By Craig Patterson

Toronto-based mattress-in-a-box brand Endy is seeing explosive sales growth in Canada as the company continues to grow its operations. Despite increasing competition, the company is seeing rapid year-over-year growth of 300%, resulting both from expansive marketing efforts as well as consistently high ratings among purchasers. Growth has been so rapid that the company is announcing that it is opening a distribution centre in Western Canada to keep up with the demand.

“We are excited to announce the opening of our Western Canada distribution centre, which will enable us to deliver even faster on our promise of a better sleep for all Canadians,” said Mike Gettis, CEO, Endy. “This investment will ensure our customer experience is exceptional across the country, from first click to delivery, and marks a major milestone in our evolution from a startup to a truly national brand.”

The new distribution centre will be in Langley B.C., near Vancouver, and it is being built to keep up with demand. Western Canada is Endy’s biggest growth region, according to Mr. Gettis, with Calgary in particular being its second-fastest growing market as well as second for overall sales, trailing the much larger city of Toronto. The new distribution centre will serve customers living in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, and the Yukon to most addresses, allowing for delivery time that will be cut in half, to just three days or less. Endy’s other distribution centre is in Mississauga, Ontario.

Another benefit to the new distribution centre is that service hours will be extended for western timezones — customer service is key to the company, according to Mr. Gettis.

Endy was founded in 2015 as an online ‘sleep brand’ and the company is in line to do $50-million in sales this year. Mr. Gettis noted that Canada is Endy’s target market and remarkably, the company’s revenue is now about 10% of that of Sleep Country Canada, which is the largest bedding retailer in the country with more than 250 brick-and-mortar stores as well as e-commerce.

Its mattresses are said to be engineered to offer the “perfect balance of comfort and support,” featuring an open air cell foam that relieves pressure points, eliminates motion transfer, and releases body heat faster than conventional foam.

Shipping is free in a box that is about the size of a hockey bag. Endy says that it’s the top-selling online mattress brand in Canada, with the highest customer reviews as well as the lowest rate of returns (customers can try the mattress for 100 nights and return it if not satisfied). It’s one of Canada’s fastest growing e-commerce companies and in 2016, it won Techweek’s Top 100 Innovation Award.

Endy mattresses are made in Canada, which is a point of pride for the company. The company continues to see explosive gains despite the introduction of new mattress-in-a-box brands in this country. It also has expanded its product offerings to include sheets and pillows, with more categories in the works.

In November of 2017, Endy appeared on television program Dragons’ Den, securing one of the largest investments in the show’s history.

*Endy on Dragon's Den. Photo: Endy Facebook*

*Endy on Dragon's Den (with Joe Mimram). Photo: Endy Facebook*

Endy has partnered with dozens of independent retailers across the country to display its bedding offerings so that consumers can touch and feel. Mr. Gettis says that the company will eventually look to open its own standalone stores, though it’s continuing to focus in the meantime on its explosive online growth as well as its brick-and-mortar partnerships.

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Advertising had been initially focused on urban areas with the young urban professional being an important target market. Expansive campaigns with entities such at Toronto’s TTC has seen Endy advertising occupy entire subway cars, no doubt helping the company gain brand awareness to the hundreds of thousands who ride transit in Canada’s biggest city, daily. Endy is now expanding its advertising to suburban and other parts of Canada, according to Mr. Gettis, as the company “doubles down” on the Canadian market in an effort to continue to dominate the market.

Endy also has a charitable component that also helps the company sleep easier. Each year, the company donates thousands of mattress to Canadians in need through local charity partnerships.

Craig Patterson, now based in Toronto, is the founder and Editor-in-Chief Retail Insider. He's also a retail and real estate consultant, retail tour guide and public speaker.

Follow him on Twitter @RetailInsider_, LinkedIn at Craig Patterson, or email him at: craig@retail-insider.com.

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