Type Private Founded 2009 | Area served United States, Canada | |
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Industry E-commerce, Bedding, Mattress, Memory foam Headquarters Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Products Memory Foam Mattresses, Mattress Foundations, Bedding Accessories Founders Andy Prochazka, Helenka Prochazka, Sam Prochazka | ||
Novosbed Inc. is a mattress brand and E-commerce retailer with operations in the United States and Canada. Novosbed operates an exclusively online storefront, with no physical store locations, and offers a 120-night in-home trial to customers. Sam Prochazka co-founded Novosbed.com in 2009 to give consumers an alternative to what he refers to as "the ubiquitously pushy, deceptive, and expensive mattress buying experience".
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History
Novosbed was founded in 2009 by siblings Sam, Andy, and Helenka Prochazka and was financed with $40,000 of personal investment. According to Fast Company, Novosbed launched with the goal to sell quality mattresses without the traditional brick-and-mortar markup or the "annoying hassle of salespeople". Novosbed mattresses are comparable to those of more mainstream brands like Tempur-Pedic both in terms of quality and customer satisfaction, but are substantially less expensive.
Novosbed originally manufactured its mattresses in China but moved production to the USA in 2012 where they are now built in Pennsylvania. Novosbed has cited higher and more reliable quality and lower trade tariffs as primary motivations for the move.
Novosbed ships to customers throughout Canada and the continental USA, but has indicated that it will expand its business in the USA and internationally. During a July, 2014 interview with TheStreet.com, CEO Sam Prochazka indicated that Novosbed is growing on cash flow and has no plans to raise additional cash or go public within the foreseeable future. In 2015, Prochazka suggested Novosbed was on track to triple revenue.
Donation Program
Novosbed has been referred to as the "Warby Parker of mattresses" because of its lengthy in-home sleep trial and money-back guarantee, and donation of returned mattresses to charities throughout North America. Novosbed's donation program dates back to at least 2010 and features prominently in their marketing. According to a BBC interview, Novosbed return rates are 3%, substantially below the industry average of 10%.