Spring Air Expanding Operations into India

June 19, 2008  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Mattresses on June 2008 The Spring Air Co. plans to enter the $400 million retail bedding market in India through its Middle East licensee.

W.J. Towell & Co. and Ashok Sharma, a bedding professional and CEO of Spring Air Middle East, have created a joint venture called Spring Air India that will result in the company having three manufacturing facilities producing 500 pieces a day and 30 Spring Air-branded retail showrooms in the country by 2010. The first plant will open in September just outside New Delhi.

Plans call for Spring Air India to establish manufacturing facilities in the western part of the country near Bombay and also in the south near Bangalore by the end of 2009. Retail showrooms will be going on line as manufacturing capability is added.

The company said that at present, 7 percent of the retail bedding market in India is innerspring product and is expected to reach 25 percent over the next five years.

“This is very exciting news, both for our licensee and for our company, as it gives us a great footprint in one of the fastest-growing consumer markets in the world,” said Spring Air CEO Bob Hellyer. “W.J. Towell has been a great business with us, and we look forward to sharing in the success of this new venture with them.”

Spring Air Middle East is a fully owned venture by W.J. Towell & Co., a 135-year-old business enterprise from Oman with sales of more than $1 billion.