HIGH POINT — As January came and went without the Winter Las Vegas Market — typically the busiest show of the year for sleep product launches — bedding manufacturers and suppliers have developed new ways to showcase new wares to retail partners.
Market officials pushed the winter market to April 11-15, putting a wrinkle into the traditional introduction cycle. The shift has many bedding producers pushing mid-market introductions to give retailers fresh goods for the upcoming spring selling season. And just as producers have pivoted their introduction schedule steering away from a market-driven cycle, many have also developed virtual showrooms and smaller, regional showcases as a way to get the new product in front of retailers while shunning large crowds.
Great alternatives
King Koil, Spring Air International, Southerland, Corsicana, Therapedic, Restonic and Simmons Serta Bedding are among those companies that have turned to alternative solutions, including virtual showrooms, hosting more intimate showings and using social media to connect, for unveiling products to retailers.
Spring Air is taking a dramatically different approach and shifting its product introduction strategy away from market, developing product on a timetable that it believes is in sync with retailers’ needs.
“Instead of following the traditional trade show schedule, we’re going to take a more deliberate, thoughtful approach to product development and introductions that will allow us to collaborate with our retail partners and better fill their merchandising gaps,” said Nick Bates, president of Spring Air.
The company says it will collaborate with retailers to address product needs.
A recent example is the newly introduced four-model Breathe hybrid collection designed with anti-virus and anti-bacterial components to address consumer concerns over the coronavirus. Spring Air introduced the collection, priced to retail from $1,299 to $1,899 in queen, to its current and future retail partners via YouTube.
Gerry Borreggine, president and CEO of Therapedic, said April is too late in the year for many retailers to wait for new product, as he says many of them have not updated their merchandising lineup since before the pandemic caused shutdowns nearly a year ago.
As soon as the Las Vegas Market was postponed, Therapedic hired a video crew to create a virtual showroom so retailers could see the product.
“They can’t wait until April to see new goods,” Borreggine said. “That would mean new merchandise won’t be hitting their floors until the summer. That’s too long for them to wait.”
Therapedic has refreshed its CBD line, B-calm. The three-model CBD-infused line has been enhanced with CBD accessories that will boost the effect of CBD and give retailers additional talking points with consumers. The accessories will also give consumers a reason to return to the store to purchase refills in the accessories.
In addition to the B-calm line and the CBD products, the company features new models in the Bravura collection in the virtual tour, as well as the TheraLuxe HD, TheraLuxe HD Ice, MemoryTouch Copper Hybrid and Tommy Bahama mattresses.
Touting health benefits
Health and wellness remain at the forefront of product introductions, and Corsicana is building on its knowledge in the arena with a renewed focus on the health benefits of copper. The company has expanded its American Bedding brand with a five model Copper Limited Edition collection of copper-infused mattresses.
The collection offers retailers a choice of flat-pack and rolled mattress designs with the benefits of copper priced to retail at $599 and $699 in queen.
Copper has been shown to offer anti-microbial and anti-bacterial properties, help maintain a cool sleep environment and has been shown to increase blood flow and decrease recovery time following exercise.
The collection includes three comfort levels — firm, plush and pillowtop — with 12-inch profiles.
Symbol Mattress is boosting its Tommie Copper Performance Sleep collection with a national advertising campaign designed to reach millions of consumers over the next 12 months via 30-second television commercials, educational posts, print publications and digital advertising.
The collection, introduced last year, features three mattresses that offer levels of compression targeted in five zones to support areas that need it most, such as the head and neck, shoulders, lumbar area, hips and legs.
The beds feature copper foam and Tommie Copper’s patent-pending Znergy fabric, a copper- and zinc-infused fabric for an antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-odor and moisture-wicking sleep surface.
The collection is available in all sizes for each of the three mattresses, with a retail price range of $999 to $1,499 for a queen mattress.
Plenty of fresh offerings
Manufacturers are prepared to arm retailers with a large swath of new products to help freshen up their floors and websites with leading brands developing larger than typical introductions.
Sealy is making a big push this spring with the largest product introduction in the brand’s history for its Posturepedic line with more than 50 new models. The broad offering is designed to give retailers an extensive range of models priced to retail from $199 to $1,999 in queen.
The new Sealy Posturepedic mattresses include motion-absorbing coils, anti-bacterial covers with Surface-Guard Technology and SealyChill for a cooler sleep. The products are available in innerspring, foam and hybrid builds with a variety of comfort feels and support. The new lineup is available for retailers in late February.
AmericanStar, a mattress importer with distribution centers in Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles and High Point, as well as eight U.S. warehouses, has five new collections with a total of 15 new models. Priced to retail from $249 to $999 for a queen set, the collections offer hybrid, all-foam, pocketed coils and innerspring offerings.
At the upper end of the company’s introductions, the Primarest Hybrid Bed-In-a-Box collection features three models ranging in price from $799 to $999. The collection offers temperature regulation, gel memory foam and a step up to charcoal-infused memory foam in the top model. Each of the three models feature cool-to-the-touch fabrics.
The company rounds out its new products with Bluesky, a zoned pocket-coil collection with three models to retail from $699 to $899; Dylan, a three model innerspring offering at $499 to $599 in a bamboo cover; Sweet, a three-model memory foam collection priced to retail from $549 to $899; and Capella, a three-model memory foam collection priced to retail from $249 to $599 designed with gel memory foam and a knitted fabric.
Infinity and beyond
Classic Brands continues to build out its turnkey, omnichannel Hybrid Infinity bedding program. The collection now features six hybrid mattress supported by a dedicated website, e-commerce platform, television commercials and a social media program.
Beds in the collection range from 10-inch to 15-inch profiles and feature 11- and 12-guage wrapped coils, specialty memory foams and cooling covers. Priced to retail from $899 to $1,999 in queen, all mattresses are packaged in Classic Brands’ bags for easy delivery or cash and carry by consumers.
The brand is getting an expansion this spring with the addition of Infinity Encore, a five-bed memory foam collection. Ranging in price from $699 to $1,999, the collection is designed with MDI memory foams and cooling specialty covers.
The luxury and premium bedding market is getting additional attention from Eclipse International with its new partnership with English brand Millbrook Beds. The company will import two ultra-premium Millbrook models from the U.K. and will manufacture three models in the U.S. with luxury materials, including Hampshire wool, silk, cashmere and angora.
The double-sided Millbrook beds feature pocket sprung divan bases available with storage drawers. Mattresses are designed with 6,000 nested, pocketed coils; four-row, hand side-stitched borders; and the signature Hampshire wool, which is exclusive to Millbrook Beds and Eclipse International.
While Restonic has new product launches planned for the April Las Vegas Market, the company’s Biltmore Luxury Mattress collection, as well as its Scott Living Signature line, is available for retailers looking for new products now.
The Biltmore line features beds designed with latex, cashmere, high coil counts and additional luxury layers priced to retail up to $3,000. The Scott Brothers collection offers mattresses up to $2,000 featuring high coil counts, cooling technology, dual foam and steel encased edges.
Both collections can be viewed through Restonic’s virtual showroom.
Independent West Coast manufacturer Pleasant Mattress will introduce its AirFlex brand this spring. The four-model line of dual-sided mattresses targets younger consumers who are looking for hand-crafted beds with natural materials. The new collection was designed to work with platform bed bases, box springs or with adjustable bed bases.
All models have brass air vents applied by hand and are covered with soft, woven Supima cotton for breathability. The double-sided design ensures that both sides feature identical layers of support, and it also offers the ability to revitalize the comfort by flipping the mattress.
