Dutch mattresses group Beter Bed Holding saw its first quarter turnover drop 4 % compared to last year. Turnover went down in Germany, where a poison scandal forced results down by 12 %, but Switzerland and Spain performed even worse.
No recovery in Germany
Beter Bed has not managed to turn the tide in its important German market, where consumer trust has been hit after hazardous materials were found in its mattrasses and pillows. Despite Matratzen Concord’s targeted marketing campaign, Beter Bed’s German division suffered a 12 % turnover drop.
The results also impacted the entire holding’s turnover, which dropped 4 % to 110.4 million euro. There were also enormous turnover drops for Switzerland (- 17.2 %) and Spain (- 26.7 %), but the company did perform well in other markets: Belgium went up by 60 % and Sweden by 22.9 %, with more modest increases in the Netherlands (+ 4.8 %) and Austria (+ 1.6 %).
