Bedding Conference 'All About Her'
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, May 24, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. —
The mattress industry got a primer on the importance of female consumers at Furniture/Today's fifth annual Bedding Conference here.
For the first time at the Bedding Conference, female speakers dominated, with 16 women from inside and outside the industry taking to the podium at the sold-out event, which attracted 270 mattress retailers, producers and suppliers.
The speakers outlined the key role that women play in the mattress shopping experience, a role that is even more important than previously thought, according to Furniture/Today retail research presented at the conference. That research showed that women are the key decision makers in 88% of the bedding purchases.
Heading the agenda was Bridget Brennan, the CEO of business strategy firm Female Factor and the author of “Why She Buys: The New Strategy for Reaching the World's Most Powerful Consumers.” Her appearance was sponsored by headline sponsor Hickory Springs.
Brennan's well-received talk was followed by a presentation by body language expert Jan Latiolais-Hargrave, who offered insights on how male salespeople can improve their interaction with female consumers.
Karrie Forbes, vice president of marketing at Mattress Firm, wrapped up the morning session.
While women dominated the agenda, some men did make appearances. Sleep Doctor Michael Breus shared insights on the differences between the sleep experiences of men and women. His talk was sponsored by Carpenter Co.
Later that afternoon, Susan Ebaugh, a partner at Lilly Management Group, shared the findings of her research into gender issues on retail floors. And Cindy Williams, vice president of retail strategy at Info Retail, talked about how retailers benefit by making emotional connections with their customers.
A hot issues panel was dominated by women, with Jodi Allen of Sealy, Anne Kozel of Simmons, Barbara Bradford of Serta and Laurie Tokarz of Restonic tackling industry issues. They were joined by Jim Ross of Kingsdown and Gerry Borreggine of Therapedic.
Social media issues headlined the second day of the conference. Julia Rosien of Natura, Chris Chamberlin of The Clean Bedroom, Dwayne Welch of Hickory Springs and Kurt Ling of Pure LatexBliss shared their experiences with social media initiatives.
Four female retailers then shared strategies their companies use to connect with female consumers. The speakers included Christine Magee of Sleep Country Canada, Karrie and Kim Knopf of Innovative Mattress Solutions, and Sharon Smart of Mattress Giant.
The final female speaker was Vicki Worden, a consultant who is working with the Specialty Sleep Assn. on green issues.
Sponsors of the conference were a who's who of bedding producers and suppliers. Supplier sponsors, in addition to headline sponsor Hickory Springs, included Leggett & Platt, Protect-All, Carpenter Co., Fabrictech, DreamFit, Latex International, Protect-A-Bed and Outlast.
Mattress producer sponsors included Serta, Sealy, Therapedic, Comfort Solutions, Englander, Natura, Restonic, Eastman House, Eclipse, South Bay, International Bedding, Aireloom, Simmons, Sleep to Live and Reverie.
The International Home Furnishings Center in High Point, which has attracted a growing number of bedding exhibitors, also was a sponsor.
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