E.S. Kluft & Co. Grande Nuit à Paris bed
Luxury products were a key driver of consumer spending in 2013, and at Las Vegas Market Jan. 26-30 mattress vendors answered the growing demand for high-end product with several new collections. Entries in premium and ultra-premium price points were adorned in elegant fabrics, and many were hybrids beds, incorporating wrapped coil cores or comfort layers with specialty foams.
Luxury producer E.S. Kluft & Co. outdid even itself with the new Grande Nuit à Paris, a customizable tufted, upholstered headboard and divan as well as a hand-stitched mattress, which, when upholstered with the 100% silk French velvet fabric, will retail for $60,000 in king.
The headboard and divan are available in a wide range of fabrics, including 100% silk, wool or linen, and the hand-stitched mattress is upholstered with a Belgian jacquard damask made of cashmere, silk, Merino wool and mercerized cotton. Underneath, the bed features abundant layers of natural cashmere, wool and Talalay latex and Joma wool. A thick layer of Danish horsehair encapsulated in cotton down-proof fabric and tufted, is placed atop thousands of hand-sewn English springs encased in calico cotton, and each mattress is hand-tufted with extra gussets.
New Stearns & Foster Signature beds are hand-signed by the “master craftsman” who built the bed.
“Today’s luxury consumer is looking for more than high quality materials and comfort from their sleep system,” said CEO Earl Kluft. “They know that the mattress is the center of the master suite and it should look as good as it feels.”
Sealy showcased four new and updated Stearns & Foster collections, retailing from $1,499 to $3,299. New features included gel in every foam layer, old-fashioned air vents and monogram embroidery on bed borders and “true” hand-tufting.
The emphasis was on the new Stearns & Foster Lux Estate Hybrid modeled on the Sealy Posturepedic Hybrid and containing “PrimaCool Elite gel memory foam with Outlast Gold material, which provides a cooling sensation,” the company said. The beds have proprietary IntelliCoil springs, which are a coil within a coil.
Simmons’ next-generation Beautyrest Black
The new generation of Simmons Beautyrest Black, which includes the partnership with Dempsey Racing, is what Jeff Willard, executive vice president of marketing, calls “techno-luxe,” a combination of luxury and technology for a new generation.
Beautyrest Black combines luxurious fabrics with innovations such as MicroDiamond Infused AirCool Memory Foam, which features up to 1,000 carats of diamond particles that provide increased thermal conductivity for cooling, Willard said. This technology—often used by tech companies to disperse heat from powerful electronic devices—made its industry debut in the top seven models of the Beautyrest Black line.
“We’re putting together technology and luxury in one seamless experience,” Willard added.
The hybrid Fuzzio by Zedbed
Specialty bedding producer Zedbed launched its first hybrid collection, Fuzzio by Zedbed. The collection includes three beds that retail from $1,899 to $2,599 and have synthetic latex and the company’s “therapeutic” foams, as well as wrapped “Hexa” coils that include a zoned center third with springs aligned in a honeycomb pattern for extra support. The striking cover has a bold white on black knit pattern calling out the bed’s zoned sleep surface.
Serta’s new high-end Profiles bed in the iSeries collection
Serta added a trade-up collection to its hybrid iSeries beds. The new top-of-the-line iSeries Profiles group features “our most advanced comfort and support technologies in a luxurious and sophisticated design,” said Kelly Ellis, Serta director of integrated marketing. “Each iSeries Profiles mattress also features our new exclusive EverFeel technology for a difference you’ll feel the moment you lie down.”
Serta also added upgraded components in its other iSeries models and updated the look and feel of its original three-bed iComfort collection.
Boyd Specialty Sleep followed up its Broyhill- and Thomasville-branded collections from the previous show with a premium Drexel Heritage-branded bed. The gel memory foam mattress sets are offered in three models priced from $1,999 to $2,999. They contain specialty foams, Dunlop latex, are available with an adjustable base and covered in dressy cream and gray fabrics containing cashmere yarns and rayon.
“This collection has a boutique look and an ultra-premium, couture-level aesthetic and feel,” said President Denny Boyd. “It embodies lavish components and communicates opulence, which is what we intended for the brand.”
King Koil’s Owen Shoemaker with the new high-end Sleep Couture collection.
At mattress licensing group King Koil, answering the call for affordable luxury was the New World Luxury collection. The cream and gold beds offer “a renaissance of elegance in a popular pricing segment,” the company said. The beds retail from $699 to $1,499.
At higher price points, King Koil displayed Sleep Couture, an innerspring group special for its far-flung influences, from Russia to the Pacific Rim, said Owen Shoemaker, King Koil senior vice president of business development and innovation. The beds are inspired by the designs of the company’s many international licensees and feature black, platinum and white upholstery, elegantly embroidered mattress handles and more. The most expensive model offers a sumptuous pillow-top layered over a box-top. Five beds retail from $1,999 to $4,999.
Paris-inspired Haute Couture bed at Kingsdown
At Kingsdown, all eyes were on the elegant and graphic upholstery-style borders of the ultra-premium, Paris-inspired Haute Couture collection. The hybrid beds retail from $9,999 to $25,999 and employ “vertical zoning of multiple wrapped coil units,” the company said. Women’s fashion provided inspiration for the Haute Couture collection, which features rich textures and a romantic ebony and ecru fabric application that features the iconic French fleur-de-lis and hand-scripted words and phrases.
Market debut of PranaSleep
New to market, high-end PranaSleep, which has been sold through retailer City Mattress (under the same ownership), in Florida and New York, showed to a broader audience this market when it made its trade show debut. The company brought its Zen-themed line of mattresses, with names like Wahe, Samadhi, Nidra and Vinyasa, and constructed of Talalay latex poured in the U.S., with some featuring Outlast for increased temperature regulation.
Spring Time Bedding also set its sites on luxury, but is aiming to fill a niche for the value-oriented luxury consumer with its Handcrafted line, which includes four hybrid models, all with hand-tufting, and with retail price points from $1,500 to $4,000. The Handcrafted line incorporates elements of gel-infused memory foam, latex, convoluted foam and encased coils and features a plush stretch-knit ticking.
“We have been watching the growth of the luxury segment for many years and have long felt that some consumers – let’s call them the Target shopper – were being left out of segment,” said Sarah Appleton, Spring Time vice president and national account sales manager. “These consumers wanted fine craftsmanship and quality components, but there was no way they could afford mattresses costing $10,000 or more. We are offering that consumer access to that world at a price point they can afford.”
