S.Korea’s mattress maker Zinus launches premium product line

South Korean furniture and mattress maker Zinus Inc., an affiliate of Hyundai Department Store Group, has started a premium mattress line.

The company on Thursday announced the launch of Signature H1, whose queen-size model goes for 2.8 million won ($2,118.9) and that of king size 3 million won. Both items are the company’s first in the 3 million won range.

Signature H1 uses the highest quality materials in its premium mattresses like memory foam produced in the US, box springs from the Hickory, North Carolina-based Hickory Springs Manufacturing, a company with 70 years of tradition, and jacquard fabric from the Belgian luxury textile brand BekaertDeslee.

Signature H1 has also received approval from CertiPUR-US, the American certification system for bedding and furniture safety and eco-friendliness, and inclusion in the Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex, which confirms the durability, safety and skin-friendliness of textile products.

Zinus' new products are all made at its US plant in McDonough, Georgia. The company's new “white glove” service also offers customized amenities like delivery on designated dates and guidance on product use from customer service reps.

Previously focused on selling more affordable mattresses priced from 300,000 to 500,000 won, Zinus decided on a luxury line after confirming the potential of the premium market in collaboration with Hyundai Department Store Co..

From January to June this year, premium mattress sales at the department store surged 42.7% from the same period last year and the average customer unit price rose 35.9%.

Zinus' sales last year grew 66.4% to 51.6 billion won after it opened sections at 13 branches of Hyundai Department Store, smashing domestic records.

“Even expensive mattresses have been proven to sell well if their quality is high,” a Zinus source said. “That’s why we started selling Signature H1 at our stores within The Hyundai Seoul and Hyundai Department Store Pangyo, two places attracting many young consumers who open their wallets for high-quality premium products.”

Write to Byung-Keun Kim at bk11@hankyung.com