Bedding sources target low and high ends
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, April 25, 2009
High Point — Call this a Market of Two Bedding Strategies. One strategy is aimed at getting consumers into retail stores with sharply priced mattress lines. The other seeks to give more discerning consumers some new looks and features designed to entice them to buy high-end beds.
The first strategy plays out in the downtown market district here, and is exemplified by the efforts of Top 10 bedding producer Therapedic, which takes retails down to $399 with its new BackSense line, featuring what Therapedic President Gerry Borreggine calls "a meaty hook" — a new HourGlass support unit, ergonomically designed to provide up to 18% more support in the shoulders, hips and lumbar areas. The visual selling story for that line, communicated with a variety of point-of-purchase materials, is compelling, he said.
The Therapedic BackSense line, retailing from $399 up to $999, gives retailers some sharp price points that many of the larger bedding producers are ignoring, according to Borreggine. "This line was designed for times like we are facing now," he said. "Everybody wants to sell high-end bedding, but the fact is, that's a difficult task in the real world of today. What we have with BackSense is a product line with consumer appeal that a retailer can pitch with confidence, knowing it will help him make the sale. ... There won't be any 'be-backs' with this line. Sales are going to get made."
Also touting strong promotional values is Five Star Mattress, the promotional to mid-priced line launched by the owners of Serta. New this market from Five Star is the Better Homes and Gardens line, a partnership with that leading home publication. Retails on that new line range from $799 to $1,599, a new top price point for the producer.
The other strategy plays out in Archdale, where bedding sales leader Sealy is headquartered. That producer introduces its new and improved Stearns & Foster luxury line to High Point Market attendees.
Stearns & Foster, one of the oldest names in the mattress industry (it dates back to 1846, when it began as a producer of upholstery for high-end horse-drawn carriages), has updated the aesthetics of the line with two-tone color schemes and stylish tufting, embroidery and quilting treatments, S&F officials said.
There are two new S&F lines. The core line retails from $1,199 to $1,699, while the Estate line retails from $1,499 to $2,499.
"Stearns & Foster continues to expand its line of sophisticated offerings and provide consumers with practical luxury and refined style," said Larry Rogers, Sealy's CEO. He said that Sealy's partnership with IDEO, a design firm, has produced "a mattress above the average price point made for consumers who are willing to invest in their health by spending more on a bed that will help them get a better night's rest."
Also at market, I Care Sleep is expanding its eco-friendly Earthcare line with several new products, including a nine-inch latex mattress, an eight-inch compressed and rolled foam mattress, and an encased coil futon mattress.
Consumer interest in environmentally friendly products is growing, according to Jim Wall, I Care's general manager. And that could be good news for an industry that wants to put the recession in the rear window, he said.
"There has been so much gloom and doom in the last six months," Wall said. "Consumers and the business community are tired of it. There is a sense emerging that consumers are ready to get in the market and get on with their lives. There could be positive momentum for the bedding industry."
Those are sentiments shared by a number of High Point bedding producers.
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