U.S. bedding manufacturer Spring Air International expanded its licensing agreements with three existing partners, dividing distribution in Indiana. Michigan’s Grand Rapids Bedding will handle the northern third of the state, Bemco Mattress Company in Illinois will service the central portion and Tennessee’s Johnson City Bedding will operate in the southern third.
“Our licensees are doing extremely well with our brands, which is why when opportunities to expand arise, it is our own folks who want the first option to expand,” said Nick Bates, president of the Chelsea, Massachusetts-based company. “Whenever we have an available territory, Spring Air licensees have the right of first refusal and are given priority. In this case, all three of them wanted to broaden their reach and agreed to split the territory.”
With the signing of the new licensing agreement, the company’s gaps in distribution narrow, with only four domestic Spring Air territories available: Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas and Florida. Spring Air now covers 46 states with 11 licensees.
“We are thrilled to formalize our commitment to southern Indiana,” said Mark Campbell, executive vice president of Johnson City Bedding in Johnson City, Tennessee. “We are thriving in a very competitive market with a great deal of success due to the Spring Air brand. ”
Iker de la Sota, president of Grand Rapids Bedding n Grand Rapids, Michigan, agreed. “The Spring Air brand has had incredible growth and success over the last several years,” de la Sota said. “We believe that growth is sustainable for the long term and that we’ve found the ideal solution to continue to support Spring Air and reach even more consumers through our retail partners in the northern part of the state.”
Spring Air also represents a growth opportunity for Bemco Mattress in Springfield, Illinois. “Because of its proximity to our factory, central Indiana was a natural choice for us to expand because we have a customer base there that didn’t have access to Spring Air products, including Chattam & Wells,” said Scott Meyers, chief executive officer of Bemco Mattress. “We’re very excited to bring Chattam and all the Spring Air products to more markets and the incredible opportunities this will create.”
