by Joe (Daisuke) Yasutake
A Waterbedtime Story™ sponsored by InnoMax Corp.
Foreword & captions in italics by Irvin Saathoff
Foreword: I am very happy to introduce Joe (Daisuke) Yasutake with Dream Bed as the contributing author for our World of Waterbeds Japan installment and especially pleased he has chosen market history as the topic in this blog. Having a bit of personal history with Dream Bed Japan dating back to meeting then President Tetsuo Watanabe visiting WMA (Waterbed Manufacturers Assoc) Trade Shows when he was researching the market in the 1970s and later in the 1980s working with his son Toru Watanabe who became an industry celebrity as mentioned in our first World of Waterbeds blog (July 2023), I am quite interested to hear Joe’s perspective on the “History” as he has been involved in a variety of business aspects from international trade to retail marketing of Waterbeds in Japan.
Dream Bed Japan, Part 1 “History”:
Joe says: Our company Dream Bed was the first to bring waterbeds to Japan In 1978. The first reaction in the Japanese bed market was, ``What's up with putting water in the bedroom...it’s just wrong?!''. It was completely unacceptable. Meanwhile at that time the prevalence of conventional mattresses in Japan was less than 50%, because more than half of the Japan market was still using futons.
There was a lot of resistance to a bed filled with water. I think the initial barrier was probably resistance from retail buyers. Therefore, we decided to first increase awareness by approaching end users directly via a unique channel. Though an aggressive marketing move, our strategy was to promote waterbeds to boutique hotels for romantic getaways. This method was successful and helped spread the word about waterbeds. So rather than focusing on a traditional sales approach, the angle of addressing waterbeds as a risqué subject that people are generally reserved about discussing but are keen to hear more about, increased the speed of spreading awareness. All in all, it took about five years to reach the point where waterbeds became publicly accepted for sale to households and everyday use.
Early on Waterbeds in Japan were promoted via boutique hotels for romantic getaways as a risqué fantasy expenditure for the rich and famous. At that time over half of the bedding market in Japan was still sleeping on traditional futons.
The original Waterbed stores in Japan channeled American Waterbed retail look and feel of the day. Notice the American flag above table in the closing area (center), a nod to US Waterbed sales accomplishing 20% market penetration.
Similar to other surviving Waterbed dealers worldwide, Dream Bed included service with the products they sold, so back at the turn of the 21st century they were selling complete softside Waterbed systems for $3500 US dollars. Even hardside Waterbed systems, retailing for half that price, were commensurate with high end US market prices at the time.
Water World, the most widely recognized Waterbed retail brand in Japan (a division of Dream Bed), debuted in 1986 at a general home Waterbed sales event at a Tokyo department store. The first person to purchase a waterbed in Japan was a music school professor. From here, our waterbeds quickly became popular over the next two to three years. There were another 18 retailers dealing with waterbeds in Japan at that time. However, after peaking in 1996, sales of waterbeds began to decline due to the negative effects of excessive competition in waterbed sales. Waterbed dealers who entered the market without considering the aftercare of waterbeds withdrew one after another.
Currently there are 54 Waterbed stores throughout Japan with Dream Bed remaining as the dominant vertically integrated manufacturer and supplier to the industry. The Waterbed business in Japan continues to evolve with some retailers moving away from waterbed sales. In response Dream Bed is opening a waterbed specialty location in Tokyo. This facility will operate as a flagship factory training center to support our retailers who want to continue developing their waterbed business and to expand our network to include more authorized dealers specializing in waterbeds.
While very much looking forward to hearing what more Joe has to tell us about what Dream Bed Japan plans for the future, I do hope you have enjoyed this month’s blog as much as I have enjoyed sharing it with you.
The contributing author for this episode has been Joe (Daisuke) Yasutake with Dream Bed Japan a veteran of the waterbed industry for over 3 decades. Check back in with the next issue when Waterbedtime Story™, sponsored by InnoMax Corporation a voice for insights into fluid suspension sleep, shares yet another perspective. Meanwhile you may connect with InnoMax Corporation anytime at Sleep@InnoMax.com.