Englander updates look as it guns for growth
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, August 19, 2007
North Billerica, Mass. — Englander, one of bedding's oldest brands, debuted its new look during the summer Las Vegas Market.
Gone is the rectangular logo, a hallmark of Englander for years, replaced by a blue-gray oval that encloses the Englander name, presented in a more contemporary typeface. The company is keeping its history in the logo: "Since 1894" appears just under the Englander name.
Englander's former tag line, "The Mattress of Choice," has been replaced with, "Better sleep, by design."
"The challenge was: How to take Englander from 1894 to the present?" said Mark Savel, chairman of Englander's marketing committee.
Savel, executive vice president of sales and marketing for World Sleep Products, Englander's licensee in North Billerica, played a key role in the effort to rebrand the company. He worked with other Englander licensees and with Eileen Shapiro, principal of Shapiro & Co., an advertising, marketing and design firm.
The new look, presented in a wide range of marketing and display materials in contemporary colors, was wholeheartedly embraced by Englander's seven licensees, who met recently in Atlanta to review the program.
"The consensus was, 'Let's do it'," said Kevin Toman, recently named president of Englander. He has held senior posts at Sealy, Simmons and Serta, and more recently was president of Restonic.
Englander Chairman Chuck Warshaver, president of World Sleep Products, said the new look is part of an aggressive push by Englander to grow its business. "We have a 100% consensus of the group," he said. "We've quadrupled the budget from a year ago.... We've done more in the past two months than in the past 16 years."
Englander's new marketing materials use lifestyle images to demonstrate the benefits of the company's bedding.
"This is what a good night's sleep looks like," is one of the new marketing messages. It accompanies a picture of a smiling mother and her young daughter. Another message: "Our mattresses work night and day to make you feel better." That accompanies a poster showing a young couple walking on the beach and hoisting their child into the air.
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