Vegas mattress showrooms offer winning product lines

Who says you can’t win in Las Vegas? Bedding showrooms were packed with interesting new products and displays. Here, before we close the book on the latest Las Vegas Market, is our quick rundown on some of the winners:

* Dual-comfort Posturepedic beds at Sealy. Looking to add SKUs to an already crowded bedding floor? These floor sample models offer plush and firm options on his and her sides. This isn’t a new idea, but it’s a good one for the times.

* New high-end models in Simmons’ ComforPedic lineup. Cushioned with latex and gel, in addition to the company’s NxG advanced memory foam, these beds feel terrific. (Yes, I tried them out.)

* The new Vera Wang latex line at Serta, a strong offering that includes features such as organic cotton, aloe vera-infused ticking, and temperature-regulating latex. The top model, retailing at about $2,999, offers 11.5 inches of latex.

* The re-priced line at Five Star Mattress. You have to admit that a company that announces price cuts in this climate of raw material inflation is going to attract plenty of attention.

* The Sleep Identity line at Comfort Solutions, which gives consumers a chance to customize their comfort, choosing from top layers that include latex or memory foam. The beds, retailing at $2,499, are designed in part to take fear out of the purchase process. Good idea.

* New green offerings at Simmons, Spring Air, Comfort Solutions, International Bedding, Therapedic, Englander, Natura, Aireloom and Magniflex, among others. Ignore those critics who don’t get the significance of green in the bedding industry. These companies know green is here to stay — and it will pay off for them.

* Strong consumer research findings from Tempur-Pedic. Continuing to march to its own drummer, the producer shared key consumer research findings with its retailers, asserting that its total brand awareness grew 3 percentage points this year, to 89%. That is more growth than its bigger rivals, the company says.

* A spectacular new showroom for Comfort Solutions. Martin Roberts of Grid2 pulled out all the stops, creating a dreamlike world of white and black that showcased high-end Natural Response beds. Tempur-Pedic and Natura also unveiled striking new showrooms, designed by Info Retail.

* The new Ostermoor line produced by Gold Bond, VyMaC and McRoskey Mattress. Want to go back in time? You can with the Ostermoor beds, filled with all-natural products. I’m impressed with this line.

* New specialty beds at Restonic, including magnetic and eco-friendly models. And the Snow White display in the window was fun.

* The new Specialty Sleep Assn. showroom in World Market Center’s C building. It offered an easy way to get a quick snapshot of fresh specialty sleep concepts.

Congratulations to the SSA’s Dale Read and Tambra Jones.