TORONTO – Canadian sleep retailer Sleep Country Canada has installed fashion-focused window displays in its 13 mall-based stores.
The stores are located in malls that include other retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co., Sephora, Michael Kors and Hudson’s Bay, all known for high-style and great display. Sleep Country Canada wanted something just as eye-catching as the retailers surrounding its stores and designed to show the fashion elements of bedding.
The 290-store retailer turned to longtime partner Kingsdown to help design the windows. For the last several Las Vegas Markets, the mattress maker has upped its showroom window displays to capture buyers’ attention.
“Our challenge in all of our mall locations is to look like we belong with all the apparel companies surrounding us,” said Stewart Schaefer, CEO of the Canadian sleep retailer. “Our goal in partnering with Kingsdown was to visually heighten awareness of our brand as retailer, and to add a sense of glamour, using our windows just as Kingsdown does with trade buyers at the Las Vegas Market. In other words, we want to stop shoppers in their tracks.”
The window strategy is a shift for Sleep Country Canada. Schaefer said the company had kept its mall windows empty to give shoppers a clear view of the showroom floors. As the retailer diversified into sleep accessories and home fashion, the thinking changed, and Sleep Country Canada turned to Kingsdown to elevate the look.
With between six and 11 Kingsdown models in its mall stores, the window partnership made sense. Each of the mall windows feature mannequins dressed in fabrics drawn from the beds on display. Shoppers view the product through glass frosted with the Kingsdown logo, and the tagline Style + Substance.
“In creating the windows, our team sought to create not just an elevated fashion aesthetic, but also a sense of intrigue,” said Mike James, Kingsdown’s chairman, adding that the challenge for the design team was each of Sleep Country’s stores is unique in size and shape. “We went through numerous iterations in the designs, with the mandate being to drive more traffic into the stores, even if it’s initially simply out of curiosity.
“With installations completed last month, it’s already clear that we’re organically raising awareness of our brand in the process, because customers are walking into the stores and asking the RSAs about Kingsdown.”
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