The staff of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has unveiled a document the bedding industry has been anxiously awaiting. Did I say document? Make that documents. One key section alone runs to 221 pages.

The documents comprise the briefing package on a federal mattress flammability standard. They call for a standard to go into effect on July 1, 2007, later than many in the industry expected.

The proposed standard is similar to one already on the books in California — which is working well, we’re happy to report — but imposes a tougher requirement on how robustly a mattress must resist flames in the first 10 minutes of a burn test.

Given the sheer size of the briefing package and the complexity of the mattress flammability issue, key FR players studied the materials careful...Read More

Seeking help in my never-ending but largely futile quest to encourage the use of more color in mattress ticking,

I decided to turn to the Corporal of Color and the Diva of Design. Yes, I’m referring to Colorful Connie Post. Her latest book, “A Beautiful Room Will Change Your Life: Your Personal Guide to Color,” seemed like a good place to get ammunition in my quest for color.

You know the problem: The Maestros of Mattresses have been feeding the industry a steady diet of eggshells, off-whites, ivories, creams, beiges, etc. True, consumers do like the neutrals. I can’t argue with that. But wouldn’t more color help us sell even more mattresses?

Post does give me some support. In her prologue she writes, “Do you remember the sheer joy you felt as a child whe...Read More

Is the high end of the bedding marketplace headed for high adventure? Two recent developments answer that question in the affirmative.

The first is the release of a provocative study of the bedding market from Latex International, the nation’s only producer of latex mattresses. The study, done for the company by a major consulting firm, predicts that bedding selling for $1,000 and up will grow to account for the majority of bedding dollars spent by 2008.

According to the study, beds retailing for $1,000 and up accounted for almost 50% of the total dollars spent on bedding in 2004. By 2008, that category will grow to command 54% of all sales. And the study sees much of that growth fueled by the highest end of the market: beds retailing above $2,000. That ultra-high segment, which garnered 13.8% of sales in 2004, will represent 17% of the market by 2008...Read More

They are lessons he learned from his father and thus will never forget. Gerry Borreggine, president of Therapedic, recalled some of those lessons the other day as he remembered the impact his father Frank had on his life.

The elder Borreggine began his bedding career in the mid-1960s and remained involved  in one way or another until his death on Dec. 28 at 79. He passed along his passion for the industry to his son, who has spent virtually his entire career in the bedding field.

In 1965, Frank became a bedding buyer for the Lit Brothers’ department store chain. In 1977 he founded 40 Winks Sleep Shops, which grew into a dominant player in the tough Philadelphia market, and which remained in the Borreggine family until last year.

One of his first mentors in business called him...Read More