System aims to bridge mattress return problems
Larry Thomas, Bedding editor -- Furniture Today, November 18, 2001
Although returns probably account for less than 2% of bedding sales, they certainly are responsible for a much greater percentage of headaches and ulcers for manufacturers and retailers. But Knickerbocker Bed Co., a small, family-owned frame producer, thinks it may have developed a "wonder drug" that attacks a key cause of returned mattresses — a faulty support system on beds with wood side rails.
Such systems, say Knickerbocker officials, often rely on inexpensive wood slats to support foundations and mattresses that have gotten heavier in recent years. That can lead to premature mattress breakdown, and unhappy consumers who blame the mattress manufacturer for the problem.
The answer, according to Knickerbocker, is the company's new metal support system called Bedbridge.
"We think the wrong people are getting blamed most of the time," said John Fiore, a veteran bedding industry sales and marketing executive who recently joined Knickerbocker as director of marketing and product development. "This will address many of the mattress return problems."
Fiore said the Bedbridge replaces wood slats with three heavy-duty steel support beams that attach to the side rails with wood screws. For full- and queen-size beds, the center beam has a torsion spring and center leg for additional support, while king-size beds feature a leg and torsion spring on each support beam.
"We can't produce them fast enough," Fiore told us during last month's High Point market, where Knickerbocker displayed the system at the front of its showroom. "Right now, we're making 1,500 to 2,000 a month … and before long, we're going to be able to make that many in a week."
He said the system has received many favorable reviews from bedding manufacturers and retailers. Manufacturers are excited because they're tired of getting blamed for a problem they believe is caused by bedroom furniture manufacturers, he said, and retailers are simply tired of playing the blame game. They would much rather have happy consumers who don't need to return any product for any reason, he said.
Fiore and his Knickerbocker colleagues would love to see bedding manufacturers recommend Bedbridge to all consumers who buy a mattress with their new bedroom suite. Short of that, they hope retailers will simply include the system with all suites sold.
And they're also trying to convince retailers to sell the support system as an aftermarket item to consumers who want to replace their wood slats. Most Bedbridge systems would retail for about $99. "Think about how big that market could be," Fiore said wistfully.
In last week's column about efforts to develop new federal mattress flammability standards, we left out the Web address of the Sleep Products Safety Council, the industry group working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to devise the rules. That site, www.safesleep.org, is particularly useful for retailers who may get questions from consumers about existing flammability standards or any new proposals.
Opinion columns are available online at www.furnituretoday.com.
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