by Acquisition gives the Simmons Living line its own domestic production capacity for its stationary upholstery line
VARDAMAN, Miss. — Sit, Sleep, Supply, the parent of upholstery resource Simmons Living, has acquired upholstery manufacturer JCooper USA from an undisclosed investors group, the company announced Wednesday.
Officials did not reveal a purchase price for the transaction, which closed this week. However, the company noted that it includes JCooper’s stationary upholstery line, along with its customer lists and manufacturing plant in Vardaman.
Today the Simmons stationary line is produced in three domestic OEM facilities, while its imported motion line is produced in about four other overseas plants.
The purchase gives the Simmons brand its own dedicated manufacturing for its domestic line, which has been a goal of the company since the brand was relaunched last spring as Level Up Home. Although the company will continue to have some of the line produced on an OEM basis, some of the mix will be shifted to the JCooper plant.
“When this was originally started, the entire plan was to vertically integrate with manufacturing, and there were several options across the availability of what was out there to purchase,” Simmons Living President and Chief Revenue Officer Mark Price told Home News Now. “JCooper was one of the companies that was looked at prior to when I came on board in January. Nothing had manifested itself yet, and I said, ‘Let’s look back at the opportunities we have.’ And JCooper stood out.”
Both companies offer domestic stationary upholstery lines that are similar in price points, although the JCooper line falls within the lower-middle range while the Simmons and Beautyrest lines are slightly higher in some cases. Both companies also offer sleeper-sofas, an increasingly popular product in today’s marketplace.
“The value proposition they have there and some of the designs they have now are starting to gain some traction,” Price said of the JCooper line. “And that is something we need in the Simmons Living ecosystem.”
He added that the plant has a talented team of about 70 workers and also noted that JCooper President Patrick Reinhart and his son, Cooper, who is plant manager, plan to stay on board in their respective roles.
“They are a very integral part of this entire thing,” Price said. “The purchase wasn’t just based on the value proposition of the product — it also was the cultural fit with Patrick and Cooper as well. We also have a good synergy between everybody involved from the Simmons side and everybody involved on the JCooper side. They are amazing people and are good at what they do. We are very happy to be involved with them.”
Although the purchase is complete, there are some details to be worked out in terms of exactly what the Simmons line will have produced at the JCooper plant and how the JCooper line will be integrated into the overall mix.
“What we will do is let this market unfold and see what successes they have at market,” Price said. “There also still has to be a lot of work done to integrate the sales teams and the customer base they have versus the customer base we have here. So there is going to be a lot of work ahead to determine how it all fits together.”
However, he said that customer reaction to the news has been positive so far.
“The customers that have been there and that have come here, when they realize the synergy between the two, they are very excited,” Price said, noting that production of the Simmons line in the JCooper plant is expected to begin soon.
“It should be quick,” he said of when production of the Simmons line starts in the JCooper plant. “We are going to look at the landscape after market and have a meeting where we talk about the integration. There are still a lot of moving parts, but whatever successes they have we are going to continue to move forward with, and we will also bring other value propositions to the factory. I think it is going to work out well.”
Today, he said about 60% of the Simmons mix is domestic and about 40% imported. With its own domestic manufacturing, this should increase toward the domestic side, Price said.
“The purchase should push us a little more toward the domestic value proposition,” he added. “Tariffs are still an issue and product flow is still an issue, but the ultimate goal is to be a supplier that has motion and stationary mixed on the same trucks. Freight means everything, and if you are mixing the two, the freight equation becomes a lot easier.”
While the deal has just been completed, he is pleased to be able to talk about it with customers at market. The Simmons line shows in Space 406 of Plaza Suites and JCooper USA shows in Space 203 of The Atrium on Main.
