Bedding producers making major launches
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, January 29, 2006
Las Vegas — The strongest gathering of bedding producers in many years will inaugurate the second Las Vegas market here.
Major bedding launches are the order of the day.
All nine of the Top 10 bedding producers that show at markets are represented in Las Vegas this month. Select Comfort, the Minneapolis-based airbed producer and retailer, with its own store network, is the only Top 10 producer not showing.
The new entrants to the Vegas scene are Sealy, Therapedic and Kingsdown.
Sealy, the industry's sales leader, joins the mix with two show venues, one in Pavilion 2, Space 7204, and the other at the Aladdin Hotel, where it is showing by appointment only. Sealy is showing the full assortment of its new flagship Posturepedic line at the Aladdin, from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1.
The new Posturepedic line is protected throughout with fire-resistant materials, a major step by Sealy to switch its production to incorporate FR protection. That producer added such protection to its Stearns & Foster line last fall.
Sealy's new Posturepedic line, retailing from about $499 to $2,999, features what the company says are customer-inspired designs that offer differentiated "feels" in the bedding and targeted support for the body. Comfort layers include everything from visco and latex foams to cashmere.
Therapedic, showing in temporary space at Mandalay Bay (Space 61072), is using this market to make the major launch of its new Kathy Ireland Home line of bedding. The line extends the growing Ireland brand program into the mattress arena, with collections keyed to style groups and themes already strongly positioned in the Kathy Ireland Home program.
"The juxtaposition of the Kathy Ireland brand to Therapedic exponentially increases our power and recognition on the retail floor," said Gerry Borreggine, Therapedic's president. He said that 11 of the 15 beds in the Kathy Ireland line will be shown in Las Vegas.
"This will be the biggest national product launch in the history of Therapedic," Borreggine added.
Therapedic also is making a soft launch of its new AirTouch bedding. Two airbeds, designed by a company with expertise in the medical field, will be shown, with retails starting at $1,999. The beds feature six-zone adjustable air chambers.
Kingsdown is showing at the Venetian. It is hosting "Sleepless in Las Vegas" events on Jan. 30 and Jan. 31.
Simmons, the industry's No. 2 producer, is showing the new DeepSleep promotional models it developed in response to the industry's foam crisis last fall. Four beds are included in the line. Each contains comfort layers of cotton and manmade fibers.
"Our new predominantly foamless DeepSleep mattresses have helped to preserve the existing pricing structure of our DeepSleep line following the mattress industry's foam shortage this past fall," a Simmons official said. "By providing alternative products that preserve the traditional DeepSleep feel, we're enabling our dealers to supply quality sleep to value-conscious consumers at no additional cost."
No. 3 Serta is making a fashion-forward statement with a new licensed program. Details will be released at the market.
No. 4 Spring Air is showcasing four bedding lines in Las Vegas, plus a more colorful assortment of support materials, color-coded by product line.
The lines include the new luxury ComfortFlex collection, an upgraded flagship Back Supporter collection, the Back Supporter Sleep Fitness line of visco beds, and the value-priced Posture Comfort collection.
The Back Supporter line features "state-of-the-art coil technology and comfort zones of foam, visco and latex enhancements," said Jim Nation, Spring Air's president. The result, he said, is a line that offers "superior comfort and support."
Fast-growing Tempur-Pedic is shaking up the visco-elastic marketplace with the news that it is targeting the $7,000 retail price point with its new GrandBed. The channel-quilted bed doubles, in one stroke, the company's top price point, and will create a new selling umbrella over the Tempur-Pedic line, company officials say.
Tempur-Pedic also is showing two other new mattresses, the largest single product launch in the company's history.
Comfort Solutions is showing new limited edition lines designed to give retailers the ammunition they need to drive business in what may be a challenging business year, said Dave Roberts, executive vice president. His company is taking a new marketing direction, introducing a Great Escape Mattress Spectacular, a marketing event backed with new products and marketing and advertising materials.
"The ideas of no-no-no and free-free-free promotions are tired," Roberts said. "You have to go beyond those kinds of promotions."
Comfort Solutions is showing the Spine Support Limited Edition, retailing from $399 to $799, and the Luxury Escapes Special Edition, retailing from $999 to $1,999, to support its initial marketing initiatives this year, Roberts said.
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Bedding producers making major launches
Jan 30, 2006
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