Tempur-Pedic defends self
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, May 5, 2008
Lexington, Ky. — Decrying "unfair competition" in the memory foam category, Tempur-Pedic's president has written a strongly worded letter to dealers defending Tempur-Pedic's products and their track record in the marketplace.
"We can not sit idle at this time," said Rick Anderson, president of Tempur-Pedic North America. "Our product and brand are being subjected to unfair competition and we have to defend ourselves by giving you the facts about our product. We support an open selling floor that promotes competition based on accurate information. It's when the competition steps over the line that we have to set the record straight and get the facts out."
He said he believes competitors are making false claims.
"Recently," he wrote, "a number of mattress companies have made claims (through industry magazines, store training and point-of-purchase literature) about such things as 'faster recovery,' 'heat dissipation,' and 'next technology.' These claims are being used to actively divert consumers away from Tempur-Pedic by making comparisons to Tempur-Pedic that are misleading, and in some cases, simply not true."
Anderson wrote the letter on April 4, a few weeks before Tempur-Pedic reported a 16% decline in domestic sales in the first quarter. Company officials said they believe many consumers are deferring high-end mattress purchases.
Asked by Furniture/Today if Tempur-Pedic was singling out any company for making inaccurate claims, Anderson said the examples in his letter "are descriptive only and not intended to indicate one competitor over another."
In the letter, he urged retailers to give consumers "the facts concerning our company and its products." Among them:
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"Tempur-Pedic does not make conventional memory foam. We have invested heavily to perfect our proprietary formulation and manufacturing processes, separating our product science and performance from conventional memory foam. Comparing Tempur-Pedic to conventional memory foam is like comparing a major leaguer to a little leaguer — same basic game, totally different level."
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"Some innerspring, conventional and memory foam companies claim that their products recover faster than Tempur-Pedic, indicating that it is in some way better because of this. They are attempting to make a negative into a positive with this spin. In fact, faster recovery actually indicates inferior pressure relief as the product will 'push back' all night long, possibly creating painful pressure points."
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Tempur-Pedic's proprietary foam "is an open-cell formulation, which ensures air flow throughout the mattress. Our advanced formulation dissipates heat away from the body while still adjusting to the individual's weight and body temperature."
Anderson also wrote that Tempur-Pedic has "extremely high" consumer satisfaction and low return rates.
