Here’s a roundup of new product introductions and other news from the April 2011 High Point Market in High Point, N.C.
Paramount enlists sleep expert, Australian major for new lines
Mattress producer Paramount brought out two new collections during the April High Point Market—one a collaboration with sleep expert Dr. James B. Maas and one the result of a licensing deal with Australian bedding major A.H. Beard.
Sleep for Success was designed in conjunction with Maas, co–author of the new book Sleep for Success! Everything You Must Know About Sleep But Are Too Tired to Ask.
The beds are offered in three models—for stomach, back and side sleepers—and retail at a single price point, $2,499 for a queen set.
Aussie–American partnership: Allyn Beard, (left) managing director of A.H. Beard in Padstow, Australia, and James Diamonstein, president of Paramount in Norfolk, Va., celebrate their new licensing deal.
“The beds are designed to solve the five core sleep issues people have—waking up feeling unrested, sleeping too hot or too cold, disturbed sleep from allergies, motion transfer and muscle soreness,” Maas said.
The multilayered mattresses have high–density polyurethane foam cores with soy–based content, encased microcoils topped with Talalay latex, and super–soft quilted latex and Celliant fiber in the panel quilt.
The top four players in the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association sleep on the beds, as does the entire Orlando Magic NBA team, Maas said.
In other news, Paramount has signed a licensing deal with Australian mattress brand A.H. Beard, based in Padstow, to manufacture and market a collection of high–end innerspring beds. The beds were presented in two colorways—silver and cream—to gauge dealer reaction. Mattress fabrics are luxurious Belgian damasks. Comfort layers include organic wool and specialty foams. Some bed bases have upholstered pull–out drawers.
“Demand for our products has moved far beyond the mid–Atlantic,” said James Diamonstein, president of Paramount, based in Norfolk, Va. “We are designing lines to fit lifestyles. We are already shipping product across the country.”
Comfort Solutions returns to High Point
Mattress licensing group Comfort Solutions made its first appearance at the High Point Market in more than 10 years, setting up shop for the April show in a 5,500–square–foot space in the International Home Furnishings Center in High Point, N.C.
“Our success in Las Vegas brought us back to High Point,” said Owen Shoemaker, senior vice president of product development and marketing for the Willowbrook, Ill.–based company. “We wanted to continue our momentum and catch any retailers that we may be missing in Las Vegas.”
Visitors to the new showroom could check out the company’s redesigned Laura Ashley collection with new top–of–bed accessories in three vivid colorways.
The company also emphasized its Sleep ID line and the BodyMatch technology that supports it. Sleep ID’s high–end Delta Z series has a redesigned zippered top that allows consumers to change the bed’s specialty foam comfort layers. The zip top helps prevent product returns, allows for customization of each side of the bed and creates an opportunity for after–market comfort–layer replacement sales, Shoemaker said.
Sleep ID software has been upgraded with new visuals and evaluation tools related to individual body alignment that make it even more valuable as a tool in the mattress–fitting process, Shoemaker said.
Comfortaire unveils new ‘total store concept’
In April, airbed maker Comfortaire, a division of Park Place with headquarters in Greenville, S.C., cut the ribbon on a new High Point Market showroom at the International Home Furnishings Center in High Point, N.C.
The company, which introduced the airbed concept in 1981, offers a core group of seven airbed models.
Showing off: David Karr, president of Comfortaire, highlights the ‘total store concept’ the company Displayed in its new High Point, N.C., showroom.
“This is a business that is driven by technology and ours is head and shoulders above the rest,” said Jimmy Orders, Park Place president. “This ‘total store concept’ is just the next step in Comfortaire’s evolution.”
The showroom was filled with new display options for retailers. Glass partitions, textural room dividers and wall graphics were interspersed with flat–panel screens playing video loops—all designed to create a sense of relaxation and of privacy. Graphics employed large–scale lifestyle imagery and messaging—“The Mattress as Individual as You”—that underscores the brand’s customization and personalization promise.
The total store concept is flexible and “rearrangeable,” said Comfortaire President David Karr. Retailers could start with as few as two beds and point–of–purchase materials for about $2,000 or have a more elaborate setup with multiple beds and the larger store fixtures.
Gold Bond augments two-sided collections
Mattress producer Gold Bond has added “dramatic new entries” to its longstanding Heirloom line, said Bob Naboicheck, president of the Hartford, Conn.–based company. The two–sided innerspring mattresses are upholstered in fabrics with wool and silk yarns and sit on “old–school, real–coil box springs,” Naboicheck said.
The Heirloom collection includes seven beds, retailing for between $1,099 and $2,499 for a queen–size set.
Also new is Gold Bond’s Camelot bed, part of its Sacro–Support Encased Coil line. The new bed is a two–sided box pillow–top with an 18–inch profile. It’s covered in a stretch knit with rayon yarns and a medallion motif. The bed’s plush surface is quilted with super–soft foams. It retails for $1,199 in queen size.
The new offerings were shown during the April High Point Market in High Point, N.C.
“We continue to manufacture a high–quality product. It’s one reason we are gaining market share and our bedding business is way up in what has been a difficult first quarter for the economy as a whole,” Naboicheck said.
Boyd introduces luxury-look Planet Sleep
Mattress producer Boyd Specialty Sleep, with headquarters in St. Louis, has introduced the three–model Planet Sleep memory foam collection.
According to the company, Planet Sleep offers a high–end look, excellent comfort, standout point–of–purchase materials, eco–friendly features and the opportunity for high profit margins. The beds have suggested retail prices from $1,299 to $1,999 for a queen–size set.
Planet Sleep POP: The point–of–purchase materials for Boyd Specialty Sleep’s Planet Sleep collection include coordinated headboards, foot protectors and pillows, as well as a minimattress that can be used to explain mattress features.
The beds feature Boyd’s patent–pending Stay–Cool memory foam, with channel venting and zoning for enhanced lumbar support. The support base is Boyd’s patent–pending FoamSpring polyurethane foam, also with channel venting and zoning. Covers are made with bamboo rayon yarns.
The POP program includes matching headboards and foot protectors, coordinated pillows and a minimattress display that helps retail sales associates explain product features and benefits.
“We believe this specialty line delivers the ‘complete package’ to retailers who want luxury memory foam products that are demonstrably different,” said Dennis Boyd, Boyd Specialty Sleep president. “These beds incorporate from 4 to 7 inches of our exclusive open–cell memory foam layers, feature densities of up to 7 pounds and total mattress profiles of up to 13 inches.”
Sealy hosts ‘Pillow Talk’ series
Building on its “Whatever You Do in Bed, Sealy Supports It” marketing campaign, the mattress major hosted “Pillow Talk” educational seminars for retailers during the April High Point Market.
Logan Levkoff, a relationship expert, sexuality educator and author, offered advice and shared insights from recent Sealy research on how to approach intimate subject matter during the mattress sale.
Levkoff said that one question many consumers may want answered, but are afraid to ask is—“Is it better on springs?”
Yes, it is, according to Sealy research: 68% of men and women rate an innerspring mattress as the best sleep surface for sex.
The seminars provided pointers on how male sales associates ought to approach delicate subject matter with female shoppers, including using “softer” words (such as “intimacy,” “connection” and “relationships” rather than “sex”) when talking to women, paying attention to consumers’ body language to determine how the conversation should proceed and giving the customer the freedom to consider her purchase privately.
The seminars were held at Sealy’s showroom in Trinity, N.C., just outside High Point.
More from High Point Market
Hickory embraces ‘big box’
Hickory at Home, the consumer products division of Hickory Springs Mfg. Co., is offering a ‘big box’ alternative to the big box stores,” said Niles Cornelius, general manager of the Hickory, N.C.–based company. Prepackaged boxed sets of pillows, sheets, goose–down comforters or other items from the company’s Final Touch line can be shipped directly from Hickory’s warehouse to vendors or to consumers’ homes. “No new bed sale is complete without new sleep accessories and the ‘big box’ concept makes it easier for retailers and for consumers to complete this necessary purchase,” Cornelius said. Hickory at Home introduced the concept at the April High Point Market in High Point, N.C.
CKI spray addresses bedbug jitters
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.–based Cadence Keen Innovations (dba CKI Solutions), a supplier of mattress and sleep–related accessories to retailers and the hospitality sector, introduced Stop Bugging Me at the April High Point Market in High Point, N.C. The bedbug–killing spray is available in countertop displays containing full– and travel–size bottles. The company said the product is a lab–tested insecticide that is safe for use around children and pets. It’s meant to be applied to mattresses, bedding, carpets, upholstered furniture, clothing and luggage. The product literature states it will kill 100% of bedbugs and their eggs within 15 minutes.
Shifman: Cézanne is ‘work of art’
Luxury producer Shifman Mattresses unveiled the Cézanne, the top model in its top–of–the–line, nine–bed Masters collection, at the April High Point Market in High Point, N.C. The innerspring bed is truly “a work of art” and is “designed with 95% natural materials,” including layers of pashmina cashmere, cotton and latex, the Newark, N.J.–based company said. The two–sided, handmade mattress sits atop an eight–way, hand–tied box spring with solid–brass corner guards. Both are covered in damask. The Cézanne has a suggested retail price of $7,399 for a queen set.
Carolina Mattress Guild marks anniversary
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, regional mattress maker Carolina Mattress Guild in Thomasville, N.C., is offering its Platinum Edition collection. The three–bed group is available in 2011 only. It debuted during the April High Point Market in High Point, N.C. Each bed has encased coils, layers of latex and memory foam, silk and wool fiber fill. The ticking is a creamy white knit with contrasting Wedgwood blue, microdenier fabric in the gusset and foundation border. “Color is back—in furniture, in upholstery,” said Kathy Grigg, Carolina Mattress Guild owner and vice president. “People want to see color in their lives and everyone who comes in has been drawn to this bed.”
Classic opens new showroom
Classic Brands cut the ribbon on a new showroom in the International Home Furnishings Center during the April High Point Market in High Point, N.C. The Jessup, Md.–based company said the 3,600–square–foot space better accommodates its multiple product lines with a more fluid, open layout. The company also has relaunched its website, www.classicmattress.com, with a new color scheme and easier navigation. The site has an expanded “Sleep Library” containing facts about sleep and health, as well as detailed product information. It links to the company’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts, in addition to a new sleep tips blog.
Red, red roses bloom at IB
Everything was coming up roses at International Bedding’s showroom during the April High Point Market in High Point, N.C. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.–based mattress producer embraced the red rose—Airsprung’s iconic motif—in a dramatic new branding program for its licensed line of Airsprung beds. The artwork, which was developed by the 130–year–old U.K. brand based in Trowbridge, England, was adapted by IB for the American market, said Mark Wozniak, IB vice president of marketing. Top–of–bed items in silver–gray suede contrasted with vibrant rose photographic insets. Coordinating point–of–sale materials included banners and posters with close–up lifestyle photography of women in repose blanketed with rose petals. IB’s Airsprung slogan is “Beautiful Beds at Comfortable Prices.”
Jamison adds to TLC
Mattress producer Jamison Bedding, with headquarters in Brentwood, Tenn., has added four models to its TLC collection of specialty beds featuring Talalay latex. They debuted at the April High Point Market in High Point, N.C. The additional beds are constructed around the company’s proprietary high–resilience foam “Marriott core” and are topped with varying amounts of latex. They are available in dual–comfort versions to meet sleep partners’ differing needs. The smooth, seamless cover is a stretch knit that zippers on the underside of the bed.
Crystal sparkles at Zedbed
Foam bed maker Zedbed, which is based in Grand–Mere, Quebec, introduced the Crystal collection during the April High Point Market in High Point, N.C. The three mattress models feature layers of latex and memory foam over a pressure–relieving core. The beds provide sparkle and glitz with molten silver–colored stretch–knit covers in an ornate pattern, a waterfall edge and light gray suede borders. Suggested retail prices for queen sets range from $1,899 to $2,899.
New spot
For the April High Point Market, foam bed producer Anatomic Global doubled its showroom size in the International Home Furnishings Center in High Point, N.C., to about 2,800 feet. The additional space allows the company to ‘put the focus on all three of its product areas,’ said David Farley, chief executive officer of the company, which has headquarters in Corona, Calif.
