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F/T Bedding Conference really is 'all about her'

David Perry, Executive editor -- Furniture Today, March 22, 2010

Something highly unusual is going to occur at the upcoming Furniture/Today Bedding Conference: Women speakers are going to outnumber the men. And that's going to be a good thing.

We've got more than a dozen female speakers set for the Bedding Conference, which will be held May 5-7 at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, Fla. This is our fifth Bedding Conference and it promises to be the best yet.

At least that's what our female speakers are saying. And I think they are right, since women are the key decision makers in the mattress purchase. Better understanding our key customers is critical to selling more mattresses and improving the mattress shopping experience.

We've subtitled the conference, “It's All about Her.”

For reasons that will become clear at the Bedding Conference, our industry is dominated by men. That's true in the executive suites at the mattress manufacturers, retailers and suppliers. This male dominance leads to a strange phenomenon: Men trying to figure out what women want in mattresses. Here's a crazy idea: Let's ask women.

And that's what we are doing at the Bedding Conference. We've got a full slate of female speakers on the agenda, from both the wholesale and retail sides of the business.

Bridget Brennan, CEO of Female Factor, will set the tone for the conference with her thought-provoking talk. She'll be followed by body language expert Jan Latiolais-Hargrave, who can help men better read the body language of women, and by Karrie Forbes of Mattress Firm. That gives women all of the morning speaking roles.

The will feature several women on the “hot issues” panel, which had been an all-male club in the past. Jodi Allen of Sealy, Anne Kozel of Simmons, Barbara Bradford of Serta and Laurie Tokarz of Restonic will lead that panel.

Other female speakers will include Susan Ebaugh of Lilly Management, Cindy Williams of Info Retail, Vicki Worden, who is working with the Specialty Sleep Assn. on its green initiative, and Julia Rosien of Natura. Female retailers speaking include Christine Magee of Sleep Country Canada, Sharon Smart of Mattress Giant, and Chris Chamberlin of The Clean Bedroom.

This promises to be an informative conference that can help retailers improve their performance by better understanding their key customers. If you are a serious student of the mattress business, you need to attend this conference. Leading producers, suppliers and retailers will once again be in attendance.

You can register online by going to our Web page and looking for the Bedding Conference icon. Or you can e-mail April Knight of our staff at april.knight@reedbusiness.com. Her direct line is (336) 605-1031.

I'm looking forward to seeing you in Orlando.

Contact David Perry at dperry@reedbusiness.com

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