Beter Bed - History

History

Beter Bed was founded in 1981 in Uden by the brothers Mark and Pieter Diks. They raised capital from their father, Jan Diks, co-owner of Dico, managed to secure a modest bank loan and opened their first store in Uden. Shortly afterwards three stores, specialising in bedroom furniture, had been opened. At that time stores specialising in bedroom furniture and accompanying products were a new and unfamiliar phenomenon since this market segment was dominated by large department stores and specialist stores concentrating on general interiors. The concept of providing high quality goods and a wide range of products at a low price proved to be successful and was a blueprint for all future activities of Beter Bed. During the second half of the 1980s the company began to grow.

1986 Bedden en Bedden B.V., a factory for the production of MDF panels, was established in Uden. In the 1990s two more production facilities were added to the company by acquiring two factories in Poland, Ecowood (1994) and Interwood (1996).

The flotation of Beter Bed Holding N.V. took place in December 1996. Shares of Beter Bed Holding N.V. are traded at the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. In the same year another company was added to the holding by the acquisition of Dormaël, a company that operates in the higher segment of the bedroom furniture market. The following year Beter Baby was founded, with the goal to gain market shares in the trade with bedroom furniture for babies and small children. At the same time Beter Bed N.V. acquired DFC Comfort ensuring the sole right of representation for orthopedic mattresses and pillows by this company within the Benelux.

In order to comply with the planned expansion and the resulting requirements the company moved to a new location in January 1997, consisting of a larger administrative building and a distribution centre with a surface of 16,000 m², after a construction time of one year.

In the second half of the 1990s the subsidiary Bedden Dump was founded. Originally set up to sell items taken from the Beter Bed range via temporary stores, it was decided in 2002 to expand this formula into a discount chain for bedroom furniture according to a cash and carry concept, targeting the lower market segment. In 2005 this company was renamed BeddenReus.

In 1998 the company expanded into Germany by opening the first two stores in Essen and Dortmund. Also in 1998 Beter Bed N.V. acquired the German company Matratzen Concord whose headquarters were based in Cologne. At the same time Matratzen Concord began its expansion into Austria and Switzerland (1998), as well as the Netherlands (1999), France and Italy (2000). Also in 1998, Mark and Pieter Diks, the holding's founding brothers, sold a large amount of their shares in the company, reducing their commitment to 18%.

The holding's structure began to change in 1999. One of the founding brothers, Pieter Diks, sold his remaining shares and retired from the management. Mark Diks again reduced his share in the company in May 2000 but remained in the management team for the time being. Also in 2000 the production facility Bedden und Bedden was sold off and the subsidiary Dormaël was converted into a franchising formula. Following a management buyout Beter Baby was sold off. In August 2000, it was announced that the Blokker family had acquired 15% of Beter Bed's shares.

Mark Diks resigned as CEO and became a member of the supervisory board of the holding in January 2001. Since January 2001 the office of CEO has been held by Frans Geelen, having joined Beter Bed in August 2000 and after having served as a member of the board of directors of C&A Europe since 1996.

In 2001 all activities of the subsidiary DFC Comfort were discontinued and a new company DBC International was founded. DBC International is active in the development, marketing and selling of mattresses developed under its own direction.

At the end of 2001 Beter Bed N.V. had a total of 555 stores.

In the first half of 2002 investment fund NeSBIC attempted to take over Beter Bed N.V. by offering €16 for every share sold to it. In view of the inadequate offer and simultaneous insecurity with regards to the financial backing, the project ultimately failed. At the same time the remaining founder, Mark Diks, sold his remaining shares and subsequently withdrew from the supervisory board.

Matratzen Concord closed all its stores in Italy and France in 2003 due to disappointing sales figures and the lack of short-term prospects.

Beter Bed's strategy changed during this period, returning to its core activities, the trading and selling of bedroom furniture and accessories and turning away from producing its own goods. As a consequence, in May 2005 the last remaining factory in Poland, Interwood, was sold, the second factory in Poland, Ecowood, had already been closed down in 2004. By the end of 2004 some but not all of the Dormaël stores had gone into receivership, Consequently, in June 2005 the first Slaagenoten stores, a company created by merging most of the remaining vending points of Dormaël, founded in 2000 as a franchise formula, were opened. However, some of these still operate under the name of Dormaël. In September of the same year the Spanish chain El Gigante del Colchón was acquired by Beter Bed N.V. At the time El Gigante del Colchón had 20 stores in the region of Barcelona. At the end of 2008 the company had grown to 47 stores, covering the whole of Catalonia, and expanded into the region of Madrid.

In December 2005 all activities of the subsidiary Beter Bed Deutschland were terminated. The locations were integrated into Matratzen Concord.

In October 2006 a second strategy for selling mattresses in Germany was introduced with the founding of the new subsidiary MAV Matratzen-Abverkauf. Two stores were opened in 2006. At the end of 2008 the company had grown to 30 stores. The activities of MAV Matratzen-Abverkauf were concentrated in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia while, at the same time, attempting to expand southwards into Baden-Württemberg.

In September 2007, the first stores of Matratzen Concord were opened in Belgium. By the end of June 2009 the number of stores there has grown to five with the intention to open more in the future.

In the second half of 2008 the first Matratzen Concord store was opened in the Polish capital of Warsaw under the name of Materace Concord. By January 2010 the number of shops of Materace Concord had risen to three.

On 14 April 2009, CEO Frans Geelen announced his intention to resign from the office as chairman of the board of directors by April 2010 the latest. On 9 October 2009, it was revealed that Ton Anbeek, at the time CEO at Koninklijke Auping bv, would succeed Frans Geelen as of 1 March 2010, the appointment being ratified during an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of Beter Bed on 5 November 2009.

On 23 April 2009, it was announced that CFO Ric van der Woude had accepted a position as CFO at Zeeman Groep. On 1 September 2009 his responsibilities were taken over by Duncan van Hoeve as non-statutory Finance Director.

In February 2011, it was reported that Beter Bed B.V. and Dutch mail order company Wehkamp had entered into a strategic partnership with the aim of Beter Bed's core range of products also to be sold through Wehkamp's website.

With the opening of the first Beter Bed store in Olen, Belgium on 29 September 2011, Beter Bed B.V. attempts an expansion into the Belgian market.

During the course of 2012, all Matratzen Concord terminated all activites of its Polish subsidiary Materace Concord and closed all four stores. All 15 stores of the German company MAV Matratzen-Abverkauf were also closed. A new formula, Schlafberater.com, was established in Germany, coutning four store by the end of 2012. On 19 December it was announced that CFO Duncan van Hoeve would be leaving the company at the end of March. His successor is be Bart Koops.