The spring market brought a little bit of everything — bigger showrooms, exciting products, familiar faces and a buzzy newcomer.
What was the mood of the Spring HighPoint Market?
It depends on which day of the April 22-26 market you attended. One BedTimes editor found those she talked with on Saturday were a bit disappointed with traffic. While another editor found that exhibitors were much happier with market attendance on Sunday.
The weather may have had a bit to do with it. Saturday brought gray skies and intermittent showers. There were even reports of hail at the park-and-ride lot. Sunday delivered blue skies and sunshine all day.
No matter the weather, the market provided a snapshot of trends across the bedding industry, such as a focus on luxury and value, and updates to adjustable bases and accessories.
While the word “luxury” continues to trend, as this sector is more insulated during economic downturns thanks to high-income consumers, the word “value” is also ranking high as manufacturers introduce value-driven lines, such as the new Onyx collection at Knoxville, Tennessee-based Mlily USA and the Eclipse Moonlight series by North Brunswick, New Jersey-based Bedding Industries of America. Paramount Sleep Co., headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, embraced both categories with a new luxe Hypnos line and an updated Back Performer collection with more aggressive price points.
Arcadia, Wisconsin-based Ashley Furniture Industries and Logan, Utah-based Malouf highlighted upgraded adjustable bases, and High Point, North Carolina-based Luxfort Homes continued to draw interest with its adjustable headboard featuring a variety of accessories. Farmingdale, New York-based Bedgear showcased a triple-layer cooling pillow and new sheets made with wool and linen.
Other continuing themes include two-sided collections, such as Prato, Italy-based Magniflex’s new Virtuoso Elegante, and of course — sustainability. AW Industries, based in Landover, Maryland, introduced a new Silentnight Chesapeake Bay collection, which is both two-sided and made with Repreve Our Ocean fibers (made from ocean-bound plastic bottles).
Perhaps the bedding company creating the most buzz at market: Saatva. For the first time, the New York- and Austin, Texas-based DTC brand set up a showroom in InterHall to promote its design-to-the-trade program. “America’s best-reviewed luxury sleep brand has launched a trade program created exclusively for forward-thinking designers looking to provide their clients the highest quality handcrafted mattresses,” according to the High Point Designer Preview catalog.
More notable space-wise, AW Industries expanded to three large showrooms, encompassing more than 2,500 square feet, to make room for Serta Simmons Bedding’s largest launch: the new iComfort Eco and Perfect Sleeper Collection.
Meanwhile, Ashley upped its bedding space from 4,000 square feet to 7,000 square feet, which allowed the company to display a variety of models and accessories.
Turn the page to check out all the new bedding and mattress trends on display at the April High Point Market.
Spring HighPoint Market trends
Ultra-luxury
Paramount Sleep Co.’s Hypnos mattresses have a new look and a new retail price bands. Paramount has been working closely with Hypnos UK on a global range that is handcrafted in the USA. The beds feature natural ingredients, such as cotton fabrics, wool, silk, horsehair, cotton upholstery and natural latex, as well as some recycled content. The Hypnos Whole Sleep Cotton series starts at $2,000. The Whole Sleep Wool range starts at $4,000 queen and tops out at $8,000 with a wool eurotop design. Paramount’s eight-bed Back Performance line debuted a new look (white cooling covers and darker borders), beefed-up profiles (12 inches to 16 inches) and more aggressive price points ($599 to $1,499). The PS series offers extra gel quilted into the center third for proper back support.
Sleeker and Quieter
Malouf highlighted its upgraded adjustable bases. Instead of the light gray fabric used in previous models, the bases have transitioned to a deep charcoal to give them a more upscale feel, said Jesse Gibbs, vice president of national sales for the Logan, Utah-based
company. Also, the motors are quieter and have a higher lift capacity. Starting at $699 and topping out at $2,999, the seven-model line includes a variety of features, such as position presets, lumbar support, massage, underbed lighting and USB-A and USB-C charging ports.
One-Stop Shop
A hub for mattress shopping, organized in a five-step program that’s easy for retail sales associates to sell in a furniture store —that’s the concept behind the new Eclipse Moonlight series by Bedding Industries of America. “This series operates as a unique sales tool for both new and existing retailers,” said Steve Karns, vice president of sales for North Brunswick, New Jersey-based BIA. Priced under $1,000, the program features five numerical comfort choices from plush (a 10 – shown left) to extra firm (a 50 – shown right). The quilt design matches the comfort level, so the tighter the quilting, the firmer the mattress. Add to that edge-to-edge pocketed coils, a 2-inch foam top, Spinal Zone technology, and a black-and-white floral design for a luxurious effect.
Bigger and Better
The bedding area at Ashley Furniture Industries wowed visitors with its expanded space — all 7,000 square feet of it. The entryway featured the Millennium brand and cooling mattresses, and then flowed into a marketing area that showcased social media messages and assets. Next up was the power base gallery. “This has been a home run for us,” said Brad Rogers, senior vice president of the bedding division for the Arcadia, Wisconsin-based company. A large decal on the floor drew attention to the featured top-of-the-line adjustable base, priced between $1,299 and $1,399. It offers massage, lumbar support, zero-gravity setting and built-in speakers. Ashley also presented a new pillow program and two new children’s mattresses.
One Word: Value
Knoxville, Tennessee-based Mlily USA unveiled its new value-driven Onyx collection. “Inflationary pressures are limiting consumer’s ability to spend in a lot of ways,” said Glenn Kobylarczyk, executive vice president. “So, we’re trying to give them a great value at a very good price.” The new line is chock full of specialty foams, bolstered by individually pocketed springs and enveloped in a cooling knit cover. “Onyx has been accepted tremendously well by retailers, and we’ll start shipping it in early July,” he said. Retail price points start at less than $1,000.
High Point Debut
Magniflex, based in Prato, Italy, brought its new Virtuoso Elegante mattress to High Point for the first time. The double-sided bed features a “winter” side made of cashmere and Merino wool and a “summer” side made of linen and silk. Not only can you flip the mattress to either side for a warmer or cooler feel, you can also unzip the cover and flip either side of the dual core for a softer or firmer effect. The luxury mattress retails for $4,999.
Buzzworthy Newcomer
Saatva created quite the buzz at market, showing for the first time at Inter-Hall, known as the space for high-end design. The direct-to-consumer brand was promoting its designer trade program: Designers sign up and receive a shareable link that they and their clients can use to make purchases at Saatva.com — and designers receive a 14% commission. New York- and Austin, Texas-based Saatva differentiates itself as “smarter luxury sleep” by delivering its handcrafted mattresses fully formed (not compressed in a box) with free white-glove delivery and setup. Its elegant new space featured almost every Saatva model from the Classic to the HD (Heavy Duty). The brand is also expanding to offer sheets, duvets, comforters, blankets, quilts, pads, toppers, furniture and rugs.
Keep Cool
Bedding and sleep accessories producer Bedgear knows no one enjoys flipping their pillow to the cool side in the middle of the night. Its new Night Ice pillow ($299) adds cooling to three layers — the Ver-Tex cover, active core and a Liquid Ice cooling gel layer. As the heat hits each layer, it dissipates, said Leslie Clay, vice president of sales. The Farmingdale, New York-based company also added to its sheet program with new fabrics. Hyper-Wool provides comfort in all seasons. “It can be cooling or warm,” Clay said. “We’ve engineered the itch out of the wool.” Hyper-Linen sheets are soft and relaxed.
Get Comfortable
What do you want when you’re relaxing in bed? Luxfort Homes’ PowerBeds have almost everything you can imagine — headboard audio, wireless charging, lower back support, touch lights and even fans. The High Point, North Carolina-based company added new styles and covers including flange, channel-back and pillow-back headboards. The models, which start at $999, can also accommodate adjustable bases.
Sustainability Focus
AW Industries, in collaboration with Serta Simmons Bedding, expanded its space by more than 2,500 square feet to accommodate SSB’s biggest launch: the introduction of iComfortEco and a new Perfect Sleeper collection. The Landover, Maryland-based bedding producer also introduced a new two-sided Silentnight Chesapeake Bay collection ($599 to $1,299), made from Repreve Our Ocean fibers sourced from ocean-bound plastic bottles. Repreve is not only used in both panels, but also in the border, handles, tape edge and foundation fabric. AW Industries is a Silentnight licensee, debuting the bestselling British brand to U.S. retailers in 2020. “The reception has been unbelievable,” said Paul Kahl, vice president of sales for AW Industries. “This has been our bestseller.”
Spotlight on Advertising
Shifman Mattresses used the time in High Point to preview the results of a yearlong research project. The Newark, New Jersey-based company hired an outside firm to help retailers best use their marketing dollars. “You can spend lots of money in advertising, but what’s the return?” asked Bill Hammer, Shifman president. The report reveals data about the effectiveness of various advertising channels, the importance of investing in a multipronged approach, and the correlation between advertising spending and store revenue.
