Magniflex goes gold for $30K
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, May 22, 2006
High Point — It's the gold standard — literally — in mattress luxury.
Magniflex, an Italian bedding producer which made its U.S. debut at the April market here, is taking bedding price points to a new high with its Gold Mattress. With a cover made using 22-karat gold yarn, it retails for the princely sum of $30,000 in king. In queen, it's "only" $24,000.
Want a golden pillow with that? It'll cost you $1,000. The memory foam pillow's cover is made with gold threads.
Magniflex said the Gold Mattress currently is being sold to wealthy — surprise! — consumers in the Middle East.
The glittering mattress occupied a starring position in the company's High Point showroom, where it exhibited its full line of foam mattresses, which are compressed and shrink-wrapped for shipment to the United States.
At market, the gold bed sparked interest. "Some people came in because of it," said Irwin "Sandy" Pearl, who, with Henry Burney, heads U.S. sales for Magniflex. Said Burney, "Everyone is doing the same thing in the mattress industry. We are trying to distinguish ourselves."
The Gold Mattress is a thermo-regulating, non-degradable, anti-bacterial, odor-proof, anti-static and anti-stress piece, the company said.
Magniflex will customize the mattress for the consumer who purchases it, adjusting the five-zoned memory foam construction as needed to provide a tailored sleep surface.
The other mattresses in the line address more modest price points. A memory-foam mattress at $2,200 retail has adjustable comfort. The dual memory foam cores have firm and soft sides, enabling couples to choose comfort levels.
A mattress made entirely of memory foam retails at $2,050. Zoned constructions are standard in foam bedding offerings.
The producer, based in Prato, Italy, also uses environmentally friendly products, including fabrics made of bamboo and corn.
