Industry veteran Mike Juoni has taken on a new role as vice president of sales for specialty bedding at FXI, and he tells Bedding News Now that he’s looking forward to the opportunity to scale the business in a way he did with companies like Serta Simmons Bedding and Corsicana.
“I’m excited about the resources the company has given me and the runway that I have to build it,” he says. “I’m here to build a team that’s going to help us develop our brick-and-mortar presence in the regional independent community, specifically around the Molecule brand. The goal of bringing me in is to tap into some of my experience and relationships to help build a team that can help scale up that presence. There’s an investment, not only in building the commercial team around the Molecule brand, but also building out a field coverage that hasn’t existed before.”
Taking on the role in early December, the executive says he’s ready to show customers at the upcoming Las Vegas Market what FXI is all about.
Product-wise, the company is releasing the next evolution of its Reflex collection, a line exclusive to brick-and-mortar retailers.
At the core of the Reflex collection is Molecule’s LiftCor technology, a highly resilient layer that uses strategically placed gel inserts and channeling to elevate support levels by 75% compared to traditional foams, according to the company. Multiple open-cell and responsive comfort layers are added to provide pressure relief and up to 6x airflow.
“With our vertical integration and ability to create foams, we can bring some of those unique innovations forward,” he says. “In Vegas, you will see strong values. In addition to that, new team members who have come on board at the company are bringing forward powerful aesthetics compared to what we had before. The Reflex 2.0 is going to be the biggest focus from a product perspective. Overall, you’ll see a strong focus on the Molecule brand as a whole.”
Beyond Las Vegas Market, the company plans to increase consumer marketing around the performance sleep brand with the message of rest and recovery.
“Whether you’re a single mom or dad that’s exhausted, a traveling executive, a blue-collar worker, everybody’s looking for the ability to rest and recover on their mattress and have a more productive tomorrow,” Juoni says.
He adds that taking on this role now feels like the perfect combination and timing to help bring something different to retailers with the power of a large company and strong team behind him.
“I am very excited about the team that’s being built with people who are experienced in the industry,” he says. “They understand how to help build business at retail.”
