The January Las Vegas Market has traditionally been “the” market for the bedding industry, and that’s only becoming more true.
Exhibitors like Molecule and Symphony Sleep have invested in permanent showrooms, and long-time World Market Center tenants brought more this market — both in terms of updated products as well as a variety of products to suit the needs of any consumers.
Overall, the focus of the products is still to help retailers build tickets, which is becoming increasingly important as consumers are starting to spend more on experiences like vacations than they do home products.
With that, manufacturers are hiring new people and doubling down on relationships with retailers to make the most out of their symbiotic partnerships.
Mlily is doing this with the addition of new COO Kyle Robertson and National Sales Director Derek Leishman.
Robertson, who was previously with mattress provider Star Seeds and has worked parallel to the Mlily brand for year, says he’s excited for the potential that the brand has.
“I’ve seen the power of Mlily and I aim to tighten factory performance and inventory levels and will be making process improvements and making sure retailers have what they need when they need it. We want to improve our existing products and ensure we have the right amount of inventory.”
He says now is the time to do this, because demand across the industry is down because of discerning consumers, which means everyone needs to tell a better story.
“Product doesn’t just sell anymore like it did the years following Covid,” he adds. “That’s why we must tell a better story and help retailers get those consumer dollars.”
Casper also has a new executive who’s now eight days in on the job — Joe Megibow, its new CEO. Coming from Purple, Megibow isn’t new to the DTC mattress space, and he has big plans for Casper this year, including to become a profitable company in 2024.
“Casper has never been a profitable company, and sometimes you just have to say it,” Megibow says. “But starting this year, and not even the end of the year, but the middle, we will become a profitable company. We are focusing on efficiency.”
As the company has made a big wholesale push to get in physical retail stores, Megibow says Casper may have over-indexed the wholesale side while taking too much focus off its DTC business. At the same time, he says the company needs to recover from not being wholesale-friendly for many years.
“Everyone wants more traffic, and brands like Casper drive relevant traffic like younger people into retail stores,” Megibow says. “So I see it as a symbiotic relationship. A rising tide raises all ships.”
With Megibow in place and several other industry veterans now in executive roles at the company, Megibow says Casper is fundamentally different, continuing to evolve and focusing on new assortments with built-in margins that can make everyone money.
“We see an opportunity for partnership and to give back to the retailer, but we realize we need to prove our way and earn slots on retailers’ floors,” he says. “We are all in the business of making money.”
New introductions this market included an easy-to-understand lineup of mattresses that step up, starting with One, the signature Casper line, then on to Dream, which has the feel of the signature mattress but with a dense zone in the middle, and Snow, the company’s cooling mattress. Instead of phase-changing materials, Casper’s mattresses feature what they call HeatDelete bands that pull heat away from the body.
Dream Max and Snow Max are the step-ups for these models, which give retailers options ranging in price from $500 to $4,000.
At Symphony Sleep, which unveiled its brand-new showroom this market, the company made sure to have plenty of options for shopping retailers.
This includes a personal safety storage box that easily attaches to the bottom of the base, safety bars for the sides of bases, and copper-infused pillows. But the stars of the show were the Elevation and High-Low lift kits.
The patented Elevation kit keeps the upper body elevated, improving airflow naturally through nasal passages that can reduce snoring and provide better sleep quality and other health benefits.
The High-Low kit allows a bed to be raised or lowered into a high-fashion upholstered base that hides the entire system. With benefits similar to a hospital bed, it’s a sleek option for those who want a high-end look, and colors can be customized.
Englander was celebrating its 130th anniversary this market by remembering the old and embracing the new. In the showroom, a large timeline shows how the company evolved through the years, from its humble beginning to partnering with companies like Goodyear tire company to pioneer mattresses made with latex in 1950 to its global expansion in 2007.
The company also displayed Englander ads from the 1940s and ’50s that offer a fun ride through history with taglines like “Better Rest Makes Better Husbands” and “Sleep Away Tension.” And among these ads were Englander’s newest introductions.
With a nod to its Tension Ease line that came out in 1957, Englander brought the Tension Ease H2 hybrid mattress, an update to the traditional model that uses innovative materials like Energex foam to offer a memory foam feel but with an active response so users don’t feel as sunken into the bed.
At Serta, the company introduced six new collections across its iComfort and Perfect Sleeper collections and a new adjustable base for a total of 17 models ranging from $1,999 to $4,999.
Each line has unique value propositions and offers ever-increasing features and benefits that come in a variety of price points.
The story across the brand is zoned comfort, with different materials used in each to differentiate them, like cooling latex, cooling technology and memory foam.
To help customers easily understand the tiers and differences in each mattress, a giant wall was dedicated to the different specs.
The positive energy at the market this winter is undeniable, and if that’s any foresight into the coming years, it’s going to be a good year for the industry.
Stay tuned to Bedding News Now for more Las Vegas Market coverage over the next few days.
