From Zenlike retreats to telescoping tornado shelters, Las Vegas vendors aim to help retailers lure consumers to stores By Barbara T. Nelles There were so many pleasant surprises for a bedding editor at a not-so-sleepy summer mattress and furniture show. Indeed, when it came to new sleep products and new showrooms, the Las Vegas Market […]
Dangerous flying mattresses: Too many consumers lose their bedding loads on the roads
BY BARBARA T. NELLES Bedding retailers should check out these strategies for discouraging do-it-yourselfers When is a mattress delivery hazardous to your health? When it’s handled by an amateur. In a little more than two years, the editors of Sleep Savvy have bookmarked close to 50 mattress-related crashes and mishaps related to people transporting mattresses […]
Watch These Twitter Videos from Las Vegas Market Mattress Showrooms
BY BARBARA T. NELLES As we walked the Summer Las Vegas Market last week, the editors of BedTimes and Sleep Savvy persuaded and cajoled some bedding and mattress showroom exhibitors to describe their product introductions and updates–in 30 seconds or less–for a Twitter video! Thanks to all who consented 🙂 In no particular order and for […]
Mattress and sleep accessories news from Las Vegas Market
Vendors set out to solve retailer problems with super-functional sleep accessories, nifty sales tools and e-commerce options BY BARBARA T. NELLES The variety and features of new sleep accessories on display at the Las Vegas Market Aug. 2-6 were awe inspiring. The editors of Sleep Savvy visited as many of the more than 100 sleep […]
Take our Twitter video tour of Las Vegas Market
BY BARBARA T. NELLES It was a lazy Las Vegas Market Aug. 1-6–with light traffic in bedding halls and fewer product launches among bedding exhibitors than at past summer shows. I saw a handful of new mattress collections, some product redesigns and new technologies, as well as quite a few pillows. But, quiet shows make it a lot easier for […]
Bedding makers fill retailers’ niche needs
Regional mattress manufacturers, accessories producers expand offerings at spring High Point Market BY BARBARA T. NELLES AND BETSI ROBINSON UPCOMING MARKETS Las Vegas Market Aug. 2-6 World Market Center Las VegasHigh Point Market Oct. 17-22 International Home Furnishings Center & other locations High Point, North Carolina Retailers attending the High Point Market April 18-23 in […]
Las Vegas Market–Decisions, decisions
Bedding buyers greeted by raft of new products and brand designs At this exuberant show, vendors offered modern looks and new technologies from top to bottom BY BARBARA T. NELLES AND BETSI ROBINSON Heading to Winter Las Vegas Market Jan. 18-22 at the World Market Center, the editors of Sleep Savvy had a sense this could […]
Six seconds at Las Vegas Market
BY BARBARA T. NELLES Might social media be reaching a tipping point among mattress folk? At this week’s Las Vegas Market, more members of the sleep-products industry than ever appeared to be on Twitter. I tweeted and shot six-second Vine videos during our travels from showroom to showroom, creating posts labeled with #mattress and #lvmkt hashtags. […]
Perk up! Survival skills after a sleepless night
It’s time to head to work, and you are anything but rested and ready. Here are some strategies to help you survive the workday after a sleepless night BY BARBARA T. NELLES You are in the business of selling the importance of a good night’s sleep, but what to do on those rare occasions when […]
A nearsighted tour of mattress showrooms at High Point Market
Special from the BedTimes Blog BY BARBARA T. NELLES I lost my prescription eyewear at High Point Market this week–they must’ve fallen off my head as I bent down to fumble for my camera in a showroom. My eyeglasses are for distance and, without them, I couldn’t see where I was going at the show–let alone […]
Las Vegas Market: Mattress vendors lower opening price points, emphasize feature-filled accessories
BY BARBARA T. NELLES While the summer Las Vegas Market July 27-31 was one of the slowest in terms of retailer traffic that editors of Sleep Savvy can recall, we saw more product introductions than at previous mid-year markets. King Koil, Sealy, Blu Sleep, Englander and others launched new collections, while Boyd, Glideaway, Paramount, Serta, […]
At High Point show, bed makers emphasize value and style
BY BARBARA T. NELLES While many mattress manufacturers wait for the winter Las Vegas Market to make major product introductions, retailers who shopped for bedding at High Point Market April 5-10 in High Point, N.C. were not disappointed. On offer were some stylish new collections and line extensions, many at value price points. Click any […]
Marketing communications: Power shift
BY BARBARA T. NELLES Retailers have lost control of their marketing communications, says Phil Johnston, senior vice president of strategic services for Marcus Thomas LLC. And here’s why that just may be a good thing. Who is in charge of your marketing communications and brand image? You? Think again. A dramatic shift has occurred that is […]
Chill out! Selling cooler sleep
BY BARBARA T. NELLES Advances in mattress components can give your customers the cool sleep they crave. To understand these technologies, Sleep Savvy provides this primer on the newest offerings in temperature-regulating products and solutions There is no denying that foams play a popular and important role in today’s mattresses, whether as support core or […]