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From Home Furnishing Business

Therapedic Enters India Market

August 19, 2013  by in Business Strategy, Industry   

The licensee, planning to operate as Therapedic Bedding India Pvt. Ltd., will start manufacturing within the next few months. The owners of the India-based company, Syed Emtiaz Ahmed , Gowhar Jahan Emtiaz  and their son, Syed Muddaiser Ahmed , have a decade of experience in the mattress industry as distributors of U.S.-based mattress brands.

“We chose Therapedic International because of the people behind the brand,” said Syed Emtiaz Ahmed. "We feel their senior team of executives are among the leading innovators in the category and have a very good reputation for working with and supporting their licensees."

According to Muddaiser Ahmed, while U.S. brands and products are held in high esteem by India’s burgeoning middle class, almost 80 percent of the domestic mattress market is driven by custom sizes.

“Much of the furniture is custom made, so you buy as big of a bedroom set as your room will accommodate, and then you go to a mattress shop where they make something to your specific dimensions,” Ahmed said. “Local mattresses are mainly cotton, coir, and foam, stuffed into a cover. But we see a real opportunity to offer American innovation, technology and quality to quickly become the leader in our market.”

The new company plans to invest around $4 million in the first year to establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Bangalore, followed by similar investments in the next consecutive years as it expands its retail infrastructure in India. Milind Pandit, who will serve as CEO of Therapedic Bedding India, said that the company’s expansion into the country will see consumers opting for bedding products that provide the latest technological advantages for a more comfortable sleep experience.

“We are thrilled to have the father-son team of Syed Emtiaz Ahmed and Syed Muddaiser Ahmed along with Milind Pandit as our licensee in one of the most important regions in the world. With over 27 years in running home furnishings and other businesses, his knowledge and experience is exactly the kind of strong local leadership that is indicative of the success we have seen in other international markets,” said Princeton, N.J.-based Therapedic International President and CEO Gerry Borreggine . “They are great partners who understand the importance of quality, service and value that is important to any sleep products consumer anywhere in the world.”