Lexington, Ky. — Tempur-Pedic, one of the world's largest bedding producers, has one of the world's shortest bedding lines.
The entire mattress assortment consists of but three models, compared to the dozens of models other leading bedding producers roll out each year.
The difference is typical of Tempur-Pedic's unconventional approach to the bedding business. "Changing the way the world sleeps!" the company says in its marketing materials.
It's doing that one bold move at a time.
Generating buzz
The company's marketing gets rave reviews from bedding veterans for its compelling messages and powerful delivery.
The producer said its advertising last year on TV and radio and in magazines and newspapers was valued at more than $126 million.
That, combined with its equally aggressive public relations campaign, has generated a strong buzz for the company's products.
The marketing has included clever tie-ins with celebrity award shows, where Tempur-Pedic gift baskets are given out to presenters and performers. That's how stars like Christina Aguilera, Susan Lucci and Jessica Simpson have gotten the chance to try out Tempur-Pedic bedding.
The company calls its bedding, "The Mattress of the Stars."
The celebrity link, in fact, gave the company the name of its newest mattress, The CelebrityBed. It's a pillowtop model that was unveiled at a Hollywood-themed party the company hosted at the High Point market last October.
"Our involvement with the gift programs in the entertainment industry got us thinking: What if we could create a mattress that would let anyone feel like a star?" said Dany Sfeir, senior vice president of marketing and direct sales, at that event. "We believe that's exactly what The CelebrityBed by Tempur-Pedic does."
The CelebrityBed has a two-inch pillowtop layer and features cashmere in its washable cover. At more than 13 inches in height, the bed is cushioned with five inches of the company's Tempur visco-elastic foam, which makes it the most luxurious bed in its lineup.
With a retail of about $2,799 in queen for the mattress only, the CelebrityBed puts Tempur-Pedic squarely in the ultra-high end bedding market.
And it marks another significant step in the company's product evolution.
Back in the early 1990s, Tempur-Pedic entered the U.S. bedding market with an eight-inch mattress it called its Classic Swedish Sleep System, a nod to the country where the producer perfected its visco foam for consumer use.
It features visco foam on a polyurethane base, covered with a removable, washable cover.
That straightforward, breakthrough design launched the current visco craze. It retails at $1,499 for a queen-sized mattress.
Three beds, and a gallery
Tempur-Pedic followed up several years later with its second model, the Deluxe Swedish Sleep System, which is about 10 inches in height and offers more visco foam than the Classic. It has a softer initial feel than the Classic model.
And last year, the CelebrityBed joined the mix.
Now, Tempur-Pedic is leveraging the strength of its lineup, with two clearly delineated step-up selling stories, with a three-bed gallery display program.
The gallery components are offered in a cherry finish and feature several display panels and spaces for pillow storage.
More than 800 display units were placed on retail floors in the first quarter of this year. Officials say the gallery program should keep Tempur-Pedic on a fast-growth track.
"The launch of our gallery has been timed perfectly with the rollout of our new premium mattress to give our retail partners the opportunity to show all of our beds in an upscale display that should lead to higher tickets and more premium bed sales," said David Fogg, president of the company's Retail Division.
