Serta offers 3-bed visco line
David Perry -- Furniture Today, February 6, 2005
Hoffman Estates, Ill. — Bedding major Serta is entering the burgeoning visco-elastic arena with a three-bed line called International Touch.
The visco-core models retail from about $1,199 to $2,000, said Serta International President Bob Sherman. He said Serta is targeting visco leader Tempur-Pedic with the new line, which he said is priced substantially below Tempur-Pedic.
The International Touch line carries the Serta brand. The producer previously had a single visco-core bed, the Serta Perfect Sleeper Body Pillow.
The top two beds in the International Touch line contain Serta's Sensifiber with Outlast, a temperature-regulating technology that keeps the surface of the mattress at a constant and comfortable temperature, the company said.
Accompanying the mattresses is a line of International Touch pillows. The program is backed with a variety of point-of-purchase materials.
All the beds incorporate FireBlocker, Serta's proprietary fire-resistant technology.
Sherman said it's uncertain if sleep systems like visco foam and airbeds have staying power.
"After the customer sleeps on them, would they buy another one?" he asked. "That will determine if those products survive in the market. If customers go on and replace those beds, they're here to stay."
