Interviewer:
Thanks for joining us, Scott, and giving us an opportunity to ask you a few questions. I think we should start with where did the Dormeo name originate?
Scott:
Happy to join you!
The story of our company is that Dormeo originated in Europe in 2002, so we are excited to be celebrating our 20th anniversary next year. There was a gentleman by the name of Willy Poppy, who from all accounts was a very kind and caring grandfather. Willy was from Belgium, and he created our award-winning Octaspring® technology.
Willy was looking to solve an issue that was creating discomfort for his grandson, who was bedridden and suffering from bed sores. As an inventor, Willy wanted to fix that problem--so he developed the Octaspring technology, which is exclusive to Dormeo.
The Octaspring technology is based on an incredibly breathable, supportive, yet comfortable foam spring, which is in all of our pillows, all of our mattresses and all of our mattress toppers. And he did that for his grandson in Belgium.
When Willy met with Sandi Cesko, they looked to market and distribute this invention around the world. With the European influence, they chose the word dormeo, which means “sleep” in Italian. And that is how Dormeo got started. That was 20 years ago, in Europe, and Dormeo came to North America about 12 years ago.
Interviewer:
That's a really cool story, Scott. Now, on to our next question.
With all the choices available these days to consumers, what's the latest and greatest trend happening in the sleep and bedding space today?
Scott:
Regarding trends in sleep and in bedding industry, I think there's a lot of change happening due to the situation that we're all in still experiencing with COVID-19. People are learning the true importance and benefit of great sleep.
Depending on your geography and health risks, many people are still cocooning at home. We’ve seen a large increase over the past 17 months or so in the level of investment people are putting into their homes, to not only improve their appearance but also their comfort. The comfort factor really is an investment in themselves. People are investing in sleep, and looking for premium-quality mattresses, mattress toppers and pillows with unique benefits, like what our Octaspring technology provides.
Customers are looking for products to help them sleep better during these stressful times. That really is the biggest trend right now—people are looking to invest more in a higher–quality sleep experience to make their lives better. And that's what we at Dormeo are delivering.
Interviewer:
Great. Last question. What differentiates Dormeo’s culture? And what do you see as the greatest benefit that provides customers?
Scott:
All of us are incredibly passionate about delivering on our mission of helping people to sleep better, longer and deeper through innovation. That really is our company’s North Star.
The reason we exist as a company is to help people sleep better—and we focus on that through every engagement we have with every single customer. We don't give up to until we reach that goal.
If customers are not satisfied with our topper product, for example, we will look to how can we use our mattress to help them better or vice versa.
I personally read virtually every comment from every single customer, be it through our survey platform or through our social media channels.
I can honestly tell you when we receive positive comments, we feel joy. We share those comments with our entire team so they can feel the joy and benefit Dormeo is providing and how we’re achieving our mission of helping people sleep better.
Likewise, when we receive a negative comment, it's painful because we know that we didn't succeed. And we follow up with people and we make sure to find out how we can solve the issue? How can we fix the problem--did they order the wrong size or do they need a different firmness?
I am proud how much of a customer-centric organization Dormeo is. Customers really do drive our business. Some companies call it being customer obsessed. Some companies call it delivering happiness. Personally, I spent half my life living in Japan. And in Japan, it's called omotenashi, which means Japanese hospitality. It really is the way in which a Japanese host pays attention to detail and anticipates their guests’ needs.
That's kind of how I grew up. And that's what I brought to Dormeo when I joined as CEO. It’s also the culture I've installed with the team here. It's just that passionate drive to help our customers and singularly focusing on that is what we do.