Therapedic sets course
New designs offer edge to licensees
David Perry -- Furniture Today, 11/10/2008 7:26:22 AM
NAPLES, Fla. — Therapedic is rolling out a potent arsenal of exclusive new innerspring and specialty sleep designs that will give the group's licensees a sales edge in a tough business climate, according to CEO Gerry Borreggine.
He presided over the company's largest-ever annual meeting here, attended by about 60 licensees, prospects and key suppliers.
 Leggett & Platt’s Joe Lyon, left, and Therapedic CEO Gerry Borreggine show a zoned Verticoil innerspring unit from L&P, featuring two hourglass-shaped overlays designed to give additional support. L&P is producing the unit exclusively for Therapedic. |
The two-and-a-half day event at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort provided an upbeat overview of Therapedic's position in a changing marketplace and served as a springboard to introduce proprietary new products.
Leggett & Platt officials unveiled three product features exclusive to Therapedic. They are a higher coil count version of L&P's new Verticoil unit, a new edge-support system and a new HourGlass Back Support that provides additional firmness and support for the shoulders, small of the back and hips.
The new coil unit, which features an unknotted open-end offset coil for free-flowing body support, consists of 468 coils in a full-sized version and is the highest-count Verticoil unit on the market, according to Joe Lyon, an L&P executive who introduced the new unit. The seven-inch high coils are arranged in five zones for posturized support, he said.
"It's one of the best coil units I've seen," said Jeffrey Sherman, who heads Therapedic's Rock Island, Ill., licensee.
It also is the first exclusive coil unit for Therapedic, Borreggine added.
The new edge-support system, called TheraWrap, features a polypropylene system that encases the coils around the perimeter of the mattress for additional edge support, thus providing more sleeping surface, Therapedic officials said. It can be utilized in various configurations, including along both sides, at the head and feet of the mattress, and around the entire unit.
The new HourGlass Back Support system is a mesh unit that L&P developed in partnership with Therapedic. The polypropylene insulator is designed to work as an overlay on the coil unit or as an overlay over comfort layers. Testing by L&P reveals that it provides 18% more firmness and support at key areas of the body, according to Borreggine, who worked with L&P on developing the new system.
"This is an exciting product," said Jerry Gershaw, Therapedic's founder and international director.
Also unveiling an exclusive new product for Therapedic was Hickory Springs, whose I Care Sleep Systems unit is producing the new I-Care Elite line of specialty sleep bedding for Therapedic licensees.
Hickory Springs executives Jim Wall and Dwayne Welch introduced the new line of latex and memory foam mattresses, pillows and toppers, which resulted from a collaboration of Borreggine and Hickory Springs officials.
"I Care has a sentimental place in my heart, as I am one of the birth parents," Borreggine said. "Nothing would thrill me more than if this product is a success in the field."
I Care Elite includes several specialty pillows designed to reduce snoring and soften the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and also features a strong green story through the use of Hickory Springs' bio-based Preserve foam.
Borreggine said that the commitment of major suppliers like L&P and Hickory Springs to provide exclusive products to Therapedic is an endorsement of the brand's viability.
"Major suppliers view us as a growing brand," he said. "We have a good growth plan that they have bought into. When major suppliers commit exclusive production to you, it's an endorsement of your direction."
Also reviewing Therapedic programs at the meeting were officials of Kathy Ireland Home, Soft-Tex, Wright of Thomasville and Lilly Management Group. The group also heard a presentation from Starsprings, a Scandinavian coil producer that makes a number of high-coil units.
