BY BARBARA T. NELLES
There was enough product news at the High Point Market held April 20-25 in High Point, N.C., to keep retailers occupied and BedTimes’ editors interested.
We chatted with Ron Passaglia, president and chief executive officer of mattress licensing group Restonic Mattress Corp., who described the show as “very busy, but appointment based. We had a lot of traction on the Comfort Care Signature collection, which launched in Vegas. It is being very well-received here and has reached some stores already.”
While most product introductions in bedding are saved for the winter Las Vegas Market, manufacturers rolled out some new lines at promotional price points, filled in collections and tweaked specific models. The market also provided further evidence of how manufacturers are taking point-of-sale to new heights. We were impressed by the use of vibrant graphics and beautiful designs on headboards, posters and foot streamers in many showrooms.
* Unless otherwise noted, all prices are suggested retail for queen-size sets.
Gold Bond
Hartford, Conn.-based Gold Bond rounded out its lineup with new opening price points. The Classic Collection is an eight-model group with an edge-to-edge innerspring core, foam comfort layers and a white damask panel. A queen set retails from $399 to $549; a twin set is $199. Beds are available in firm, plush and pillow-top. “Customers like our middle and high end, and now we can be a one-stop shop for them,” said Skip Naboicheck, Gold Bond vice president of sales. “We ‘overbuild’ these beds to make them worry-free for our retailers—that means no returns.” The company also added three models to the two-sided Chelsea collection, which retails from $699 to $749. The innerspring beds have steel edge support, a variety of foam and fiber comfort layers and updated looks—white double-knit panels and blue borders to match the company’s “real steel” box spring.
Paramount Sleep
Among a showroom full of introductions, Norfolk, Va.-based Paramount Sleep launched the iGravity line. The five-bed group promises a “weightless sleep sensation,” thanks to layers of specialty foams, a foam core and an iGravity Coil Chamber near the sleep surface filled with a “blanket” of super-stretch, pocketed microcoils. The beds’ fabrics, styling and labels have a youthful, high-tech look. Retail prices are $999 to $2,999 in queen. Other new products included a redesigned HD Super Duty collection with updated fabrics and outer-tufted quilt, new tape, ribbon and a lumbar-zone support gel; the Nature’s Spa Pure Gel group with 100% natural latex, cotton covers and quilting fiber with Merino wool and silk yarns; and the Back Performance Octane group, which sports an athletic look with innovative tailoring and vibrantly colored, sports-inspired point-of-purchase materials. Many of the offerings target a younger consumer, said Richard Fleck, Paramount chief marketing officer. “We’ve analyzed data about younger consumers to find what they’re looking for. They want value price points, but with fresh innovation that is totally different.”
Savvy Rest Inc.
Charlottesville, Va.-based mattress and accessories producer Savvy Rest Inc. made its market debut at a showroom in the International Home Furnishings Center. In addition to showcasing its lineup of natural latex, innerspring and coir bedding, the company educated retailers about its Dealer Incentive Program. The program enables Savvy Rest retailers to earn points in categories ranging from sales revenue to positive online consumer reviews. Points can be exchanged for rewards from the mattress maker that include free Google advertising and cash credits.
Cellupedic
New exhibitor Cellupedic, a division of Seoul, Korea-based Ceragem Co. Ltd., with U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles, launched a new take on airbed technology. The bed’s compartmentalized air bladder uses Sectional Body Mass Index diagnostics to create a customized sleep surface. The Cellupedic mattress has a zippered cover. Consumers can choose from memory foam, gel memory foam and latex comfort layers. A queen set retails for $3,500.
Therapedic International
In addition to promoting the use of aromatherapy and other mood-setting accessories at retail, Princeton, N.J.-based mattress licensing group Therapedic International displayed a re-engineered Agility collection, a new take on hybrid with layers of wrapped microcoils and mini-microcoils over a foam core. The top bed in the four-model group has two additional mini-microcoil layers, and the second bed now has a gel memory foam comfort layer. Retail prices range from $1,200 to $2,000.
Leggett & Platt Consumer Products Group
The Carthage, Mo.-based company added to its Fashion Bed lineup. Five new wood and metal headboards had a variety of finishes (from white to a rich merlot) and styles (from traditional to urban contemporary). Suggested retail for the new headboards is $199 in full or queen and $159 in twin. Three new metal daybeds have eye-catching curves—the Capella in a copper chrome finish, the contemporary Libra daybed (pictured) with a “rustica” finish and the traditional Verona in a “multistep crème brulee” finish. The daybeds have suggested retails from $359 to $399.
Jamison Bedding
Brentwood, Tenn.-based mattress maker Jamison Bedding unveiled the English Garden collection at velocity price points. The new collection, designed to appeal to female shoppers, was well-received at the show, said Ken Hinman, senior vice president of sales and marketing. The eight-model group was inspired by the beauty and symmetry of a classic English garden. The beds have exclusive Palladian Smart Coil wrapped-coil cores and comfort layers of premium foams and fibers; top models have JGel memory foam. The beds wear stretch-knit covers adorned with flowery foot streamers. The collection was shown on Jamison’s new all-wood TruBalance foundation and retails from $499 to $999. Garden-inspired point-of-sale materials include latticework headboards, silk flowers, flowered ceiling banners, framed art and appliques. The company also produced a three-minute “Jamison English Garden” video for retail sales training, in-store demonstrations and to provide information to consumers shopping online. “We believe retailers will quickly recognize that this line not only has striking visual appeal, but uses premium components that ensure Jamison’s usual quality, durability and comfort,” Hinman said. “At the same time, this unique bed series is priced to jump-start retail traffic and generate healthy sales and profits.”
Ashley Sleep
Arcadia, Wis.-based Ashley Sleep added deodorizing eucalyptus oil to its memory foam and gel memory foam beds, which also contain green tea extracts. The company added a new opening price point to its memory foam collection—a 7-inch mattress retails for $599. Also on display was the iAshley gel memory foam collection. It uses a poured gel technology and has new powder blue spacer-fabric insets on the borders.
Campbell Mattress
Family-owned Campbell Mattress, based in Cape Girardeau, Mo., made its first appearance at the High Point Market. The 80-year-old manufacturer of moderately priced, American-made mattresses also opened a Chicago warehouse on May 1, part of a planned expansion. On display in High Point were four collections, including this Posture Form model with euro-top, zoned gel memory foam and Leggett & Platt’s VertiCoil Edge innerspring technology. The bed retails for $699 in queen.
Pure LatexBLISS
Atlanta-based Pure LatexBLISS rolled out the “World’s Best Adjustable” foundation. “Instead of bottoming out on this adjustable base, you experience a floating sensation,” said President Kurt Ling, when describing the features of the company’s new motion base. It’s cushioned with a 4-inch layer of Talalay latex to provide extra seating comfort when the bed is in an upright position.
Carolina Mattress Guild
Thomasville, N.C.-based Carolina Mattress Guild rolled out Natural Living Flourish, a value-priced pocket-spring collection with good looks and a “green” story. “We were hearing from retailers that they needed some good promotional price points and Flourish is an extraordinary value for a pocketed coil,” said Kathy Grigg, Carolina Mattress Guild co-owner and vice president. The three-bed group retails from $499 to $699 in queen. Flourish has pocket springs, memory foam comfort layers made with a percentage of soy-based foam and ticking containing bamboo rayon yarns. The top bed has a layer of Cool Breeze gel memory foam.
Simmons Bedding Co.
News at Atlanta-based Simmons Bedding Co. revolved around a new national advertising campaign that launched in May, as well as tweaks to point-of-sale displays. Anne Kozel, brand director of specialty products, stood beside a downsized, tiered pedestal display for Comforpedic. The company said it has upped its investment in its national ad campaign, which will deliver 2.2 billion consumer impressions from May to September. The campaign includes Comforpedic from Beautyrest’s first TV commercial, which positions Comforpedic as the “expert brand for those in the know.” The spot uses voiceover by “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek and features three experts in their fields: astronaut and physician Dr. Mae Jemison; graph theorist, mathematician and MacArthur Fellow Maria Chudnovsky; and ocean explorer and conservationist Philippe Cousteau. Simmons’ Beautyrest spot, which was introduced to retailers at the winter Las Vegas Market, was recut and now features a high-energy soundtrack, “We Should Be Sleeping” by ’80s rocker Eddie Money, as well as several amusing vignettes of tired consumers.
Serta Inc.
Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based mattress maker Serta integrates a fancy sewn tape into the border of its deluxe iComfort Directions specialty bed.
At Serta Inc., which has headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Ill., the emphasis on iComfort Directions continued. The collection has multiple gel and cooling technologies and was introduced at the winter Las Vegas Market, with beds beginning to roll out to retailers in April. Retail prices in queen are from $1,999 to $2,999. In response to retailer requests, Serta now offers a full collection of iComfort-branded accessories. Consumers can choose from among sheets, pillows, travel pillows and protectors, which retail from $99 to $199.
Sealy
Jamie Piper, Sealy senior director of marketing and communications, posed with the Stearns & Foster Monogram collection containing ClimaLux gel memory foam. The beds launched at the winter Las Vegas Market and are rolling out to retailers now. In a private room at the Trinity, N.C.-based company’s headquarters, marketgoers got a preview of new Stearns & Foster Estate collection models. Five prototypes have a layer of proprietary ClimaSense gel memory foam, which is a blended foam and gel formulation similar to the one used in Monogram. Retail prices for the new Estate collection beds open at $1,799 in queen. The company gathered retailer feedback that it will use to finalize the design and construction of the beds.
Shifman Mattress Co.
Luxury mattress producer Shifman Mattress Co., headquartered in Newark, N.J., retooled its 3-year-old, all-latex Pure Comfort collection. The three-bed group is now two-sided, as are all of the company’s other product lines. It has a Talalay latex core layered with super-soft latex and covered in quilted damask fabric. The bed rests on a “true box spring, which make the mattress even more comfortable,” said Bill Hammer, Shifman president (pictured with father Mike Hammer, Shifman chief executive officer, reclining on the Pure Comfort collection). “And two sides are better than one. The industry has a huge problem with body impressions. A two-sided mattress eliminates the problem by allowing the mattress to be flipped, which evens out the upholstery materials. A two-sided latex mattress program further distinguishes our dealers as fine furniture stores that cater to comfort, value and customer satisfaction.” The beds have from 7½ inches to 10½ inches of Talalay latex and retail from $2,899 to $4,999 in queen.
My Amazing Bed
Dan Jones, chief executive officer of My Amazing Bed, headquartered in Lenexa, Kan., demonstrated the workings of the company’s deep-tissue massage bed. A first-time exhibitor at High Point Market, the company’s patented mattress has a sectioned all-foam core that can be rearranged to adjust the bed’s comfort and dual-massage mechanisms for two sleepers. The remote control comes in a choice of finishes, including hardwoods that match bedroom decor. Suggested retail for a queen size is $14,749. “This is the only massage mechanism made for more than one occupant,” Jones said. “The force-producing massage system adapts to your body, and the bed reverts back to a sleep surface with uncompromised comfort when massage is not in use.”
UPCOMING SHOWS
Las Vegas Market
July 29–Aug. 2
World Market Center
Las Vegas
High Point Market
Oct. 19-24
International Home Furnishings Center & other locations
High Point, N.C.
