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Tupelo market packs plenty of bedding punch

David Perry, Executive Editor -- Furniture Today, February 27, 2005

This just in: The Tupelo market offers an impressive assortment of bedding exhibitors. My recent trip to Tupelo confirmed what my trusty bedding scouts had told me. Tupelo is, indeed, a strong bedding market. The mattress lineup runs from A (Alabama Bedding, a Spring Air licensee) to W (Wolf Corp.). In between there were some big sleep lines (Big Sleep), a golden producer (Golden Mattress), a producer offering love (Loving Care), and a "pedic" producer (Medipedic).

There also were several "S" brands, including Sleeptronic, Southerland, Strobel, Summit and Symbol Mattress. The biggest S brands — Sealy, Simmons and Serta — weren't in the mix. I guess they didn't get the memo about how strong Tupelo is these days.

All told, I counted almost 30 bedding companies in the Tupelo market directory. That may be slightly more bedding lines than are shown in High Point. As I made my rounds in Tupelo, I asked my bedding friends why Tupelo is such a strong bedding market.

"That's a good question," said Gerry Borreggine, president of Therapedic. "Tupelo offers a tight, concise presentation of bedding merchandise. You can hit the whole show in a day and a half. And Tupelo has built on its success. Once something is strong, it tends to get stronger."

Therapedic has a prime showroom spot at the front of Building III in the Tupelo complex, right next to the Backyard Burgers restaurant. Those are great burgers. But I digress...

Goode Price, who heads the Spring Air licensee which shows in Tupelo (and offers barbecue for lunch), offered this assessment of Tupelo's bedding prowess: "There are a ton of smaller mattress manufacturers in the Southeast. The people they want to sell are walking these halls. It's probably more affordable for them to come to Tupelo than to High Point."

One of the biggest exhibitors in Tupelo is Fraenkel. "This is the heart of where our customer base is located," said Brian Akchin, executive vice president. In addition to marketing its own bedding lines, Fraenkel is an Englander licensee. That brand is strongly represented in Tupelo, with showrooms in both major showroom complexes.

Bob Quinn, a Restonic licensee, said Tupelo is "a working market for mattress manufacturers," adding, "It's an easy market to shop. You can see a lot of different manufacturers in a short period of time."

Everett Crudup, who showed his Bemco line at an area hotel, said the bedding competition in Alabama and Mississippi is intense. "Everyone is protecting their turf," he said.

If you haven't checked out the bedding lineup in Tupelo, as I hadn't in recent years, it's well worth a trip. And did I mention the tasty burgers and barbecue?

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Tupelo market packs plenty of bedding punch

Feb 28, 2005

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