COVER STORY
Corsicana’s core strategies—known as “lean deployment.” This set of best practices is or- ganized around four areas: sourcing, manufac- turing, scheduling logistics and freight. Within each category, the company has implement- ed strategic initiatives that work to optimize efficiency. For example: Corsicana recently switched from purchasing all of its component parts domestically to sourcing them from over nine different countries all over the world. “We are implementing, I wouldn’t even call them evolutionary, I’d call them revolutionary ways to transform our operations,” Thompson explains. “By having great research, great product development, then validating that product development and driving lean de- ployment or operational excellence around the enterprise, we can offer products that we know resonate with consumers at extraordi- narily compelling values.” This intersection of resonance and value
is at the core of Corsicana’s business. The company is focused on the areas that will re- ally serve its customers and consumers. While some bedding brands spend hundreds of dol- lars per mattress on marketing and advertis- ing, Thompson sees this as an expense that eventually gets passed along to the consumer. “There’s a lot of rhetoric throughout the in-
dustry,” he explains. “There’s a lot of rhetoric in the marketing and that is ultimately paid for by the consumer. We will not participate in that.”
A Consultative Approach
Instead, the company utilizes its research and analytics capabilities to steer its prod- uct development and hold itself accountable. This new approach has allowed Corsicana to completely transform its selling strategy from transaction-oriented to consultative. Take the four consumer segments that informed Corsicana’s product portfolio. The company has insights on those categories that go all the way down to the zip code level—meaning, its research can identify the segments that make up the consumer com- position around the radius of any individual retail store. In turn, the company can offer more informed insights on which products will maximize the retailer’s rate of return. Rather than indiscriminately pushing one collection to all of its retailers, Corsicana can work with each partner to create a merchandising mix
that is more likely to connect with the con- sumers in their area based on concrete data. For its private label customers, these insights help create more compelling collections, with features and benefits that directly appeal to the consumers in their area. By linking all this seg- mentation research with third-party data from Mosaic, a machine learning and AI consulting firm, Corsicana can provide even more in- sights—including psychographics, demograph- ics, attitudinal and behavioral elements—to help retailers more precisely market their offerings. The research doesn’t stop once the mat- tresses are placed either. Corsicana is able to track the velocity for every single one of its beds on retail floors and online. By mon- itoring the analytics on each placement, the company can once again offer more informed direction to its customers.
Inadvertently Prepared For The Pandemic While no one could have seen it coming, Cor- sicana’s new positioning, unique consumer insights and lean approach to manufacturing and logistics have helped it not only survive during a global crisis—but successfully con- tribute to relief efforts as well. After months of great transformation and momentum-building, Corsicana was—along with everyone across the world—thrown for a loop thanks to the coronavirus. With the on- set of the pandemic, the company was forced to step back and evaluate its position in the industry and responsibility to the wider world. Early on, Corsicana was in communication with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help with relief efforts, making beds for hos- pitals, make-shift medical facilities and ac- commodations for displaced military families. “We felt, as a company and certainly as an
executive team, that Corsicana had a demon- strated track-record of speed and flexibility to address the unique manufacturing needs that we thought were going to come at us,” Thompson explains. As such, the company was deemed essen- tial, with just one of its nine plants furloughed for the month of April (that location has since been re-opened). In order to safely meet the needs of both the market and the relief ef- forts, Corsicana first had to create and fol- low rigid safety guidelines. These included
social distancing, staggering breaks, hand washing, sterilizing workspaces and wearing face masks, while regular communication be- tween company leadership and the facilities ensured that these best practices were ade- quately maintained. However, keeping busy during this time did not fully inoculate the company from the finan- cial impact of the pandemic—it was not possi- ble to operate with the same overhead levels as before. Through sliding scale salary reduc- tions, selective furloughing, reduced hours and curtailed discretionary spending, the company was able to maintain all of its operations. “These types of events are either cul ture- building or culture-deteriorating. It’s all in how you handle it,” says Thompson. “And for us, I don’t think we’ve missed a beat. This team has been at Corsicana for about 20 months now, integrating into the existing team and building upon a very solid foundation to cre- ate a tremendous amount of momentum—not only within our company but within the trade and ultimately to consumers. We were being rewarded for that with new business oppor- tunities. And I would say that, over the last 90 days anyway, we have continued to increase our relevance in the marketplace and the cul- ture-building within the company.” Over the course of the last two years, Cor- sicana has overhauled its product portfolio, production capabilities, branding approach and overall ethos. With a significant investment in consumer research and lean manufacturing, Corsicana has become an ideal partner for to- day’s ever-evolving industry; it is data-informed and flexible, prepared to support retailers with meaningful features and quick turn-around times. By blending this fact-based, analytical mindset with an ongoing commitment to deliv- ering better products and better value, Corsi- cana has truly set itself apart from its compe- tition. This approach has also better prepared the brand to overcome challenges as they arise. “Right now, it’s a fascinating industry in a great amount of flux or change,” says Thomp- son. “And one thing I’ve always said about Corsicana is: the more change, the better off we are. We’ve gone through a neck-snapping two years and now we have that foundation in place. We’re at the beginning of our journey as a company.” Visit
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