One traditional business after another is disappearing from Munich. The city center is in transition, Robert Waloßek is concerned about this. Lots of construction sites, lots of vacancies, and the disappearing traditional brands that characterize Munich in retail. “I would like the city to work closely with retailers to develop a good future scenario,” says the managing director of Bettenrid. He himself thinks that after five years of renovation, he has at least made the city a little more beautiful again with the new Bettenrid flagship store.
Rosa Zaininger once founded the business as a cleaner for beds and bed springs, for which she eventually rented a small shop on Theresienstrasse. At some point she started not only cleaning the beds, but also selling them, and handed over the specialty bed business to her daughter Hedwig Rid. After the end of the war and the destruction of the shop, Hedwig Rid received a new license, initially opened on Sonnenstrasse and renamed the shop “Betten-Rid”. In the 1970s, under the leadership of her son Günther, the Bettenrid branch finally opened on Theatinerstrasse.
Some things from the time were retained during the renovation, such as the ashtrays in the elevator, which of course are not permitted to be used. Günther Rid’s old office, complete with wooden cassettes and leather sofas, has also been slightly modernized; the so-called personal shoppers now provide advice here. The conversion cost one and a half million per floor just for retail, not counting the facade renovation. “We have been around for 107 years,” says Waloßek, “and we want to be there for many more decades.” So investment had to be made. An online store has long existed; Waloßek calls the strategy “omni-channel.” Social media is to be further expanded, and Bettenrid is now also running a podcast on the subject of sleep.
Around 60 bed linen colors run through a shop window in a paternoster, and the customer feels for horsehair or silk at “feeling stations”. “What makes this special?” ask signs on products, and a board explains how pine wood is supposed to improve sleep. “Rosa’s Bar” on the first floor offers a view of Theatinerstrasse. Things that were previously hidden in the house are now prominently in focus, for example the pillow and blanket factory, where the down is checked and blankets are padded if necessary so that they are like new again, keyword sustainability. Custom-made products such as heart-shaped pillows or oversized blankets are part of the core business.
Probably the most expensive bed in the world, it costs half a million euros. Employee Jessica Jasmin Aschbacher is taking a test.
(Photo: Catherina Hess)
The next promotional weeks will take place in January, during which customers can listen to various lectures on sleep topics such as “Restless Legs” free of charge. Not only the right mattress influences your night’s sleep, but also your diet and your routine. A topic that captures the zeitgeist in times of self-optimization.
Of course, it is primarily luxury items that come with such a service. Bettenrid also has the most expensive bed in the world. The Grand Vividus bed, handmade in Sweden, costs from 561,990 euros, without the headboard. Drake’s designer star Ferris Rafauli designed it, and it was the first execution for Drake. George Clooney, Angelina Jolie and members of the Swedish royal family also sleep in the manufacturer’s beds. In the last two years, the Grand Vividus on Theatinerstrasse has been sold three times. It is not known whether the owners now sleep better.