After a strong Las Vegas Market, Spring Air is looking forward to a positive year ahead. CEO Nick Bates tells Bedding News Now that he expects it to continue this momentum in 2026.
“We are firing on all cylinders, from expanding across retail floors and building out new partner relationships, to entering new segments within hospitality,” he said. “We are also growing our Wayfair partnership, where we see tremendous growth potential. Our global licensing relationships are expanding as well, most recently with our debut in the Malaysian market.”
He said the company has been working on its hospitality division for several years and has found it to be a lucrative opportunity when the retail side is slow.
“Our hospitality segment is a big deal, and it helps us continue to stay above the industry average,” Bates explained. “It’s a tough part of the business to get into. There are only a few companies that have the ability to take care of the hotels the way they need to be.”
Part of the reason the company can serve the hospitality side is that it has a large network of 14 facilities in the U.S., according to Bates.
Bates explained that another major change within the company is growing its partnership with Wayfair and its luxury counterpart Perigold. Spring Air used to have its products all over the internet. But then in 2018 they pulled back and reevaluated their strategy. They dropped everyone and started over last year. Wayfair is now their primary online partner, with others to come in the future.
“We needed to bring this to a zero before we could fix it,” Bates said. “We pushed in retail and now it’s doing fantastic. With a strategized approach, with MAP pricing and a national product, we’re starting to release it to other outside online vendors.”
Bates said he sees several opportunities for the bedding industry this year. However, he said our industry needs to work harder on getting the consumer to shift their focus from the price point of the mattress to the benefits of the product.
“If they perceive greater value, they are willing to make more of an investment,” he said. “We need to work with dealers and RSAs to provide them with all the tools they need to do this. Better training and marketing tools are some of those ways. We have seen that retailers who are adopting this strategy are growing and are profitable. They are leveraging this point of view to get the consumer to trade up, add attachments to sales and get higher tickets and margins from fewer customers walking through the door. Likewise, we are giving them stronger e-commerce support to help them sell more online.”
He said that while the industry is winning at the moment, the score can be much higher. Producers like Spring Air are doing well because they offer innovative products that appeal to multiple types of consumers.
“I think the industry has done a good job developing more sophisticated products that do more for the consumer than ever before,” he said. “Where we come up short is that we haven’t bridged the gap from where we are, to where the consumer needs to be. We need to do a better job of explaining why a better mattress is worth the higher price. We also need to meet consumers where they want to shop. Omnichannel only continues to grow, so a retailer must be able to make the sale online and in-store. Taken all together, this will lead to even better results for retailers and manufacturers.”
He concludes that, like many in the industry, Spring Air is keeping a close eye on macroeconomic indicators that can have an impact on the housing market in 2026. He said a growing housing market drives mattress demand and can create new opportunities for both his brand and the bedding industry.
