Carpe Diem seizes bedding day
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, February 9, 2009
LAS VEGAS — A new high-end Swedish bedding line aims to “seize the day” in the U.S. mattress market, giving retailers big-ticket sales that will help them weather tough times.
The line, Carpe Diem Beds of Sweden, is distributed in the United States by a team of three bedding and retail veterans who have formed Scandinavian Bed Co., based here. They are Jeffrey Klein, CEO of Sleep etc., a two-store sleep shop based in Norwalk, Conn.; Chuck Warshaver, CEO of World Sleep Products, a veteran bedding producer based in North Billerica, Mass.; and Dennis Soboti, a former top merchandising executive at Macy's with years of experience in the home furnishings industry.
They are touting the line at this week's Las Vegas Market, showing in World Market Center C-1360.
The Carpe Diem beds (the name means “seize the day” in Latin) retail from $6,000 to $23,000. The beds are made using layers of encased coils, Talalay latex, memory foam, wool and cotton. They rest on legs, available in finishes that include metal, oak, cherry and beech, which give the sleep systems the look of a fine piece of furniture, the executives said.
The tension in the coils can be adjusted to minimize pressure points and help consumers assume their most natural sleeping posture. Each bed can be customized to provide his and hers comfort.
The frames and foundations are made of Swedish pine and feature tongue-and-groove construction. The units feature an LFK spring unit that works with the coils in the mattress to conform to the sleeper's body. Such working box springs are not common in the industry these days, officials said.
Some of the beds feature Scandinavian styling, in which the mattress and box spring are enclosed in the same unit, while others have separate mattress and box spring units. All of the sleep sets are topped with reversible pillowtop units, fashioned from wool, cotton and Talalay latex. Consumers also can choose optional coordinated headboards for the beds.
The beds are hand-made in Carpe Diem's factory in Sweden. Each bed is signed by the worker who produced it.
Scandinavian Bed Co., the new U.S. distributor for the line, is looking for retailers to carry the line.
“We are pursuing selective distribution,” said Warshaver, CEO of the new bedding company. “We would be very happy with the right 15 to 20 retailers. They will get the best sales training.”
Klein said he carries the Carpe Diem line at his Sleep etc. stores and that it has helped him dramatically raise his sales tickets. He said retailers need to maximize their sales in this climate of lower store traffic levels.
“It is more important than ever for retailers to generate higher-priced, higher-margin sales. And Carpe Diem beds won't compete with anything already on the retailer's floor,” said Klein, president of the new company. “Those are powerful tools. Retailers will have something that their competition doesn't have. That will help them draw consumers from a larger radius.”
Added Warshaver: “The number of mattress transactions will be down this year. If you sell one Carpe Diem bed a week, your average sale can triple. How many transactions at conventional price points would you need to generate $15,000?”
Soboti, vice president, said that while some companies are skimping on mattress quality, Carpe Diem is moving in the other direction.
“I've been to furniture factories around the world,” he said. “This is the best of the best. They have combined state-of-the-art materials with hand-made perfection.”
He also said the sleep sets are, considering their quality and durability, not that expensive. “For 25 years you will get a brand new sleep system if it is defective,” Soboti said, noting that the beds carry 25-year warranties and can easily last longer than that.
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