Hickory Springs has 2-pronged 'green' strategy
Earthcare and i-care win good reviews
David Perry -- Furniture Today, November 30, 2008
HICKORY, N.C. — Specialty bedding producer I Care Sleep, a unit of Hickory Springs, has established a two-pronged brand strategy for its eco-friendly mattress and accessory lines.
Company officials showed the lines at the October High Point Market and said the products won good reviews from customers.
The lines, Earthcare and i-care, offer features designed to give retailers highly salable sleep sets and sleep accessories, officials said.
 Dwayne Welch of Hickory Springs shows a new Earthcare TV commercial during the October High Point Market. |
Earthcare is backed by a lush TV commercial that spotlights the products in the beauty of North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest, where a waterfall cascades to earth behind a sleep set that seems to float in the water.
“We are offering something different than just a brochure,” said Dwayne Welch, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Hickory Springs, who worked behind the scenes at the film shoot. The commercial can be customized to meet retailers' specific needs, he said.
I Care, an independent manufacturing and marketing entity, is a unit of Hickory Springs, according to Jim Wall, I Care's general manager.
The company has established two brands: Earthcare, which is sold to furniture and bedding retailers, and i-care, a private-label line for other manufacturers.
Earthcare is a collection of mattresses, mattress toppers and pillows launched earlier this year. It emphasizes natural latex and Preserve foam, an environmentally friendly bio-based foam produced by Hickory Springs.
“We have worked hard to be responsive to public concerns about health and ecology,” said Wall. “At this stage, our aim is to do as much as we can to leave a delicate environmental footprint while capturing market share in a growing category.”
An exclusive line of Earthcare products for Klaussner Home Furnishings is sold through its retail stores.
The i-care brand features memory foam as a key component and currently is sold as i-care Elite by Therapedic in four mattress styles. Wall said that Therapedic CEO Gerry Borreggine played a key role in developing the mattress line before introducing it to the trade at the Las Vegas Market.
“I-care Elite was especially well received by our group because it has a very visual selling story, which can be easily transferred at point of sale,” Borreggine said. “In addition, it has a high-tech story to tell with improved support and inner construction.”
Both brands have a collection of premium pillows and mattress toppers marketed for add-on sales at retail, priced from $35 to $300.
Sleep sets in the two lines retail from $1,299 to $2,199.
The brands also boast a variety of comfort features, some of which utilize proprietary technology. “We want to make good on our brand promise to 'make your bed a sanctuary,'” Wall said. “At the end of the day, that is literally what it has to be about.”
