Sales of heated mattress pads at Ace Bed (003800.KS) are rising as South Korea enters a seasonal transition marked by wide daily temperature swings.
Ace Bed said on the 12th that September sales of its heated mattress pads, including the Doctor's heated mattress pad, rose 2.5-fold from the previous month, the highest level in six months. "Nighttime temperatures are falling, but it is still too early to turn on central heating, so demand concentrated on keeping sleeping environments warm," a company official said. Single-person models accounted for the largest share of sales.
The company expects demand to increase further after October, when temperatures drop more sharply. Sales of heated mattress pads rose about 39.2% in November last year from October, following a pattern of stronger sales heading into late autumn.
The Doctor's heated mattress pad was developed in collaboration with Doctor Supply, a maker of heating products. Instead of the conventional approach of adding filler material such as cotton wadding to conceal heating wires, the product uses patented carbon fiber technology to cut its thickness to about 1 millimeter. An LCD temperature controller allows settings across 99 levels, and a timer can be set in one-hour increments from one to 12 hours. The pad can also be operated from a smartphone when connected via Bluetooth to a dedicated app.
The product has received KC safety certification as well as EMF and EMC certifications, and has completed radon radiation measurement testing and durability testing at the company's bed engineering research institute. All units are manufactured in South Korea, and customers who request after-sales service receive support through a dedicated hotline.
"The Doctor's heated mattress pad has an ultra-slim 1-millimeter design that preserves the natural cushioning of the mattress while allowing fine temperature control tailored to an individual's sleeping environment," an Ace Bed official said. "We expect steady interest to continue after October, when the cold sets in."