You may not need 100 beds and mattresses today, but when you do, where will you turn? "There are a few big, obvious names, and naturally, people request quotes from them. Often, their prices are so competitive I can't match them. But, as I've experienced time and again, after a few years, they return to me. Because my beds and mattresses are indestructible, as the market well knows," begins Rob Boogert from Stapelbed.com.
Rob, amidst his mattresses
We interviewed Rob, who, via his webshop, supplies a large customer base with new and used mattresses and beds. He has virtually everything that constitutes basic but robust and decent accommodation for seasonal workers. Agriculture and horticulture are major clients, and particularly in the fruit sector, sometimes dozens, even hundreds of workers need to be housed for just a few days or weeks.
There are essentially two types of beds and mattresses: basic and luxury. The latter is often associated with hotels and the private market. While Stapelbed.com operates in that sector, too, it primarily and successfully focuses on the former. Customers appreciate the product's durability; the beds can be set up and stacked with a few clicks, and 'fashion' is unimportant. The collection hardly changes, and new models are always abundantly available.
Own mattress factory
Rob, who has an undeniable knack for trade, started with a 'clearance store.' Back in the mid-'80s, conscription was abolished, and the Dutch Defense Department sold off 130,000 mattresses. He bought them all. He also purchased a lot of the (bunk) beds, which he managed to sell in the following years.
Since then, much has changed. He still owns the clearance store, but with Stapelbed.com, Rob has also set up a successful online store. A large showroom has been added, and the mattresses have branched out in the sense that Rob now has a mattress factory. "I always sourced my mattresses from there, but the factory ran into financial difficulties a few years ago. The opportunity arose to take it over, and we did."
Boogert designed the beds he sells these days and has them produced in a factory in Ukraine. He also has various other products like locker cabinets and rolling cabinets for under the beds made. Over the years, the mattresses have changed the most. They must now meet much stricter requirements.
"They must be fire-resistant and incontinence-proof (i.e., hygienic, with water-repellent, breathable fabric). They must also be guaranteed free of bedbugs, mites, and fleas," says Rob. "That's not made production any easier, but because we continually invest and have complete control over production, we can meet all those standards."
Rob could not have foreseen how it would all turn out when he started working many years ago. "It grows organically. You plant a seed somewhere, and a few years later, another company has sprung up. You must be willing to work hard, which is sometimes tough, but if you accept that, you can have a successful business as well as a lovely family," he concludes.
For more information:
Rob Boogert 
Stapelbed.com
Tel.: +31 (0) 715 230 184
https://www.stapelbed.com/