SSB and Tuft & Needle Announce Upcoming Merger

August 22, 2018  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry   

Through this merger with T&N, SSB will strengthen its market leadership position and expand its offering in the direct-to-consumer segment. The combined company will offer innovative product lines, enhanced services, and better value to consumers, while accelerating Tuft & Needle's trajectory as a leading direct-to-consumer mattress and bedding brand. The transaction is also expected to generate operational efficiencies in combination of the two companies.  

"Tuft & Needle is the original disruptor in the direct-to-consumer mattress industry and is a rare example of an economically healthy, fast growing start-up," said Michael Traub, CEO of SSB.  "Combining SSB's nearly 150-year legacy and leadership in product innovation with Tuft & Needle's expertise in delivering a best-in-class consumer experience, this merger will greatly accelerate our growth and innovation in the direct-to-consumer segment, and significantly enhance our e-commerce capabilities across brands. Together we have a clear path to transform the consumer experience at scale as well as the future of the industry."

Tuft & Needle co-founders JT Marino and Daehee Park will report to SSB CEO Michael Traub and join the SSB leadership team. In addition to leading Tuft & Needle, in their expanded roles they will help drive the continued transformation of SSB into an omni-channel, consumer-centric company. 

With this merger, SSB's retail partners will have access to new offerings that will include advanced consumer insights and avenues for generating higher foot traffic. Tuft & Needle will lead the development of the new retailer program that is expected to launch in early 2019.   

"We started Tuft & Needle because we saw a clear opportunity for the mattress industry to put the customer at the center of everything it does. The industry is evolving faster than we could have imagined, and we're proud to have been the catalyst and driver for the transformation," said JT Marino, co-founder of T&N. "Under Michael's leadership, SSB is actively driving toward evolution within the company and the greater market. By joining the SSB team, we look forward to fully leveraging each organization's strengths and accelerating our trajectory together towards the vision of being recognized as the global leader in sleep. Tuft & Needle will continue to build our brand and culture in our unique way, while immediately beginning to infuse our learnings and capabilities into the broader SSB organization." 

Following the close of the transaction, each of the brands in the SSB portfolio will remain unique and independent in the market, while sharing a commitment to innovation with distinctive products and differentiated consumer experiences across channels. SSB's current brand portfolio includes Serta, Beautyrest, Simmons, and Tomorrow. All brands will continue to serve consumers through traditional retail as well as direct-to-consumer channels.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed and the transaction is expected to close in the next 60 days.