to be called Kurlon Nest, says G Sivaram, chief marketing officer.

"These showrooms will have the entire range of home and sleep comfort products arranged in a way that it will resemble a real home. Some of our new products are stain resistant bed linen and new range of kid's bed linen."

Besides concentrating on showrooms, KurlOn will be training customer support groups for assistance. ''We have opened our stores in Delhi and Bangalore and will be expanding across India. In Mumbai, Kurlon Nest will be inaugurated in Bandra soon.''

Kurlon has also entered home furniture in a big way but without making it obvious. ''Right now, for furniture we have only one showroom in Kolkata and one in Chennai. We have a plan to open around 80-100 showrooms. As an extension of furniture, we are also entering into manufacture of Italian sofas. A plant has been put up in Bangalore and Italian experts will be managing it,'' informs G Sivaram.

The company, however, believes in traditional advertising. ''Our distributor network is very strong and we believe in advertising with them, since they are the back bone of this industry. The company is expanding throughout. The strength of Kurlon are the dealers.

Earlier we used to advertise on television, but when we advertise on this channel, we need to invest more which cuts into the cost of the mattress. ''We are planning to create publicity through radio to spread awareness about the brand in public. The press will also play an important role.

For Kurlon Nest we are working on a media plan and plan to associate ourselves with Shoppers Stop members club. We plan to have promotions in which mattresses will be given for trials for two days. The mattresses can be used as lounge sofas, not just for sleeping.''