E.S. Kluft adds warehouse in Bridgeport, Conn.

High-end bedding maker preparing for future growth

David Perry -- Furniture Today, December 22, 2008

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — E.S. Kluft & Co., a high-end bedding maker based here, has opened an East Coast warehouse to serve its growing customer base. A manufacturing facility could follow soon if the economy cooperates, according to founder Earl Kluft.

Earl Kluft shows some of the materials used in his natural bedding line.

E.S. Kluft, a luxury bedding line specializing in hand-crafted mattresses with superior tailoring, currently serves retailers across the country from its 127,000-square-foot facility here. The new East Coast warehouse, a 28,000-square-foot facility in Bridgeport, Conn., serves some key customers.
"The warehouse was opened to accommodate our overwhelming acceptance and growing market share in the luxury category at Bloomingdales and Macy's," Kluft said.
With the new warehouse, Kluft can offer more competitive shipping terms for its East Coast customers, he said.
"We hope to have a manufacturing facility in the Northeast within the next 24 months, assuming the recovery of the nation's economy within a reasonable period of time," Kluft said. "Hopefully we will see the recovery before the end of 2009."
E.S. Kluft markets bedding under the Aireloom, Aireloom Natural, Kluft and E.S. Kluft brand names, with those sleep sets retailing from $1,500 to $33,000. The producer also manufactures Studio by Aireloom and is a Comfort Solutions licensee, starting that brand at $699.
Kluft said the high-end of the market has been holding up relatively well.
"Until the financial crisis hit Wall Street," he said, "we were still getting sales between $10,000 and $30,000 at retail. Our beds selling at more than $2,000 are still doing much better than the bedding market in general, because we have less competition there. Where we are on the floor with other high-end brands, we continue to get the lion's share at these higher price points."
Kluft is exploring new bedding components, using a Mashushita encased coil machine to produce high coil-count units and nested units for its new lines.
The company recently entered the natural bedding category and offers broad lines of natural, organic and hybrid sleep systems, backed by comprehensive point-of-purchase materials. Kluft said the program has been well received by retailers and consumers.