Licensees meet at Spring Air Summit

David Perry -- Furniture Today, November 26, 2012

Spring Air-Indonesia, operating as the Massindo Group, hosted Spring Air’s 2012 International Summit. Standing outside the company’s headquarters in Jakarta are Eric Spitzer, left, Spring Air; Jeffri Massie and Peter William, both of Massindo; and Rick Robinson, Spring Air.BOSTON - Aiming to bolster its international business, Spring Air recently held its third International Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia. The annual forum gives the company's international licensees a chance to share knowledge, experience and best practices.
     Hosted by the Massie family, which owns Spring Air-Indonesia, the summit attracted licensee members from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, China, Singapore, India, Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, officials said.
    Spring Air President Rick Robinson, who reported that Spring Air licensee sales overseas have now grown to more than $300 million, said the agenda included a tour of the Jakarta factory plus presentations and updates by every licensee and by major suppliers who attended.
     An open session designed to gather feedback and address needs and questions was also part of the four-day program.
     "Our international licensees are a very cohesive group, keenly focused on learning from one another and growing the Spring Air brand in their respective countries," said Eric Spitzer, Spring Air chief operating officer. "Being primarily vertical in structure, they pour their own foam and make their own innerspring products. This enables them to be aggressive in their markets while keeping a close watch on quality."
     Robinson added that the majority of Spring Air companies overseas "are also making a substantial investment in building brand awareness every year. Many are either establishing Spring Air-only stores in their markets or are planning to increase the number of single- source outlets they operate in the future."