Chinese bedding more popular at High Point Market

Imported mattresses can offer value

David Perry -- Furniture Today, October 20, 2009

AT THE MARKET - Chinese-made mattresses are getting more play here as retailers key in on value-packed products.
Bedding exhibitors are generally reporting light traffic, but say they are seeing some good retailers. And interest in Chinese beds is on the upswing, producers in that category report.
Dormia, in its return to the High Point Market, is showing only Chinese mattresses in its International Home Furnishings Center showroom, while Top 10 producer Therapedic is getting ready to introduce its exclusive Chinese mattress line, ComfortTouch, which is made by its China licensee, Stylution. And Stylution, a leader in the Chinese market, is back at this market with its own line of beds.
Chinese-made beds are on display in a number of other showrooms as well, including Spirit Sleep, Coaster and Primo International, among others.
What's behind the surge of interest?
"These are $2,000 beds for $799," said John DeFalco, executive vice president at Primo International. "These are tremendous values."
Primo's Chinese beds, starting at $299 retail, include innerspring and specialty sleep models. Retailers appreciate the "compelling values," DeFalco said, adding that consumers are not concerned about where their beds come from.
Dormia CEO Mike Zippelli says his imported beds, made in the company's Chinese plant, "deliver greater value to the consumer." He also says that China has made dramatic improvements in quality in recent years, and notes that transportation costs have dropped significantly.
Dormia's Chinese beds retail from $799 to $1,699.
"Retailers are driven by price points," said Eric Medford, vice president of marketing for Spirit Sleep, the U.S. marketing arm of China-based Zinus. "We provide top-quality products that give dealers the opportunity to make tremendous margins."
The company's core product offering is a line of "clean, healthy, fresh and pure" memory foam mattresses retailing from $499 to $1,599, Medford said.
"In this economy, value is more important than ever," said Ed Scott, president of Stylution USA, the U.S. marketing arm of Stylution International. "Consumers are looking for value and the values have always been better coming out of Asia. That continues to be true."
Stylution's compressed bedding line retails from $599 to $1,299, while beds shipped uncompressed retail from $999 to $1,799.
Scott said interest in Chinese beds is growing because retailers see those products as offering them a way to boost sagging sales. "Hope springs eternal," he said.