Ekornes

The year 2006 came off to a very good start for mattresses and activity was high. However, Ekornes decided to change its distribution in Norway. In March 2006, the agreement with the Skeidar furniture chain was terminated and fully wound up by 1 August 2006. The agreement with Møbelringen and independent retailers was extended and the Living furniture chain was adopted as a new customer.

As expected, reorganisation of the distribution had a negative impact on the sales of mattresses and in Norway sales revenues dropped by 17 per cent. In the long term, the absence of Skeidar is expected to be fully compensated. The reorganisation of distribution in Sweden has also had a negative short-term effect. 

During the second half of the year, Svane® mattresses with IntelliGel® were delivered to customers in the Netherlands and parts of Germany. Efforts to expand the market, especially in Germany, will continue in 2007. The initial phase has been positive and feedback on the products is good.

Production

Ekornes Fetsund AS has modern, rational production facilities. Most of the mattress components are manufactured at the plant. The unit focused particularly on efficiency and rationalisation, even though 2006 has been affected by the reorganisation of distribution. Productivity has been lower than normal.

Product development

In the spring of 2006, new Svane® models with IntelliGel® were introduced to the market and they were well received. In future, much of the development of new products will be based on the IntelliGel® technology. At Ekornes's home exhibition in Ålesund in the autumn of 2006, a headboard was presented with adaptable pillows, base and bedside tables. This enables Ekornes to sell total bed solutions rather than mattresses only. Another novelty was a choice of loose covers for continental mattresses.