Number of importers continues to increase
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, February 6, 2005
High Point — Like birds perched on a telephone line, importers of Chinese-made mattresses are lining up at the market here.
First there were one or two showing in High Point, the industry's leading market. Then another came. And another.
At the October market, more than half a dozen companies were showing Chinese-made mattresses, including the Summit Sales Group, the Xilinmen Group, Primo International, Sinomax Holding Group, Boyd Specialty Sleep, Hamilton & Spill and Comfor-Pedic.
That number is only expected to increase at future markets here. And Chinese-made bedding made its presence felt at last month's Toronto market.
There is no consensus on how big a role finished Chinese mattresses will play in the U.S. market. Some say the real threat is Chinese components, such as springs and foam. But interest in Chinese beds is on the upswing, according to the companies that are bringing those products into this country.
Terry Batka, president of Summit Sales Group, said his company offers retailers a $1,999, Chinese-made foam-encased and visco-elastic foam and goosedown-cushioned sleep set with "a great" margin. "It's where bedding should be," he said. "It's a license to print money."
That bed is positioned in the upper end of the U.S. market, an area where some say Chinese bedding could make its biggest impact. But there has been much more activity with Chinese imports at price points under $1,000. Summit's line starts at $499 and tops out at $1,999.
Wayne Strachan, a former executive with big Canadian retailer The Brick, is focusing on Top 100 stores and special accounts for Summit.
"There's lots of room for (bedding) imports," he said. "They bring a value to the market. They have done that in leather and dining room and bedroom. It's a world market."
Denny Boyd, president of Boyd Specialty Sleep and an experienced China hand, brought a $799 Chinese visco and polyurethane sleep set to High Point last fall. "It has a place in the merchandising mix," he said of the mattress. "I don't see it as replacing our existing lineup. I see it as a promotional mattress. There are a lot of features we offer (in specialty sleep) that (the Chinese set ) doesn't have."
Boyd doesn't think finished mattresses will reshape the U.S. market in the near term. "The Chinese advantage is components," he said. "Complete mattresses have a segment of the market, but in the near future it won't be a dominant segment, because of the logistics."
"Importers can't react to the market as fast as domestic producers," said Phil Sherman, Boyd's national sales manager. "The mattress business is not a cookie-cutter business."
Primo International is making a splash in the U.S. market with sharply priced, Chinese-made visco bedding and a line of encased-coil bedding from China. The visco line, retailing from $699 to $1,499, includes mattress, box spring and two pillows, at a full mark, said John DeFalco, vice president of sales and marketing.
The encased-coil line starts at $499 for one-sided models, and offers retailers the potential of substantial markup, he said.
"One of our beds could be sold as low as $599 at a full mark, or as high as $999 with a 70% margin," he said. "These products have high perceived values. This is an opportunity for dealers to make money."
Primo, founded as a bedding producer in 1967, still makes mattresses, "and we have a tremendous amount of experience in making mattresses," DeFalco said. That expertise helps set Primo apart from other Chinese bedding importers, he said.
Interest in Chinese-made bedding is exploding in the United States, DeFalco said, adding, "We've opened some very substantial retailers."
Sinomax Enterprises offers a full line of visco mattresses, said Rick Cassidy, marketing director. Its Chinese parent, Sinomax Holding Group, is a major visco foam producer, and has been doing OEM work for U.S. companies.
Cassidy said the line retails from $499 to $1,499 for a queen-sized mattress, and retail interest is growing. "Retailers are looking for the next cheapest bed that will increase their margins," he said.
Do some retailers have a negative perception of Chinese-made beds? "I don't think China is as big a stigma as some people think," Cassidy said. "That's what everyone wants these days."
Hamilton & Spill debuted a seven-model lineup of Chinese beds at the High Point market. The retails ranged from $599 to about $2,499 for the encased coil beds, said Brenda Plowman, vice president of sales for the U.S. The top bed, featuring memory foam, goose down and two layers of encased coils in the mattress, did particularly well.
"The reaction to the line has been good," Plowman said. "Retailers are pleasantly surprised at how much value there is in the beds."
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