Leading sleep solutions brand Duroflex and its online sales arm Sleepyhead have raised USD 60 million (about Rs 450 crore) from Norwest Venture Partners. This is the second external fundraising by Bengaluru-based Duroflex, which, in 2018, had raised USD22 million growth capital from Lighthouse. Since then, it has grown three times through focused retail and online expansion led by its omnichannel brand Duroflex and direct-to-consumer brand Sleepyhead.
Today, Duroflex is the largest omnichannel player in the mattress category with 33 per cent of its revenue coming from e-commerce. Duroflex is also a strong business-to-business (B2B) player with marquee clients like IKEA and Stanley, and is now actively pursuing export opportunities. Sleepyhead is focused exclusively on digital-native millennials and sells only online, said Duroflex Managing Director Mathew Chandy.
Duroflex, with its over 50 years of expertise, has led some category-first innovations like doctor-recommended orthopaedic mattress range, world-class experience centres focused on shopper experience and education, and creating the country’s first sleep content IP, sounds of sleep. The Silicon Valley-based Norwest has invested in a number of large technology companies focused on consumers including Swiggy, Pepperfry, Mensa, Vuori, Udemy, Casper, Calm, Uber, and Spotify.
Duroflex launched Sleepyhead in 2017 to cater to the ever-growing demand for mattresses online, especially among first-time consumers, and the brand is rapidly expanding into other categories. One of the key salient features of the brand is ‘100 days free trial’ at that too at comfortable prices.
Sleepyhead co-founder Mathew Joseph said the brand is focused on the younger, digitally native millennials who are now coming into the workforce. “In future, our focus will be to strengthen the non-mattress category that includes beds, sofas, and sleep accessories.”
