Looking for a $675,000 bed? You can buy one at this Scottsdale store

At the Sleep System Store, it’s routine for customers to spend as long as two hours shopping for their bed.

But, the reason for the lengthy trip isn't clingy sales clerks or a struggle to pick the best of a mediocre bunch.

Since opening its doors in Scottsdale in 2013, the Sleep System Store has helped clients find dreamy bespoke bedding and a good night’s slumber. It does this by pairing each customer with a trained sleep specialist who, after an evaluation and comfort fitting, matches them with a bed that is customized to their fit and comfort level.

This is done by appointment and ranges from 20 minutes to two hours, said store co-owner Jozie Saewert. After diagnostic questions, the sleep specialist guides clients through the showroom based on their needs. The specialist can eliminate 90% of the beds off the bat, but some take more time before deciding. Most try no more than three beds.

“Most come in knowing they have to invest in something,” Saewert said.

The approach aims to improve overall health, enhance well-being and more productive awake hours, all thanks to a comfortable sleep.

“It’s about reeducating clients. They come in expecting a mattress store, but we direct them to health and wellness, and how to enhance their lifestyle by enhancing their quality of sleep,” Saewert said.

That the shop’s inventory is composed of high-end bed brands such as London-based Vispring Luxury Beds is another factor. Sleep System Store is Arizona’s only retailer of American-made, handcrafted mattress brand, Kluft. It is also the only authorized retailer of Swedish bed brand, Hästens, and one of the only showrooms in the nation to experience Grand Vividus by designer Ferris Rafauli, the most expensive bed in the world with a price tag of $656,990.

The inventory is stocked with beds by companies that are more than a century old and recognizable by international clients. Many customers are millionaires, billionaires and professional and retired athletes. Prices range from $20,000 to $675,000, Saewert said, with every customization request possible.

However, Saewert said that the average customer is a doctor or C-suite level business person, essentially “people who understand the value of a good night's sleep and know how it costs them to not get a good night's sleep.”

This year, Saewert and business partner John Shakibaian opened a second location on Market Street at DC Ranch. Business has steadily grown with more beds sold every year in recent years. Five years ago, the average bed sold was close to $20,000, she said. Now it’s closer to $60,000. At the new location, the average bed price is $75,000-$80,000.

Sleep System Store is part of a luxury bedding market valued at $3.2 billion 2021, according to statistical analysis and market research firm Extrapolate.

These are the only showrooms in the U.S. where a bed shopper can experience Hästens, Vispring and Kluft under the same roof, Saewert said.

A different way to shop for a very expensive bed

Anna Maria Kleinbauer, a second generation Hästens owner, is one of them. Her parents owned a Hästens more than 50 years ago and Kleinbauer purchased her own — a Hästens 2000T — from the Sleep System Store a year ago.

“I wish I had bought it much earlier. It’s wonderful,” said Kleinbauer, who lives in Phoenix.

Since then, Kleinbauer has referred the store to everyone seeking a new bed. She likes the collection of linens and pillows, as well as the customer service.

“They are very, very courteous … not pushy. They are straight-forward,” she said. “What I like is the reliability and honesty.”

When the Sleep System Store first opened, it introduced the public to a different way to shop for a bed.

“You go in and hope for the best and stick with whatever you get,” Saewert said of most people’s thinking at the time.

Working with a sleep expert who helped them select a bed based on factors like spinal alignment was unique. Selling a bed by putting health first was also new to most.

“It’s not like a couch or coffee table. This is the only piece of furniture that affects your health,” she said. “Some have no idea of all the hidden costs associated with not sleeping well.”

Saewert recalled a client who spent more than $600,000 in a single transaction about seven months ago. She recently called the client to follow up with the questions she always asks: Was it worth it? How do you feel? With a sigh of relief and genuine emotion, they often say that the only regret is that they didn’t do it sooner.

“There is a story attached to every single client. That’s been the most impactful for me over the last 10 years,” Saewert said. “That will stick with me forever.”

What: Sleep System Store

Where: 7001 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Also, 20707 N. Pima Road, Ste. 100 Scottsdale.

Employees: 12

Factoid: The luxury bedding market was valued at $3.2 billion in 2021, according to statistical analysis and market research firm Extrapolate.

Details: sleepsystemstore.com

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Sleep System Store in Scottsdale sells very expensive beds