Hästens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hästens Sängar AB
Type Privately held company
Industry Furnitures
Founded 1852
Founder(s) Pehr Adolf Janson
Headquarters Köping, Sweden
Key people Pehr Janson, Jan Ryde, Nick Braden[1]
Products See Mattress/beds
Revenue SEK 324 M (2010)[2]
Net income SEK -8 M (2010)
Owner(s) Jan Ryde
Website http://www.hastens.se/

Hästens is a luxury bed company founded in 1852 in Köping, Sweden.[1] Hästens manufactures handmade beds and mattresses with natural materials like cotton, horsehair, wool and flax, rather than foam. The company was originally a one-man horse saddle business by Pehr Adolf Janson[3] and is still a family-owned business. David Janson (Pehr's son) shifted their focus in the early 1900s from making saddles to making horse hair beds and by 1952 they had become the official bedding supplier of Sweden’s royal court.[1] As of 2010, Hästens top-end beds have a price tag of around €50,000.[4]

Markets

In 2006, Hästens was marketed in 22 countries, the largest markets being Netherlands, Finland, and the US.[5] After the 2008-2009 recession, annual revenue dropped sharply from SEK 512m (€ 57m) in 2008 to around SEK 325m (€ 36m) in 2009 and 2010.[2] Over the year 2009, the majority (22 out of 34) of Hästens resellers in Netherlands closed down.[4] A company representative stated that the focus was moving from stores in suburban strip malls to downtown city centers, comparing themselves to other luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Mercedes.[4]

Criticism

In 2000, a Swedish court ruled that Hästens was not allowed to advertise with misleading phrases such as "The finest beds in the world" and "Due to [our unique manufacturing process in Köping], we can offer 25 years warranty on springs and frames". The latter was, among other reasons, because the springs and frames were actually manufactured by a subcontractor.[6] As of 2011, the phrase "At Hästens we set out to make the best beds in the world." is used.[7]

In a comparative test by an independent consumer testing organization,[8] it turned out that the Hästens mattress suffered from a large amount of compression over time (presumably due to the natural fiber filling) and was only average in terms of body support. It was also noted that the large advertised warranty term only covers the frame and the springs, whereas other parts only get two years of warranty.[9]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dorothy Whitcomb. "Hästens taking super luxury far beyond Sweden". BedTimes Business Journal. Retrieved 2010-07-11. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hästens Sängar AB financial information on foretagsfakta.se (2011)
  3. ↑ "The World of Hästens (company brochure)". Hästens. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Beddenmerk Hästens ruziet met dealers. Het Parool, 2010-01-08.
  5. ↑ Horsehair beds 'Sweden's export of the year'. The Local (2006)
  6. ↑ Court ruling Dux v. Hästens. Marknadsdomstolen (2000). (In Swedish)
  7. ↑ Best bed. Hastens.com. (2011)
  8. ↑ Dyr säng inte alltid bäst (Expensive bed not always the best). Testfakta.se (2007).
  9. ↑ Garantivillkor för sängar (warranty conditions for beds). Testfakta.se (2007)

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.