Dive Brief:
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Williams-Sonoma is expanding its partnership with mattress startup Leesa Sleep, with a deal to sell Leesa goods online only through its Pottery Barn banner, according to a company press release emailed to Retail Dive. A selection of Leesa mattresses, a blanket and pillow are now available for sale on Pottery Barn’s website.
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The move comes weeks after Williams Sonoma sibling West Elm partnered with Leesa to feature Leesa mattresses in the retailers' more than 80 U.S. locations and online.
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As a B Corp, Leesa runs a social impact program, which, as with West Elm, has been extended to its partnership with Pottery Barn. Leesa will donate one mattress for every 10 sold on Pottery Barn online, and Pottery Barn will also be joining Leesa in other mattress and bedding donation programs.
Dive Insight:
As upstarts like Leesa and Casper shake up the mattress market, allegiances are being made — and broken. West Elm just last year latched its star to internet mattress darling Casper, but by this past September had moved on.
West Elm ditching one startup for another led to speculation that Target’s own tie-up with Casper may have diluted its appeal. In May, Casper received a $75 million investment from Target after declining Target's $1 billion buyout offer. As part of its Target deal, Casper became the only mattress brand sold online at Target.com and began showcasing its mattresses and other accessories in some Target locations.
In a press release about the partnership, Leesa's co-founder and CEO David Wolf said the two brands shared a similar vision about socially conscious giving. Pottery Barn will also participate in the One-Ten program, which donates one mattress for every ten sold to nonprofits helping people seeking refuge from homelessness, domestic risk and human trafficking. Leesa has donated more than 22,000 to date.
There are other possible reasons for the partnership, however, as legacy retailers watch bedding startups duke it out and mull over how to respond, be it through sales partnerships or investments.
