Market gives boost to one-sided beds
By David Perry, Executive Editor -- Furniture Today, April 28, 2002
There was plenty of bedding news at the just-concluded market. So much, in fact, that we can only start our market commentary this week.
One interesting development was the introduction of several one-sided beds. Three different bedding producers said positive things about one-sided beds. The latest comments clearly demonstrate the one-sided bed has a number of supporters in the industry.
The biggest supporter of all, of course, remains Simmons, the company that scored a marketing coup by popularizing the construction in the past few years. Simmons doesn't show in High Point, so it wasn't part of the latest wave of news.
Chuck Landau, vice president of sleep products at Ashley, said his company successfully introduced three top-of-the-line one-sided beds, retailing at $1,999, $1,799 and $1,599. The beds are foam-encased — that's a red-hot product feature in the industry — and are substantial in size.
Asked why Ashley is offering one-sided beds, Landau offered a very pragmatic reason: "The customers can't turn them. They are too heavy."
Ashley, by the way, also introduced two-sided beds.
Thomasville, another full-line furniture resource with a bedding program, showed both one-sided and two-sided beds produced by its bedding partner, Chittenden & Eastman.
Ryan Tessau, merchandise manager for Thomasville wood products, spoke glowingly about the Madison County bed, a one-sided, foam-encased model retailing at about $1,199 in queen.
"It was an exceptional product for us," Tessau said. "The consumer is looking for a more maintenance-free way to live with her products."
Paul Sullivan, executive vice president and general manager of United Sleep Products, said one-sided beds are gaining ground at price points of $499 and up. His company expanded its one-sided offerings this market with a new boxed pillowtop model.
Asked for his assessment of the one-sided bed movement, he said: "We make both. We let the consumer and the retailer pick. We are definitely seeing growth in one-sided beds."
On the other side of this issue, Sealy said it did well at market with its two-sided beds. Sealy remains the major holdout against one-sided beds, a position that suits its competitors just fine.
Neither Serta nor Spring Air, two other bedding majors, show in High Point, so they didn't have anything to say about the one-sided bed issue at market. But Spring Air has reported that one-sided beds have fueled its strong growth, and now represent the majority of the beds it ships.
One-sided beds are not that strong a performer for Serta, but they are a significant factor in Serta's bedding lineup. That producer takes the position that its job is to offer its retailers a choice of products.
Obviously, there's not one answer to the one-sided question. But one was a popular answer in High Point.
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