Bedding off to solid start at Las Vegas Market
New products, programs stir activity
David Perry -- Furniture Today, February 2, 2010
LAS VEGAS — The mattress category, a key segment here, got off to a solid start Monday with producers saying they were pleased with traffic and with interest in their new lines.
"It's been crazy," said Jodi Allen, chief marketing officer at Sealy. "There's been a lot of excitement and interest in our new Embody by Sealy line. People are saying ‘wow.' They love the simple selling story, and they appreciate that we have made the line easy to understand by consumers."
The Embody line, retailing from $1,999 to $3,299, is a new specialty sleep line that offers your-choice of latex or memory foam models.
A new diamond promotion, tied to the 60th anniversary of the Sealy Posturepedic line, also drew retailer interest, Allen said.
Serta got off to a strong start, showing a new high-end Perfect Day line, retailing from $1,599 to $2,999. "We believe consumers will return to those price points if you offer something different and unique," said Bob Sherman, president. "We believe we have the best value at $3,000 in the marketplace."
The new line has two types of coils - open and encased - and features ticking accented with crystals, a look that Serta said is a new one in the mattress industry. Some of the beds have honeycomb gel comfort layers, which Serta calls SmartSupport.
New high-end Trump Home products are at market, along with a new line of Nickelodeon-licensed beds.
Simmons reported strong interest in its new Beautyrest line. Steve Fendrich, president, said dealers who saw the line "were blown away" by the new models.
"My prediction on the market is that bedding will do really well and I think we will do really well," Fendrich said.
Simmons is deepening its commitment to the market here with the addition of its fourth showroom, this one in World Market Center A-516. The space houses the company's specialty sleep offerings.
Comfort Solutions scored with its new Sleep iD line of customizable sleep sets. A new diagnostic system prescribes beds designed to meet consumers' unique sleep needs.
"We have had a very, very enthusiastic response to our programs," said Comfort Solutions' Owen Shoemaker. "I would call it almost unbridled enthusiasm. I think we found another comfort solution, offering individual comfort at prices that are more affordable than other models."
A new diagnostic selling system at Spring Air International also is doing well. "Retailers want something to control the selling situation in the store," said Rick Robinson, president. He said the company had a "strong" day, one marked by a number of key appointments.
Sleep to Live, showing at the Venetian, is offering new versions of its diagnostic selling system, offering more precise consumer measurements and giving retailers various designs to choose from.
New latex coils are featured in some of the Sleep to Live beds.
"Retailers need a ‘wow' bed in their stores," said Eric Hinshaw, CEO. "The latex bed is our ‘wow' bed."
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