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Mattress label supplier Wright of Thomasville evolves

Products can range in price from 25 cents to $7

David Perry -- Furniture Today, October 20, 2009

Ron, left, and Don Wright show some of the retail display materials marketed by Wright of Thomasville.

THOMASVILLE, N.C. — Label this a success story.
Wright of Thomasville, the largest supplier of labels in the mattress industry, continues to thrive by combining increasingly sophisticated design and printing capabilities with deep relationships with bedding producers across the country and the world.
The 48-year-old company, which last year defied the industry sales slump by posting a solid sales gain, has seen mattress labels gain in importance over the years. Today, the company can produce intricate, multiple-color satin labels adorned with gold foil, costing up to $7 each, but also can manufacture simple labels for as little as 25 cents each.
Bedding producers increasingly realize the importance of the powerful impression they can create with a striking label, company officials said.
"Consumers make decisions at the point of purchase," said Don Wright, chairman and chief marketing officer, a well-known figure in the mattress industry who is currently serving as chairman of the International Sleep Products Assn. "How well a producer dresses that bed determines if the retailer gets that sale. It is important to put a good package on the rectangles the bedding industry sells."
Wright of Thomasville, which occupies 75,000 square feet of space at its headquarters facility here just outside High Point, supplies mattress labels to all of the industry's major producers. Not content to be merely "labeled" a success in that field, the company has expanded its capabilities to offer a full range of products to bedding retailers as well. It is a partner in a new venture it launched with Colonial LLC of High Point to market a variety of display materials to retailers.
That new venture, for which Wright is heading up the marketing, is called Showroom Solutions. Wright has hired industry veteran Lou Paige to head that venture as vice president of retail graphics.
It's a sign of the company's realization that it must continue to grow and fine-tune its business model to remain a vital force in the mattress industry.
Wright of Thomasville, started by brothers Tom and Bill Wright in 1961, remains a family owned business today. The second generation is running the company these days. Ron Wright, COO, Greg Wright, CEO, and Don Wright are Bill Wright's sons, while Doug Wright, CFO, is Tom's son.
Tom Wright, a much-respected figure in the mattress industry, has retired from day-to-day operations at the company, but remains chairman emeritus. Bill Wright was co-chairman at the time of his death in 2002.
That family ownership gives the company a big edge in a bedding marketplace increasingly dominated by private equity-owned companies, the Wrights say. "We don't have to answer to anyone but ourselves," Ron Wright said.
Don Wright noted that the company maintains a strong entrepreneurial spirit. "We are fortunate to be surrounded by dedicated, creative and energetic associates at Wright of Thomasville who make it a pleasure to come to work each day," he said.
The offset printing that launched the company back in the 1960s remains the heart of the business today, although the business has grown much more sophisticated over the years. Today, Wright does mostly offset and digital printing, and it has expanded beyond mattress labels to new categories like wine labels.
Don Wright notes that wine labels and mattress labels share some significant similarities - both help sell the product inside the package. And both are "blind sales," he said, in that consumers buy based on what they see on the outside since they can't see or taste what's on the inside.
Virtually all of Wright's mattress labels are produced domestically. "There is a quality difference and a time-to-market difference" between domestically produced labels and imported labels, Don Wright said.
Wright of Thomasville has expanded its business internationally. The company has three facilities in the Thomasville/High Point area; one in Dalton, Ga., which services the carpet industry, another important market for the company; a sales and sourcing office in Hong Kong; and a joint venture with a mainland Chinese printer focused on serving the domestic Chinese market.
The company has come a long way from its Thomasville roots.

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