Comfort Solutions' new Flare design offers larger mattress surface

David Perry -- Furniture Today, February 7, 2013

Dave Roberts points out Comfort Solutions’ new Flare mattress design, shown here on the Perfect Contour line.

LAS VEGAS — Top 10 bedding producer Comfort Solutions is breaking the traditional rectangular mattress construction with its new trapezoid-shaped Flare mattress design.

Retailers visiting the company's Las Vegas Market showroom were excited about the patented new design, which offers additional sleeping space through the use of sides that flare outward to create a larger sleeping surface on the top of the mattress. Available on all sizes of beds, it offers up to 15% more sleeping surface, the company said.

"Over the many years I've been in the mattress business, I've never heard so many overwhelmingly positive comments about an industry innovation," said Dave Roberts, president and chief operating officer of Comfort Solutions. "Not only did hundreds of dealers come to see the Flare design, but we received commitments during market from many major retailers across the United States. We expect to roll out the design across all of our brands at the end of the first quarter."

Comfort Solutions calls the design an industry breakthrough. More than 350 retail entities saw it in the Las Vegas showroom, officials said.

With the consumer tag line "Supersize your Sleep," the Flare design adds a half foot of extra sleeping space to any mattress size or construction without sacrificing edge durability, thereby decreasing motion disturbance while increasing uninterrupted sleep, according to the company. And the design also extends and enhances the edge of the mattress, reducing any roll-off sensation, officials said.

The flared sides in the mattresses are made from specially cut, premium high-density foam. Similar to a truss in a bridge design, the edge maintains strength when weight is applied because of its angle construction, the company said.

The results of impact tests conducted by Comfort Solutions over the past six months demonstrated that the Flare edge delivers the correct amount of strength, sleep support and durability required of a quality mattress, the company said.

The extra half-foot of sleep space (three inches on each side) can be added to any twin, full, queen, king, California king or custom-size mattress without changing the matching foundation and without requiring either a new bed frame or new bed furniture, the company said.

And consumers don't need to buy custom sheets to accommodate a Flare mattress. Comfort Solutions tested scores of sheet sizes, styles and brands from major retailers and found many sheet sets that fit the new design.

Noting that many deep-pocket sheet sets or sheets that are one size larger than the mattress size fit the Flare design, the company has developed a sheet guide for consumers that lists stores, sheet brands, sizes and deep pocket measurements that accommodate Comfort Solutions Flare mattresses in any size.

For shoppers who prefer to purchase custom-made sheets, the company also will offer its own branded series of Flare sheet sets. The exclusive sheet line will be available online on a new flarecentral.com site now in development.

Roberts pointed out that when fully dressed with additional bed linens like blankets, bedspreads, comforters or duvets, the look of a "made" bed in the Flare design is virtually indistinguishable from a dressed conventional bed.

"We're very excited to have brought this consumer innovation to the marketplace and to give our retailers the opportunity to advertise and sell a decided advantage and a significant upgrade to their customers," he said.

While retail prices for Flare beds will depend on the size, construction and specific components of each mattress, Roberts said that "we believe this innovation will prove exciting, easy and advantageous for retailers to promote and sell. Many stores already have told us that they view the Flare design as a unique opportunity to increase gross sales and raise average tickets."

A national online survey of consumers 25 to 64, conducted by Comfort Solutions last fall, found that 82% of the surveyed sample of women said they preferred the Flare design over the same-size conventional mattress, the company reported.

"The benefits of the Flare bed are not only backed by longstanding independent research on sleep quality, but consumers in our own study showed a preference for its aesthetic appearance in addition to the overall health benefit," Roberts said.