Online mattress retailer Resident has been sold to American furniture giant Ashley Home for $1 billion. Among the biggest beneficiaries of the deal are Israel founders Ran Leske, Craig Schmeiser, Eric Hutchinson and Sharon Duggan, as well as More Investment House, Phoenix, Menorah, It also includes a number of Israeli institutions led by Psagot. Most of these companies invested in Resident in a $130 million funding round led by ION in 2021. At the time, the company was valued at about $700 million.
Resident operates in the online furniture and mattress market, estimated to be worth $250 billion annually. The company primarily focuses on the mattress sector in the United States, with annual sales of approximately $16.5 billion.
According to recent estimates, Resident is believed to have finished 2023 with sales of $900 million and operating profit margin before tax (EBITDA) of 10%. In 2018, the company was recognized as the fastest growing e-commerce company in the United States by Internet Retailer, a magazine that ranks the nation's leading online retailers.
Resident has established itself as a leading online seller of mattresses and bedding accessories through its Nectar, DreamCloud, Awara and Siena brands. Resident's success is driven by his expertise in data science and analytics, performance marketing, and e-commerce technology. In addition to Resident's digital presence, Resident's mattresses are also sold in his more than 2,500 retail stores across the country, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom. As part of the transaction, Resident co-founders and co-CEOs Eric Hutchinson and Lan Leske will remain with the company. position after the trade ends.
Founded in Israel in 2016 by Schmeiser, Duggan, Reske and Hutchinson, Resident is managed and majority-owned by the latter two, who serve as co-CEOs from their San Francisco headquarters. Mr. Schmeiser does not hold an active management position at the company.
Ashley is known as North America's largest furniture company, with its parent company operating in 155 countries and employing 35,000 people.
