The BedTimes blog
Tempur-Pedic’s redesigned Tempur-Cloud beds with new POP
The dust has settled on a hectic Las Vegas Market that in bedding saw many new product lines and technologies. And now that my mind is clearing, there were unifying themes among the four major mattress brands who comprise the lion’s share of the U.S. mattress market. Luxury. Clarity. Simplicity.
Simmons ‘Jetsonian’ ComforPedic iQ from Beautyrest
The major brands paid attention to the fact that the luxury segment was the primary driver of increases in consumer spending in 2013–and that social media platforms are increasingly rife with consumer complaints about how confusing it is to shop for a mattress. And they offered up answers.
Major introductions were the exception not the rule at Sealy, Serta, Simmons and Tempur-Pedic. Just Simmons launched a significantly new and different core technology–ComforPedic iQ by Beautyrest has unusual foam-filled bladders.*
Sealy’s new Stearns & Foster with regal fleur de lis medallion knit
Sealy placed considerable emphasis on the heritage of its premium Stearns & Foster collections, highlighting the brand’s craftsmanship and luxurious details–many of them new. There were regal fleur de lis knit patterns, true tufting, opulent panel and border fabrics, high-end core components and hand-signed labels by each bed’s “master craftsman.”
Serta added to its premium iSeries and iComfort collections and urged retailers to unify their sales floors and simplify consumers’ purchase decisions by merchandising these similarly priced “fraternal twins” alongside each other. Makes sense to me, don’t make consumers walk across the store while rest-testing similarly priced models.
Serta’s featured-packed iSeries Profiles
Simmons made its luxury innerspring Beautyrest Black look racy, sleek and modern. The redesigned beds also have a hunky celebrity endorser, Patrick Dempsey–he’s an actor and race car driver. ComforPedic iQ by Beautyrest had a beyond modern look–well, for mattresses. It was ultra-modern with a ticking combo futuristic enough for the bedroom of “George Jetson and Jane, his wife.” [Yes, I loved it.]
Movie star-worthy Beautyrest Black bed from Simmons
Tempur-Pedic, in some respects, returned to its roots with a more simplified merchandising strategy. It added clear-cut POP–namely headboards–that define each bed’s position in a good-better-best strategy, offer a simple product explanation and icons to spell out each bed’s comfort level. The Tempur-Cloud and Tempur-Contour beds had delightful aesthetics, lofty white knit panels with contrasting blue or orange zipper trim [the cover panel actually zippers off for machine washing] and charcoal border fabric.
* The editors of BedTimes and Sleep Savvy magazines bring you complete coverage of the Las Vegas Market in upcoming March print editions.
