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superbrandsindia.comSUPERBRANDS 2012

MarketOf the hundreds of millions of people whosleep each night, less than half is contributed toby the regimented mattress market. The rest isthe preserve of the street-side shop and thelocal ginner. However, the markets have sinceundergone a major transformation. Mattressesare no longer seen as products that cushion thebody but are now being ranked on the kind ofsleep experience they offer.

Like several other products in the country,the purchase of mattresses, too, follows aneconomic hierarchy. Quite simply, the lower thecost, the greater is its market share. Followingthat pattern of purchase, the coarse cottonmattresses are not only the least expensiveones they are, as a consequence, also the largestselling. No estimate is available for the turnoverin this market but it's safe to assume that it runsinto several hundreds of crore.

The organised segment, at the moment isnascent. Beginning to now develop, it currentlyhas a market estimated at C1500 crore (US$272.70 million) (Source: market data). In thisvertical, coir is the overwhelming leaderfollowed by spring and foam mattresses.

There are only a handful of national players,but for a market this small, competition issurprisingly intense particularly with the entry ofseveral international players. It is estimated thatover 150 regional brands and several scores ofclones operate here, offering rock bottomprices compensated by modest quality. Saleswax and wane with spikes occurring during thefestive and marriage seasons. There is also anestablished correlation between housingdevelopment and the sale of mattresses. Thanksto the rapid development of housing, improvinglifestyles and consumer awareness towards sleepproducts, the mattress market is expected tocontinue to grow 20% year-on-year.

AchievementsKurlon's journey has been a longone, punctuated with the effortsof millions of man-hours devotedto the ostensibly simple task oftelling audiences the benefits and need for a good night'srest. The fact is that in a countrywhere large swathes comprise ofpeople living on the margin, it'shard to sell comfort when theeconomics of eking out a livingitself take precedence.

Despite this road block, theachievements of Kurlon havebeen very significant: itaccomplished the singularlydifficult task of selling a conceptthat actually helped create anentire industry.

In India it has a dominatingmarket leadership; research hassuggested that the brand enjoystop-of-mind awareness of astaggering 80%. Everything elsebeing equal, this would meanthat in a future purchase Kurlonwould be in the considerationset of at least 80% of all

customers, giving the company an extraordinaryedge over other brands.

For its fine achievements, awards have beenquick in coming. The Coir Board of India hashonoured Kurlon with many citations over theyears. For the past sixteen years it has won theCoir Board of India's awards for OutstandingPerformance in Export of Rubberised CoirProducts, Development of the Domestic Marketfor Rubberised Coir, and the award for beingthe Largest Domestic Trader of Coir and CoirProducts.

With a countrywide dealer network of over7000, Kurlon provides direct employment to

For most people it's not conscious knowledge that they spend a third of their lives sleeping. This accounts

for the so little thought that goes into making an empowered decision on the mattress they ought to use.

Kurlon attempted to change this proclivity by explaining the different types of mattresses and their benefits.

Out of this exercise emerged a range of mattress configurations that corresponded with customer's

requirements and sleeping habits. Because of alerting customers and introducing innovative marketing

techniques Kurlon has top-of-mind awareness that exceeds 80%.

over 1100 people and indirect employment tohundreds of thousands of coir workers acrossthe sub-continent.

HistoryMany of the world's great brands are the resultof an agreeable accident. The genesis of Kurlonis no different. The company was founded in1962 when Ramesh Pai, on a trip to Germanydiscovered that the comfortable seat in his carwas padded with rubberised curled coir fromSri Lanka. On his return, he learnt that coir wasa very basic industry in India which was thenmanufacturing only retted fibre. He decided tovalue-add the entire business and set up acompany to pioneer the rubberised coirindustry.

To put the concept in motion, he brought inAustrian technology to extract fibre fromcoconut husk. A slew of opportunities nowopened up. Rather than restrict himself to justmattresses he also developed an ancillary rangeof products such as cushions and mats. In 1962the company was called Karnataka ConsumerProducts Limited but was renamed KurlonLimited in 1995.

In 2004 the company ventured beyondproviding just the sleeping comfort of a mattressand extended its product range into the homecomforts segment. Today, Kurlon has anextended range that includes pillows, bolsters,bed sheets and furniture. At present, thecompany has nine manufacturing units, one eachin Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat andUttarakhand and five near Bangalore.

ProductIt is an extraordinary insight that despitespending a third of their lives sleeping, very fewpeople understand what makes for good sleep.It is, therefore, extraordinary and true thatKurlon has spent thousands of man hoursstudying people's sleeping habits and posturesand selling the concept of the how's and what'sof good sleep. Out of this study has emerged a

scientifically-supported range ofKurlon sleep comfortproducts.

Aware that Indiansare price-sensitive,Kurlon affects a finebalancing act,marrying ascientifically provenproduct withaffordable price.

The mattressesavailable are dividedinto three categories:spring mattresses aresold under the namesValentino, Fantasy,Marvel, Comfort andLuxurino. Rubberisedcoir mattresses aresold as Klassic andKlassic Plus whilefoam mattresses havea range that includesRejuvene, Magna andRelax. This extensive,scientifically-developed range, cutsacross almost everysocio-economicbarrier.

Special therapeuticmattresses Spinekare and Ortho to support theback and neck arealso available.

Kurlon's bed linenis available in a huge range of enchantingcolours and designs spoiling customers forchoice. Desire, a collection of co-ordinatedpremium bed linen, adds a touch of glamour tobedrooms. The Bonita single-pack comes withtwo bed sheets and pillow covers.

Recent DevelopmentsKurlon has recently made thetransition from being a sleepcomfort and furnishingscompany to one that nowalso offers a wide selection offurniture in the latest designs.

Exotic to look and superbto the touch these authenticmasterpieces combinecomfort, luxury and elegancein truly stunning looks. Therange of furniture includesbedroom sets, sofa sets,dinning sets, wardrobes,centre tables etc.

PromotionKurlon's communicationscampaigns have stressed onthe importance of thecorrect sleeping posture andhow a good night's restimpacts not just the day after,but has a long-term effect onhealth in general.

The spring mattresscommercial developed byKurlon, propagated theconcept of 'sleep like youstand', taking-off from theproven fact that the mostcomfortable position to be in

is standing. This 2008 effort won for the brand aplace of pride in the international advertisingbible, Archives.

The latest Kurlon campaign promotes theunique Motion Separation Index technology inits range of Luxurino mattresses. Its pay-off line'One Side Scream One Side Dream' is alreadybeginning to impact the market very agreeably.

Kurlon promotions also include year-rounddeals which offer pillows, bed sheets, blankets,holidays, jewellery, motorbikes and ipods asrewards. The promotional activity is uppedsubstantially during the festive season.

Brand ValuesKurlon stands for quality, trust, value, comfortand relationships. These values are reflected inevery Kurlon product. The company stands byan old-fashioned belief that every product that aconsumer interfaces with is a brand ambassadorfor the company, while every promotion mustvalue-add to a customer's purchase so it endsup as an extension of the brand.

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Kurlon pioneered the rubberised coirindustry in India

Kurlon mattresses are made of millions oftiny coir fibres

Kurlon uses vertical compression technologyto give more spring action to the coir in amattress

Kurlon's Luxurino is the first mattress in Indiawith MSI (Motion Separation Index)technology

kurlon.com KURLON

Things you didnt know about Kurlon