The latest adjustable foundations have the smart, practical features consumers want. Easy-ship and easy-to-assemble designs make them an easy purchase, too
and boxes.
Adjustable bases that have more practical features and that ship more easily are helping to drive consumer interest in the category, say power base manufacturers.
Recent research from the Better Sleep Council, the consumer education arm of the International Sleep Products Association, shows that nearly two in 10 consumers in the United States already own an adjustable foundation, nearly double the number that owned a power base in 2016. And seven in 10 consumers say they are familiar with adjustables.
“Adjustables (themselves) are not a ‘trend’ anymore. They are a well-established category within the bedding industry,” says Dexter Weber, president of Logicdata North America, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “The trend is heading toward adjustables for specific needs and with increasing quality.”
A number of other trends are shaping the offerings from power base producers.
• Boxed and ready to go: Because of the rise of direct-to-consumer shipping, adjustable bases need to be as efficiently boxed as mattresses. “Our industry over the last several years has noticed a huge shift in how (retailers and manufacturers) ship, but the last year with the pandemic has really moved the DTC business to grow even more,” says Sheila Luciano, vice president of business development for Customatic Technologies, a power base producer headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts. Jay Thompson, president of Leggett & Platt Adjustable Beds in Carthage, Missouri, notes that design improvements are making boxed bases possible. “Though the products are heavy, they are getting easier to handle through foldability and other clever designs,” he says.
• Easy assembly: Whether consumers order online or pick up in-store (two shopping trends accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic), they don’t want hassles when setting up a new bed base themselves. Millennials, in particular, favor ready-to-assemble furniture they can put together in a few minutes with few or no tools, Weber says. Retailers delivering bases and setting them up in customers’ homes value easy-to-assemble bases, too, says Lisa Tan, chief marketing officer for Reverie, which has headquarters in Bloomfield, Michigan. “Making product that delivery teams can handle and install without complication” can shorten setup times and give customers confidence in their new base, she says.
• Gets along well with others: Tan says about a third of consumers want an adjustable base that works well with their existing bedroom furniture, which makes “furniture compatibility” a selling point for bases that fit easily into a wide variety of bed frames and platforms.
• Simpler, sleeker: The requirements of boxing and shipping bases also are influencing their aesthetics. “Several years ago, the furniture look was very popular,” Thompson says, “but today, retailers and consumers are emphasizing versatility and mobility over the furniture aesthetic, and they still get a product that looks great in case goods or as part of a freestanding bed.”
• Getting smarter: Manufacturers are rolling out app-driven smart bases to help consumers better track their sleep and other measures of their health. And new top-of-the-line smart bases connect with other smart devices in the home, allowing consumers to control and customize their environments more easily. “We are seeing a significant increase in high-tech offerings, such as smart home, data tracking and integrated sensors,” says Sherry Chapman, head of marketing for Ergomotion, a power base specialist based in Santa Barbara, California.
• Functional features: Bases with “wow” features may grab attention and appeal to a certain segment of the market, but other consumers seek adjustables with problem-solving features. Luciano sees a resurging interest in anti-snoring technologies, and Chapman says bases with simple features — wired remotes that don’t get lost, massage settings for aching bodies, and head and foot positioning for increased comfort and improved circulation — are popular. “Savvy shoppers are looking to more practical secondary features such as an underbed light and USB charging, both of which offer high utility for the consumer,” Thompson adds.
A look at some of the newest and bestselling adjustable bases shows how the category continues to evolve.
Addressing a side issue
Renaissance Elevated Sleep Technology incorporates a side sleeper position as a standard feature on its line of power bases. “About 80% of people sleep on their side, yet their comfort need is underrepresented in the adjustable base category,” says Paris Fealy, chief executive officer of the adjustable base producer in Miami Springs, Florida, which markets itself as R.E.S.T. “Not only does the side sleeper button offer benefit to side sleepers, but it also helps the RSA overcome a common objection from side sleepers and turns it into a selling point.”
R.E.S.T. unveiled a five-model power base line ($699 to $1,499) last summer in Las Vegas. The lightweight, foldable models can be shipped by UPS or FedEx. With a wireless remote, back and foot adjustability, and zero clearance requirement, the opening Primavera model “offers more than basic features typically found at this price,” Fealy says. The bestselling Milan base includes those features, as well as massage, zero-gravity position, USB ports, Bluetooth connectivity, LED illumination and six three-in-one legs, making the base compatible with bedroom furniture ($999).
Next up: This month, the company is introducing new adjustable bases “focused on performance and recovery that will have major appeal to a big demographic of athletic and fitness-minded consumers looking to maximize their wellness and performance through the power of quality sleep,” Fealy says.
Easy fitting bases
Adjustable base and sleep products maker Reverie is expanding its 10-model line of power bases with the R380 and R480, both launching this year.
“They are zero-clearance bases designed to fit inside of bedroom furniture or on platform beds,” Tan says. “Unlike other zero-clearance bases on the market, these bases are fully loaded and can be assembled without tools in less than five minutes. They are highly durable and designed to maximize space efficiency during shipping and warehousing.”
The beds are joining a Reverie adjustable assortment that opens with its entry-level OSO by Reverie bases (starting at $599) with head and foot adjustability. The top of its power base assortment is the R650, “which tilts the body to create a full support system like nothing else,” Tan says. The R650 retails for $1,999.
As part of the introduction of the R380 and R480 models, Reverie is rolling out its Consumer Convenience Hub, with two USB ports that customers can attach to their bed or nightstand. “The CCH, which connects to the adjustable base’s control center, also has features that assist customers with common troubleshooting needs, such as a one-touch flat button in the event a customer misplaces a remote, a remote pairing button and power indicator lights.”
Stepping up
Rize offers a full line of bedding products, including mattresses, foundations, sleep accessories and bedroom furniture, and its six-model assortment of adjustable bases provides retailers “a very clear step-up story,” says Rick Sterzer, executive vice president of sales for the Cleveland-based company. Retail prices in the line range from $399 to $2,499.
The company’s popular Clarity II retails for $799 or $899. “We were very purposeful in the feature set and price points on our Clarity II model and win (over) every retailer with this base,” Sterzer says. “We provide exceptional value with the Clarity II to allow the RSA to easily step up from the two entry-level models below it.” Features include head and foot adjustability, preset and programmable positions, massage settings, underbed lighting and USB ports. It’s also compatible with platform beds.
Among Rize’s latest introductions is Up, a basic “head-up-only model,” Sterzer says. “It retails for $399, but some (retailers) promote this as a free upgrade to compete with the marketplace during holiday (sales) periods,” he explains.
To celebrate its 70th anniversary, Rize, which operated as Mantua Manufacturing Co. before a rebranding, will be in a new showroom — and displaying expanded product lines — at the Winter Las Vegas Market (Jan. 23-27).
Ready to go
W. Silver Products, based in El Paso, Texas, designs and makes its bases at its facility in Juarez, Mexico. “Because we manufacture our own bases, we can shift our production to assure we have the right product in stock to fill our customer’s orders in a timely manner,” says Brent Polunsky, sales manager for the company. “ Our customers have grown accustomed to quick deliveries, and we strive to live up to their expectations.”
That remained true throughout 2021, Polunsky says. “Our manufacturing capabilities have allowed us to remain in stock through this industrywide turmoil we are all experiencing. It has not been easy, but we are committed to taking care of our dealers.”
W. Silver Products’ line includes a dozen adjustable bases. The opening model, S27, is a bestseller and features a six-button wireless remote and a zero-gravity setting ($699). The company’s newest base is the midpriced S45 ($1,099) with preset memory positions, head-tilt feature, variable speed massage, USB outlets and underbed lighting.
The company’s top model retails for $1,399. “Our top-of-the-line base is a deck-on-deck model that has head tilt, massage, anti-snore and other features that the consumer is looking for,” Polunsky says.
Polunsky adds that the company’s retail price points include freight, and “our minimum order is $1,250, which is very low, and this makes it very convenient for our customers to order from us.”
Giving consumers Independence
Adjustable base specialist Customatic offers eight standard bases, retail priced from $349 to $1,395, and can customize all of them for retailers, Luciano says. The company’s “opening price point head-up and foot-up (base with) wireless remote,” is a perennial bestseller, she says.
The company’s new Bridge “is a full-functioning adjustable base that packs small and plays big,” she says. “The new ‘stackable deck’ design makes shipping easy with a one-box packaging that avoids most oversize shipping charges and fees.”
Another Customatic power base harkens back to the product category’s medical roots. The Independence, which Customatic designed for consumers with mobility issues, can rotate 90 degrees, placing a person in a sitting position and then “gliding them up to a secure standing position, allowing both feet to be firmly planted on the floor,” she explains. That feature ups the price point to $3,499.
Snore Sense, which listens for snoring and moves the head section of the base in 4-degree increments until snoring stops, is “a sensibly priced add-on that can be used on most of our frames,” Luciano says.
Simplicity is a bestseller
L&P offers about a dozen core adjustable base models, with prices from $299 to $2,499. “Bottom to top, Leggett & Platt uses similar materials and assembly methods to ensure quality throughout the product line,” Thompson says, adding, “we offer a broad product line; an industry-leading on-time delivery record; more North American production capacity than any other company; multiple warehousing and fulfillment options; and the backing of a nearly 140-year-old company that is here to stay.”
L&P recently updated its Simplicity HFM base ($999) and unveiled it last spring. It’s a “parcel-friendly model,” Thompson says, that features head and foot adjustability, programmable memory positions, massage settings, underbed lighting and USB charging ports. Consumers can control it with an app and it has a “slim profile to pair well inside popular platform and storage case goods,” he says.
Simplicity HFM is part of L&P’s popular Simplicity line. The opening bed in the line ($799) is a bestseller and offers head and foot adjustability, programmable memory positions, an 850-pound lifting capacity, underbed lighting and adjustable legs. Consumers can choose to add features. “These two products cover all of the basics at an attractive price in what has become the ‘sweet spot’ in the market,” Thompson says.
‘Lite’ and ‘Slim’
Vertically integrated Logicdata, which specializes in motion furniture, manufactures its own components and uses its capabilities to design its adjustable bases so they are easy to ship. “We focus on compact packaging that is smaller than our competition,” Weber says. “This works well for e-commerce business models with our drop-ship program. Retailers also benefit with the ability to offer cash and carry or to have a reduced inventory footprint and maximized container efficiencies.”
The company’s line includes the SilverLite ($899) and also the SilverSlim ($799), which debuted last year. Both are basic models with head and foot adjustability. SilverLite has “the best-in-class lifting capacity and stability for the more demanding consumer,” Weber says. SilverSlim’s profile makes it fit well into existing bed frames and it fits into one box with no oversize fees for shipping, even for a king size, he says.
“We will be expanding our portfolio with a few additions in the middle of next year, as well as rebranding our existing products,” he says. “More details will come as we approach the Las Vegas Market.” But even with the branding, Weber says, “core technology and excellent products and services will not change.”
Getting smarter
“The adjustable bed base is becoming the epicenter of the future connected home experience with sleep commands, restorative wake automation and life-enhancing technology,” Chapman says. “Ergomotion’s smartbeds meet consumers where they are in their adoption of smart home technology to enhance everyday wellness, and we’re excited to be a part of this journey.”
The company groups its adjustable bases into two lines, Wellness Retreats and Quest. The four Wellness Retreats models include adjustable base, frame and elements such as aromatherapy, a “heating cocoon” for the feet, and sound therapy through headboard speakers.
Ergomotion designed models in the Quest line ($799 to $1,249) to “restore mental and physical health at an affordable price point,” Chapman says, noting that Good Housekeeping named the Quest 2.5 a top-performing bedding product of 2021. The base includes programmable settings, zero-gravity position, massage options, underbed lighting, dual USB ports and the company’s voice-activated Hello Ergo system.
Ergomotion extended its Quest line with the Quest Connect smart base that rolled out last summer. The base recently earned a 2021 CES Editors’ Choice award from USA Today. “Quest Connect leverages smart home technology to provide an endless array of home automation possibilities. This can include automatically brewing a pot of coffee as you wake up, instructing your shower to start in the morning and providing comprehensive health data — all through distinguished home connectivity,” Chapman says.
