Chinese bedding draws strong interest
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, November 2, 2009
HIGH POINT — Interest in Chinese-made mattresses was on the upswing at the fall High Point Market as retailers keyed in on value-packed products, producers in the category reported.
Dormia, in its return to High Point, showed only Chinese mattresses. Stylution, a leader in the Chinese market, also was back at market with its line of beds. And Chinese-made beds were on display in a number of other showrooms as well, including Spirit Sleep, Coaster, Primo International and Everest Sleep.
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 said his imported beds, made in the company's Chinese plant, “deliver greater value to the consumer.” He also said 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.
“We had a good market,” reported Brandon Maxey of Everest Sleep in Charleston, S.C., which markets a line of Chinese-made memory foam beds, including pillow-top models with shredded memory foam. The mattresses retail from about $599 to $1,499.
