Sealy Opens Factory in China

December 20, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on December 21, 2010 Bedding supplier Sealy Corp. (NYSE: ZZ) recently opened its first production facility in China.

The venture, Sealy China, is jointly owned and operated by Sealy and a licensee, Sealy Australia. The 100,000-square-foot factory outside of Shanghai represents a milestone for Sealy China and underscores Sealy's commitment to the Chinese market. This action reinforces the company's strategy to expand in high growth international markets.

"We are very pleased to open this new production facility and believe we are well positioned to grow the Sealy brand in this dynamic market," said Larry Rogers, Sealy president and CEO. "Sealy now has a robust and growing distribution network of 20 retail stores in 16 major Chinese cities and our long-term objective is to build Sealy into the number one bedding brand in China."

"In addition to producing bedding for Chinese consumers, this new plant will also manufacture mattresses and foundations for our contract hospitality business in Mainland China," said Simon Dyer, Sealy of Australia CEO and Sealy China general manager. "Our next step is to open a research and development center in Shanghai in early 2011, which would be Sealy's first research facility in Asia and will enable Sealy China to develop new products specifically for Chinese consumers and better serve our dealers and consumers in the region."

Sealy China has been operating retail outlets and distributing imported Sealy products since early 2009. The expansion and building of this production facility is the culmination of successful retailer relationships and partnerships as well as early retail successes in the Chinese market.