Hot market for visco helps latex too, company says
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, April 3, 2005
Shelton, Conn. — Latex foam is enjoying double-digit sales gains in the bedding market, but another type of foam — visco-elastic foam — is growing even faster.
Officials at Latex International, the United States' only latex producer, say the visco boom complements the latex story.
"We don't look at visco as a competing product," said Kevin Stein, director of marketing. "Latex is perceived as a step-up product from visco."
Visco leader Tempur-Pedic and airbed producer and retailer Select Comfort are creating a strong buzz for the specialty sleep category, in Stein's view.
"Tempur-Pedic and Select Comfort are getting consumers to think differently about their sleep sets," he said. "I love those guys. We are drafting the wave, not fighting the wave."
Mike Lorelli, CEO of Latex International, echoed those comments but also noted that visco foam sparks strong feelings, both pro and con.
"Some consumers love it and some consumers hate it," he said. "There is a segment of consumers who send it back and have complaints about it. Latex doesn't have that love/hate relationship. It isn't a polarizing product."
Latex International offers latex-visco fabrications for customers who want a visco feel. A number of bedding producers are using latex and visco layers with innerspring-core bedding to provide a specialty sleep feel in those products.
While Stein claims that latex and visco are not direct competitors, he said latex has some advantages over visco. Research by Latex International indicates that the company's Talatech latex offers superior pressure point relief to other types of bedding, ranging from innerspring to visco to imported latex.
Stein said the pressure point relief offered by latex is "30% more" than that of visco, although he did acknowledge that visco has good pressure relief compared with conventional innerspring bedding.
And while visco offers a "minimal range of feels," Latex International has eight firmness levels, ranging from ultra-plush to extra firm, Stein said. He also said latex offers "superior durability" to visco.
Stein said latex's strengths in the market are a "unique feel" and a "unique story." Latex is a naturally derived product, consisting of rubber particles suspended in water, which the company says is environmentally friendly.
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Hot market for visco helps latex
Apr 5, 2005
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