Hilding Anders appoints Jason Forbes as President of Online Brands and Group Chief Digital Officer

Leading global sleep, health and wellness group hires former Capgemini, Time Warner and Coty executive into key leadership role

Hilding Anders, one of the world's leading bedding and mattress groups in the sleep, health and wellness industry, has appointed Jason Forbes as President of Online Brands and Group Chief Digital Officer. 

Forbes brings over 20 years' experience driving disruptive growth for brands through digital, eCommerce and P&L leadership, crucial pillars for Hilding Anders as the group launches 3 priority brands across direct to consumer (DTC) channels in 2021.

Forbes' extensive experience in digital transformation is shaping the company's new growth strategy in turning 3 of their main brands into direct to consumer businesses. He held the position of Global CEO at Beamly prior to its acquisition by Coty to accelerate their own digital transformation. At Coty, he was promoted to Chief Digital & Media Officer where he built their digital and eCommerce leadership teams across a 70+ brand portfolio, including Covergirl, Wella. Gucci, Burberry, Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss. He led the company's global digital transformation along with divisional digital SVPs, growing eCommerce revenues globally by 300% in under 3 years across direct-to-consumer and enhanced global retailer partnerships including Boots, Walmart and Amazon.

Forbes brings broader experience leading and transforming global business units across the US, EMEA and Asia Pacific including PepsiCo, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young as US media practice lead and Time Warner as SVP of Strategy, New Products & Marketing.

The Hilding Anders expansion is being shaped by deeper intelligence of changing consumer behaviours and needs across major European markets. https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/12/17/increased-awareness-between-sleep-and-wellness-will-create-growth-hilding-anders-says.html

A new 2020 proprietary study Hilding Anders conducted in conjunction with McKinsey across six major markets found that people simply aren't getting enough sleep: 1.5 hours less sleep per night than they want[1]. Nearly a quarter (24%) report experiencing recurring insomnia and nearly a half (49%) report recurring back pain[2].

In light of this sleep crisis, more than 70% of people stated that mattress comfort is the single most important sleep factor, outranking stress which scored 61%[3].

These changes come at a time when the European market is set to grow from €19bn in 2019 to €22bn by 2025[4], driven by growth in online channels. Consumers will use multiple sources of information both online and offline to make purchases, but online channels will be the key channel of growth, expected to grow by 27% CAGR towards 2025 from €2.2bn to €5.7bn in European markets alone.

Tapping into these changes, as Group Chief Digital Officer, Forbes will be jointly responsible for the launch of a global-brand hub in Copenhagen. This will include recruiting and building out a team of 80 people in early 2021, including cross brand domain experts across Marketing Science, Product Innovation, Digital Marketing, Marketplaces and omnichannel management.

Hilding Anders' mission of improving lives through sleep is grounded in over 160 years of sleep expertise. A KKR portfolio company, Hilding Anders is Europe's leading provider of beds and mattresses, and has a strong foothold in Russia and foothold in Asia. It has some of the world's most prestigious sleep brands in its stable, including Carpe Diem Beds, Jensen, Askona, Bico, Hilding Sweden and Slumberland, alongside a rich track record of consolidation and performance in the industry, having made 23 acquisitions since 2001. The group includes major retailers such as Ikea, Otto and Amazon as significant customers.

Forbes said in a statement: "I'm thrilled to join Hilding Anders at such an exciting time, not only given the support of KKR but given the pace of change across the sleep, health and wellness industry as a whole.

"As someone who has always battled with sleep, translating Hilding Anders mission of  "Improving lives through sleep" across its online brand .com and marketplace channels was a very uniquely attractive purpose for me. With its new consumer focused Board and leadership team, Hilding Anders is a stand-out in the industry, combining a strong heritage with an appetite for data driven agility.

"We're on track to launch a new AI powered sleep routine recommendation service by January. Consumers want to improve not just the quantity but also the quality of their sleep; applying 30 years of sleep research to personalize these sleep recommendations will help democratize sleep innovation for everyone."

Henrik Sjögren, CEO at Hilding Anders, commented: "The appointment of Jason is a major milestone for our business. He brings a wealth of digital transformation and online brand experience. At Hilding, expanding three of our key brands into direct to consumer channels is a pivotal moment for us, so we're excited to have brought in such a talented leader to drive this next phase of our expansion."

1 McKinsey report into the global marketplace, conducted for Hilding Anders in March 2020
2 McKinsey report into the global marketplace, conducted for Hilding Anders in March 2020
3 McKinsey report into the global marketplace, conducted for Hilding Anders in March 2020
4 McKinsey report into the global marketplace, conducted for Hilding Anders in March 2020