New S&F lineup tells hybrid story
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, February 25, 2007
Archdale, N.C. — The new Stearns & Foster luxury bedding line, introduced to strong reviews at the winter Las Vegas Market, features several combinations of latex and visco-elastic foams, two of the hottest cushioning materials in the market, as well as exotic fibers including silk, cashmere and suri alpaca.
The new line of 27 beds retails from $999 to $4,999. It replaces a line that retailed from $1,299 to $5,999 and was launched last April.
The prior line was not a big success at retail, the company said. One of the issues with it, according to Derek Ritzel, who became vice president of marketing for Stearns & Foster last year, was that it included fire-resistant materials more than a year before the use of those materials will be mandated by the federal government.
"We took a leadership position on FR," Ritzel said, "but the consumer didn't give us credit for offering an FR solution. It was the right thing to do, yet we didn't get credit for it, and it threw our value proposition out of whack."
Bedding producers have said that the cost of adding FR protection to sleep sets is about $100 in queen, but they also say the costs have been coming down.
Ritzel said the new line offers compelling values, clear step-up stories for consumers and retail sales associates, and strong gross margin potential. And it provides what the company calls a "rich color palette," with colors like chocolate, spa blue and ivory.
Top of bed and point-of-purchase materials also have been upgraded to catch the eye of luxury consumers. Aged pewter corner guards and woven labels are among the new appointments.
"We've created a clearly defined, visually distinct step-up story throughout the line that retail sales associates can easily demonstrate to consumers," Ritzel said. "The new line rewards consumers who trade up in meaningful ways, while allowing retailers to maximize their gross margins."
The hybrid story in the line — the pairing of latex and visco foams on an innerspring core — is featured on beds retailing at $1,199 and up. Ritzel said the beds offer the supportive, conforming and resilient qualities of latex with the slower recovery, conforming qualities of visco-elastic foams, which provide a "different dynamic and a different depth of feel."
Exotic fibers each play a key role. Silk is featured in the line's Provincial and Dynasty collections, while cashmere is in the Highlands and Siena collections. The suri alpaca collections are Wellington and Catalonia.
Foam encasement remains a key in the new S&F line. Beds retailing at $1,799 and up feature the company's Liquid Injected Foam Encasement (LIFE) construction. That is a solid but flexible shell that envelops the innerspring system, enhancing the comfort and durability of the mattress, the company said.
In addition, some beds feature a three-and-a-half-inch-tall encased coil in the top of the mattress, providing a coil-on-coil feel. Those models retail at $2,399 and up.
The new boxspring in the line is a coil unit that offers the "feel of eight-way, hand-tied construction," Ritzel said.
"Every Stearns & Foster mattress is meticulously crafted to provide the ultimate sleep experience," he said. "We've refined the entire line to continue exceeding the expectations of retailers and discerning consumers."
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