NEW YORK – Omnichannel sleep brand Casper has made a leadership change, and former Purple Innovation executive Joe Megibow has been named CEO.
After sitting out of the industry for two years under a “may have had a non-compete” agreement following his departure from Purple Innovation in December 2021, Megibow is back in the bedding business and spoke exclusively to Furniture Today about his return.
“After leaving Purple, I received a lot of phone calls from a lot of mattress companies,” he said. “It was hard to stay out. I wasn’t done when I left (Purple), and I have been ready to return to this industry.”
During his time on the sidelines from the mattress business, Megibow was CEO of Bright Cellars, an online wine discovery and production platform.
Megibow succeeds Emilie Arel in the position she held for four years after joining Casper in 2019 as president and chief commercial officer. In 2020, she was promoted to president and CEO. Arel will assist in the management transition through March 1.
“Obviously, Casper was the break-out brand in a category that everyone (owns product) now,” Megibow said. “The mattress business was always a sleepy category, and Casper broke through that as a brand that spoke to consumers about the quality and joy of sleep. Prior to Casper, there was a disconnect between the joy of sleep and buying a mattress.”
Megibow said when Casper came on the scene mattress stores were in need of a “reboot,” and he credits the brand as forcing traditional retailers into rethinking the way they sell mattresses.
“Casper is a terrific brand, and what it set out to do was to put the consumer back into the narrative in how to sell mattresses,” he said. “What nags at me is that, where online was designed to give consumers more freedom and choice, it actually made it worse, and it has become more confusing than ever. Consumers are more confused than ever with more brands and more claims. Consumers want trust; they don’t want angst and fear, and they want quality for a fair value.”
As Casper continues to diversify and open new branded retail stores and grow its retail partnerships, Megibow said the company has the ability to service consumers anywhere they choose to shop through its multi-channel platform: online, in a Casper store, or with a traditional retailer selling the Casper lineup.
Ahead of accepting his new position, Megibow said he spent time researching the company via online reviews in a variety of places. “I was looking for trouble,” he said, adding that he was “pleasantly surprised that the opposite was true. Consumers love Casper product.”
That said, Megibow said the company is a beleaguered brand, and “it’s had some rough years.” The No. 1 goal now is to make the company profitable with a healthy cash flow, he said.
“The glory days of the Internet are gone. Throwing cash at a business no longer works,” he said. “Casper can make money – full stop. It has always been a terrific brand, and now we’re going to transform it into a rockstar brand.”
“No other mattress brand has cultivated the level of customer trust and love that Casper has, and it’s our time to leverage this unique position,” Megibow said “This is the sleep brand pioneer that disrupted the industry, creating unmatched brand awareness in a sleepy category with a strong focus on innovative products that support our passion for sleep health. With recent investment from strategic partnerships, Casper is well-capitalized and poised for significant growth.”
Megibow said with the purchase by Durational in 2022 and recent investments in the business from strategic partners, Casper has a healthy balance sheet creating opportunities.
“The biggest thing is to become cash flow positive as quickly as possible, and that is not a distant dream,” he said. “We have a path to get there: We have different ownership, a different balance sheet and a different focus. I wouldn’t be joining the company if I didn’t see that the math figures out. Once we’re cash flow positive, we own our destiny.”
In addition to his tenure with Purple and Bright Cellars, Megibow’s experience includes advising portfolio companies at Advent International, leading American Eagle’s $550-million-plus direct-to-consumer business and overseeing Expedia’s $11 billion U.S. segment.
“I want to thank Emilie for her vital leadership and valuable contributions over the past four years at Casper,” said Eric Sobotka, managing partner and founder of Durational Capital Management. “We are excited to welcome Joe, who brings tremendous industry experience and an exciting vision for Casper’s next phase of growth.”