This year brought technological advancements, a brand new website, and ups and downs in our…
Shop Talk With Molecule: Partner Strategy – How They’re Helping Retailers Win
Kathryn Greene talks with Molecule VP of Sales Travis Thigpen about their new Reflex Mattress collection, which features innovative technology for airflow and pressure relief. We also go behind the scenes to explore Molecule’s unique approach to the mattress market, highlighting their commitment to brick-and-mortar retail partnerships.
Transcript
Kathryn Greene
I’m here today with Travis Thigpen, vice president of sales for Molecule for our Shop Talk series. Thank you for joining me.
Travis Thigpen
Thanks for coming in and checking us out.
Kathryn Greene
So tell me, what’s new at Molecule?
Travis Thigpen
So this show, it’s the Molecule Reflex. That’s what’s new, and that’s what we’re showcasing. It’s a five-bed collection, three foam and two hybrids. A lot of unique innovation technology in this collection. Running from $999 all the way up to $1,999. Show you a little bit of it. Yeah.
Kathryn Greene
Tell me what makes it different.
Travis Thigpen
So, it starts right here with the lift core—a high-resiliency foam deep cut to help move air throughout, ensuring that you don’t have any heat capture inside the bed. But the heroes are right here in the blue. These gel dots are specifically targeted around your shoulders and your hips, so they ensure that there’s no sagging inside your mattress, right?
Travis Thigpen
This lifts up. 75% more support to ensure that regardless of body size, shape, sleep position, or mattress that you’re sleeping on, you will have perfect posture alignment no matter what.
Kathryn Greene
Okay, amazing.
Travis Thigpen
Try it out. Check it out. Give it a little feel.
Kathryn Greene
It feels good. Yeah.
Travis Thigpen
From there, it’s our hero foams above it. It’s all in the comfort package. These are almost like latex-like feels, right? Very buoyant, very lifting. That’s what this collection is all about. Almost like a floating feel, a floating experience. Super high airflow. Even just looking at the foams. How much, how much airflow you see, just how open those foam grades are. Again, it’s all about keeping air moving around and regulating the temperature inside that bed so you never find yourself too hot or too cold.
Kathryn Greene
Tell me a little bit about how Molecule is positioning itself in the marketplace.
Travis Thigpen
Yeah, it’s really neat and different. Right. So what we’ve done here is we’re really focusing on our retail partner’s success. It starts with our distribution model. This is a collection that you’re not going to see mass-distributed everywhere. It’s a very specific, targeted approach to finding partners. Right? We really create partnerships to drive success for them.
Additionally, it’s our online positioning. While Molecule is an online brand, a digitally native brand, our success has always been with brick-and-mortar retailers. And so it starts to get back with their success. What we’ve done on this collection is to ensure that our website’s a tool, is an asset for their sales associates to use. Go to, show your customers and on there the customer, you’re going to find the screaming values.
Travis Thigpen
Our foam beds and hybrid beds, foam beds live $500 more on our website. Hybrids are $1,000 more, driving massive value to our customers, so they can use that website as a tool to help close sales versus competing with us for those sales.
Kathryn Greene
So as VP of Sales, what is your best tip or trick that you can share with us?
Travis Thigpen
I think right now, it’s continuing to fight the fight, right? A lot of people are circling the wagons right now. Continue to advertise and promote, but also drive new products and differentiate, right? There’s a lot of new innovations that are out there that can to really help drive new customers to your door or help you close customers that you’re maybe not closing today.
Travis Thigpen
Just just look at alternatives. Look at new stuff.
Kathryn Greene
Okay. Amazing. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Travis Thigpen
Thanks for having me. Appreciate the time.
Read more about Molecule Mattress.
