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Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questions
February 22, 2012
Gel was swell in Las Vegas. The proliferation of gel-cushioned mattresses was one of the biggest developments at the market.
While this was understandable, given the remarkable success Serta has enjoyed with its iComfort line of gel-infused memory foam beds and the industry's interest in "new" bedding materials, the wholesale jump into gel bedding does give me some pause.
There is suddenly so much gel bedding in the market that retailers may well have a hard time sorting out the various claims that individual producers are making for their gel beds. It was interesting to us to see that so many claims of gel superiority were offered in Las Vegas, with no detailed test data to support those claims.
It's also worth noting that there are various thoughts on whether gel is an inherently cooling material or not. Some say it is - "Feel this," they say with a gel foam sample in hand - while others say it isn't, and maintain that gel must be used in an engineered sleep system to deliver a cooler night of sleep.
And for that matter, not every consumer wants to sleep cooler. Some are already sleeping cool and actually want to warm up in their beds. The variability of consumer preferences for "hotter" and "cooler" sleep points to the wisdom of touting sleep systems that help sleepers reach their optimum sleeping temperature, whatever that might be. Cooler is not better for every consumer.
These are some of the issues that the industry will need to clarify as the gel boom matures. But make no mistake: Gel bedding is hot ... er, cool.
There is an interesting debate in the industry about whether gel bedding is a new product category. I believe the answer is clear: It is. We already classify types of bedding by their key component - latex beds, airbeds, memory foam beds, etc. - and gel beds should be no exception to that. Yes, many of the gel beds feature gel-infused memory foam, and could thus be considered a subset of the memory foam segment. But that's drawing too fine a line, we think.
Gel beds are a logical product category and consumers already have some understanding of gel as a material. It makes sense to introduce the beds to consumers as a category on retail floors. I don't understand why we would want to simply relegate gel to a component. That takes away a consumer hook. And we need more ways to connect with consumers, not fewer.
Now that retailers have been introduced to all of these new gel lines, it will be interesting to see how they incorporate those lines into their product presentations. There will be winners and losers in this battle. Business this year won't be strong enough to lift all of those new gel-bottomed boats that bobbed in the bedding seas in Las Vegas. Or will gel take the industry to lofty sales heights this year? Stay tuned.
Posted by David Perry on February 22, 2012 |
Comments (18)
Industries:
Bedding
, Bedding (Themed)
April 27, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsOliver commented:
I agree with Lynn that color would be beautiful in that room, and the resaon i think beez felt it was a little messy is because of the extra stuff you have on the night stands but overall nice room.
April 6, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsJack commented:
If you are looking for luxury bedding to add to your bedroom, I would recommend checking out Downlite, a manufacturer for many Las Vegas hotels! You will love it!!!!
VegasHotelBedding.com
March 12, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsSteve Chandle commented:
It's considered new because it's just now getting the press. Medical grade gel has been used to wick heat away from burn victums for years. It won't die soon. It's a great hook hook for the retailers and as long as it's sold properly it will stay. Just like memory foam there will always be cheap knock offs. Pick a bed up and it's light, it's a cheap knock off. I've been doing this for 22 years and I love it! I love anything that makes since and get's people excitted. I have a few stores in Austin Tx. and the gel is on fire! Keep it coming guys.
March 4, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsbgunther commented:
I just got back from Las Vegas, and I slept in the best bedding. About a month or two ago, I bought a new bedding set as well, and I wanted to dress it with the bedding from Vegas. Downlite, is the company who manufactures the bedding and distributes it to hotels in Las Vegas. I love the bedding, and I feel like I'm back in Las Vegas. Definitely think everyone should check it out.
VegasHotelBedding.com
March 4, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsBedHeadFred commented:
Oh, no, Dr. Scholl, your arching foot gel has been kicked into the American mattress! This material is now so red "hot" everyone has got their version. Why has gel become "THE" innovation everyone is talking about? And those wild claims about being more "cool"? This is definitely not cool. This is the blob from the unknown.
February 28, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsPete Primeau commented:
Great points Dave! It will be very interesting to see who emerges as the leader of this new gel category. We should know in a about two years. There are more questions than answers right now. The company who can answer those questions best with a marketing campaign and product that resonates with the consumer will be the eventual winner. I have been in this business now for just over 30 years. We have our shortcomings and ideosyncrasies as an industry but I love this business! I wonder what happened to some of you that made you so cynical and negative?
February 27, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsIndustryVeteran commented:
I think Mark Quinn is the problem too!
February 27, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsNexGel Guy commented:
Nexgel is the only true gel bed in the market today. The channel buckling design has been proven to provide pressure relief that can heal a stage 4 bed sore. All these other "gel" beds are missing the mark. So many in fact that the gel infused memory foam concept will cheapen with time. Dealers, look into NexGel.
February 25, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsJohn commented:
Greedy, big bedding, furniture companies, industry publications are starving for ideas and want it for free. So they steal, take, cheapen it and claim it as their own innovation. These dinosaurs will eventually die of starvation. They should have learned the word share in their vocabulary long ago so they could've sustained themselves. Still not getting it, selfish, insulated and out for themselves, they continue to play golf at the Ritz Carlton, feel important and win their awards which have no benefit to society.
February 24, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionstommy b commented:
Our industry follows Fortune 500 companys. We say what we do we just never do what we say.
February 23, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsMark Quinn commented:
Yes lol, I am the problem.
February 23, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsChuck Harmon commented:
I'm sold on the quality of pressure relief and support that gel infused memory foam has to offer when the gel is infused throughout the total memory foam layer.
This is just an opinion based on the comments of people who have slept on memory foam for years and recently converted to gel infused memory foam.
The main question is how long will this products last? Is there any reason to believe that it won't last as long as memory foam of the same density?
I'm not necessarily convinced of the "cool" sleep either, based on those same comments but like you said gel is hot...er cool, lol.
February 23, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsMr. AntiWordsmith commented:
Most of those "Gel-Bottomed Boats" should have a real cooling effect as they sink in to the abyss of consumer confusion. (Or; will those little specs of gel keep them afloat?)
February 23, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsDave Perry commented:
A note on gel being "new." The careful reader of my column will note I referred to interest in "new" bedding materials. Those quote marks indicate I am qualifying the use of "new." And I am. I've written about gel beds for years. More on that in a future column.
February 22, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsLol commented:
Isn't Mark "the virgin mattress" Quinn part of the problem?
February 22, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsAnotherFad commented:
No detailed test data to support these claims....isn't that what this whole industry is about? One sided mattresses, cheap foundations, and other smoke and mirror attempts to get in consumer's pockets and rip them off, all with no detailed test data to prove any benefits whatsoever. Isn't this what this industry is about? Isn't that what gel is about?
February 22, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsWarren Littrell commented:
During my time at Spring Air in Chicago around 2005-6 we had gel beds in our line. The accceptance was small but Industry Veteran is correct. It took time for someone to effectively market them and now there is acceptance of the product.
February 22, 2012
In response to:
Gel boom adds excitement but also raises questionsIndustry veteran commented:
How can you call gel new when it has been around at least 6 years. More splendid reporting on FT from editorial dinosaurs? Ireland was exporting it to the US before US manufacturers took it seriously.
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