Orders branch out with Love My Mattress
Jay Orders comes from a long line of entrepreneurs, and after earning a marketing degree at Clemson, he knew he wanted to follow in their footsteps – but in his own way. He still works in sales at Park Place Corp., the mattress manufacturer founded by his great-grandfather, James Bethel Orders, in 1931, and where his father, Jimmy Orders, is president and CEO. But he began forging his own path when he, along with two partners, bought Love My Mattress in 2008.
While Park Place specializes in standard mattress sizes, Love My Mattress has zeroed in on a hard-to-find niche: mattresses of non-standard sizes, such as those used in recreational vehicles, campers and boats. As president of the company, Orders plans to combine his longstanding industry relationships, his staff’s attention to detail and his interest in e-commerce to take the business to the next level.
How did you decide to buy Love My Mattress?
At Park Place, we had an employee who owned Love My Mattress, though it was failing, and we ended up buying it from him. The license was set up, so it was a no-brainer. We redid the website, the marketing, and we saw there was a niche for all of these custom-sized beds you can’t buy in retail stores and that most mattress-makers can’t make.
How does making the custom-sized mattresses differ from what your family creates at Park Place?
Instead of mass-producing, we custom-build each one. We cut the corners, we make them so that they fold in different ways. It’s crazy sizes you can’t get anywhere else. Most mattress manufacturers put out 500 or 1,000 mattresses per day, so they can’t stop and measure everything out and be so specific.
How long does it take to make a custom mattress?
From start to finish, it might take an hour and a half. At Park Place they might be able to make them in 15 or 20 minutes.
Do customers buy directly from you?
Since we bought the company, a lot of time has been spent figuring out how to market it. We originally had good results on Google, and if people looked up RV mattress, we were in the top two or three. But they’ve changed their algorithms and we’ve started to drop. I didn’t have the time to put out fresh content to stay at the top, so lately we’ve changed to a wholesale model. We’ve sought out our competitors that weren’t manufacturers and teamed up with them. Most of our business is now supplying people who used to be our competition. They sell them in e-commerce stores.
Do you work directly with RV manufacturers to supply mattresses?
No, all of the manufacturers of RVs and campers put in the cheapest mattresses possible. They use terrible mattresses, so people call us to upgrade.
You bought the business right at the start of the recession. Have you noticed business picking up as the economy improves?
I spent a lot of time not making money off of it, but it’s finally started growing and I’ve finally started to take a salary. We are acquiring new customers and had our best year ever. We’ve built trust up, we ship fast, we’re very honest and we take advantage of technology, sending Google docs with tracking numbers within minutes of shipping. We’ve been trying to take advantage of our size (seven employees.) We’re flexible because we are small.
What are your future plans for the company?
We’ve gotten started on this wholesale model, so we want to grow that and look for new customers. I also want to spend some money on our website and get back some market share in direct sales. I believe in the e-commerce side of business. It’s incredible what people buy and how much they are spending. That’s where my interest lies, mainly.
Also we’re moving into a bigger building in a couple of weeks, almost twice as big, so we will be able to take on more manufacturing.
What is the best advice you’ve been given related to business?
Sell yourself. That’s what my dad told me. You have to win over trust and build those relationships solidly for it to work.
