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.
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- Mattress maker Jamison, which has headquarters in Brentwood, Tenn., reached out to value-conscious consumers with the Two Thirty Four collection. Retailing from $299 to $499, the four-model group has both innerspring and foam core constructions with varying combinations and densities of polyurethane foam comfort layers. The collection includes a Euro-top silhouette and is upholstered in classic cream and gray tones.
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- Hartford, Conn.-based Gold Bond added eight, two-sided beds to the hybrid Smart Series line, bringing the collection to 11 models that retail from $999 to $1,999. Comfort layers include gel, gel-infused latex and other foams. Beds have the company’s signature edge-to-edge innerspring system—either wrapped coils or high coil-count Bonnell units. Gold Bond also updated its specialty EcoSense and Cool Response Gel collections with contemporary fabrics designed to appeal to younger consumers. “The Smart Series launch was the most successful in Gold Bond’s history, and it was only natural we expand the line and add two-sided versions, for which we are known,” President Bob Naboicheck said. “We are a great resource for someone who wants to differentiate themselves in the marketplace.”
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- Norfolk, Va.-based Paramount Sleep introduced a new group in its Boutique Hotel collection, targeting $399 to $599 velocity price points (pictured). The beds have the look and feel of luxury, the company said, with upscale tailoring and quilting fiber containing silk and wool, as well as specialty foams, including gel memory foam over foam-encased wrapped coils. The manufacturer also showcased Nature’s Spa Fusion, which now uses tubular “Eco-Sphere” 100% natural latex in its comfort layers and retails from $1,499 to $2,299.
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- High-end mattress maker Shifman Mattress Co. makes beds the old-fashioned way—handcrafted, two-sided, layered with cotton and wool, wrapped in lustrous traditional white damask, perched on eight-way hand-tied box springs. But at this show, the Newark, N.J.-based company did something unexpected. It unveiled a decidedly new look, a Concept Bed with an upholstered divan base, contrasting bed borders, a detachable pillow-top filled with Talalay latex and cotton and wrapped in cream, gold and white fabrics. “The bed is a sneak peek at an upcoming premium collection and our retailers loved it,” Shifman President Bill Hammer said.
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- Boyd Specialty Sleep, based in St. Louis, held the official introduction of a revamped Sleep Metrics bed program and accompanying upgraded hardware and software. The in-store and online interfaces now are complete and retailers can embed a fully functional Sleep Metrics tool at their websites. The comfort selection technology enables retailers to incorporate every mattress in their stores into the system, regardless of brand, President Denny Boyd said. He also announced the launch of a drop-ship program, “My Mattress Now,” that allows retailers to ship directly to consumers for just $20 per order.
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- Specialty bedding producer Classic Brands featured the Revo collection, which it introduced at the winter Las Vegas Market. The beds, which retail from $999 to $1,499, use reticulated foam comfort layers, as well as spacer fabric to improve airflow. The Jessup, Md.-based company also launched a three-bed innerspring group, Sleep Trends, which ships roll-packed to retailers and has gel-infused memory foam atop a wrapped coil core.
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- Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., airbed manufacturer Comfortaire launched a completely refreshed look using bright white knits mixed with its signature ocean blue in borders, knit motifs, trim and point-of-purchase materials. The company also added two beds with unquilted knit panels, a first for the company, and added a new comfort layer—memory foam infused with graphite and gel. In addition, Comfortaire introduced the seventh generation of its air control system and remote with Digital Direct Comfort Drive. The remote offers greater individual adjustability, memory and a night light.
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- Five Star Mattress, Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Serta’s value-priced line, added new features to existing collections. The four-year-old TLC (pictured) got a higher pocketed-coil count, taller coils, gel in the top beds and new fabrics. The group retails from $549 to $999. The newer Pro Comfort collection now is available in foam-encased and edge-to-edge innerspring versions and retails from $299 to $999.
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- “The Donald’s” mattress collection at Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Serta got a complete re- design. The Trump Home collection now has Serta’s hybrid iSeries core, new fabrics, a border trimmed with glitzy tapes and a beribboned, weighty “Serta iSeries” medallion. Trump Home retails from $1,299 to $2,999.
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- Furniture maker Ashley Furniture Industries, headquartered in Arcadia, Wis., introduced Sierra Sleep, its new mattress collection for independent retailers. (The company’s Ashley Sleep line will continue to be sold at Ashley Furniture HomeStores.) Sierra Sleep encompasses a wide collection of specialty and innerspring beds that retail from $299 to $1,999. Styles and fabrics range from traditional quilted pillow-tops to all-foam beds with cut-and-sewn unquilted covers and contemporary design motifs. The Sierra Sleep lineup contains a full slate of gel, foam and spring technology, including memory foam with Zoned Gel Disk Support.
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- A highlight at Symbol Mattress was the hybrid Signature Series, which rolled out in Las Vegas. The well-tailored beds from the Richmond, Va.-based company are feature filled, with white knit panels and contrasting blue upholstered borders, a wrapped coil core and latex comfort layers. The moderately priced group retails from $899 to $1,299.
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- Emerald Sleep Systems, a division of Tacoma, Wash.-based Emerald Home Furnishings, highlighted new additions to its Cool Jewel mattress collection, including a hybrid group that launched at the winter Las Vegas Market. The beds have a wrapped coil core, mesh spacer-fabric borders, gel foams and gel-infused latex, and retail for $799 and $999 (mattress only). Emerald also announced it is partnering with adjustable base supplier Customatic Adjustable Bedz (with U.S. headquarters in Natick, Mass.) to offer the Wave adjustable base with wired remote and the Light Wave adjustable with wireless remote, massage and floor light. The two bases have custom fabric and leg options and are priced at $799 and $1,299 in twin XL, and $899 and $1,499 in queen. (Pictured from left) Customatic Adjustable Bedz principals Phil Sherman and Phil McCarthy, and Joe Carman V, Emerald Sleep director of marketing, pose with a new Cool Jewel mattress atop an adjustable base.
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- New specialty sleep manufacturer Rush Mattress, a division of High Point, N.C.-based ready-to-assemble furniture distributor Vrush Industries, made its market debut. The company manufactures a line of “completely customizable” foam beds using memory foam, reticulated foam, gel-infused foam and latex. Foams are U.S.-made and have CertiPUR-US certification, the company said. Thirteen models retail from $699 to $2,799. All mattresses are compatible with adjustable or platform bases. Pictured is the Windswept model, a 12-inch mattress with 2 inches of latex. “There’s been a lot of excitement (about the line),” President Harry Goodman said. “We’re operating ‘tight,’ so retailers can work with (healthy) margins.”
