My Competitor Copied Me: Simmons vs. Sealy

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, companies should be very flattered when competitors copy products or technology. Well, Simmons Mattresses isn’t gleaming with flattery. Sealy, the mattress company recently revealed new Posturepedic mattresses with “coils tucked into fabric cylinders”; the same coil technology used by Simmons. “Sealy Adopts a Simmons Technology, and a Mattress Battle Erupts” by Stephanie Clifford reports Simmons is infuriated.

While Sealy and Simmons are not fighting for first place in the industry, that belongs to Sealy, both are looking for ways to stay ahead of other successful manufacturers, Tempur-Pedic and Select Comfort. For Simmons, their coil technology was a differentiating factor, central to their success in the industry. Seeing Sealy copy the technology has Simmons worried they can no longer build their brand around such technology.

Some in the industry see Sealy’s move as counterintuitive as it can prove to consumers that Simmons might have had better technology. But the move brings about two important points:

First, Simmons may have promoted their coil technology as their own but they don’t own it.  Sealy is not the first manufacturer other than Simmons to use the technology.

Second, Simmons and Sealy should focus their attention on Tempur-Pedic and Select Comfort. The latter two companies have had gradual increasing sales and are going to rival sales of Sealy and Simmons. Tempur-Pedic and Select Comfort have changed the mattress industry. They have introduced transparency with an open discussion about their manufacturing, eliminated the salesperson and its environment with online sales, and invested heavily in direct advertising. The result has been consumers willing to pay expensive prices for the technology of a Tempur-Pedic and/or Select Comfort.  

At the midst of this rivalry, Simmons is wasting time. In the not-too-distant future, Tempur-Pedic, and any other coil-less mattresses will lead the industry. The article reports Sealy plans to copy Tempur-Pedic’s advertising methods with investment in direct advertising. Unlike Simmons, Rick Anderson, President of Tempur-Pedic, responded: “Growth spawns a lot of imitation”. It seems Sealy is taking notes from competitors and making a strong fight to stay at the top. Simmons should take a cue, accept flattery and make plans to beat out the competition.