by Legacy mattress protector brand Protect-A-Bed returned to the Las Vegas Market in January for the first time since it left in 2020 because of Covid-related market conditions. Now, with a new parent company and an expanded product line, the brand is ready to return to its roots and serve the mattress industry the way it has for nearly 45 years.
John Ruiz, director of retail sales for Protect-A-Bed, explained to Bedding News Now that the brand went through several acquisitions, including being bought by SureFit. Privately owned company Hollander then merged with SureFit, and then they both merged with a giant private company called Keeco that has become the top-level parent company to a plethora of brands.
This all happened in May 2022, which gave Protect-A-Bed plenty of time to plan its strategy to reenter the market from the trade show side. While the company once only sold premium mattress protectors, it has slowly but surely started producing other products like pillows and sheets thanks to the support of Keeco.
“After a series of events that included cutting lines and SKUs to become more lean and just tipping our water in new products, we became a shadow of the company we once were,” Ruiz explains. “When Keeco made the acquisition, we decided we needed to completely shake things up. We sat down with the executive leadership and looked at where our industry is today and how we can develop new lines that meet the specific needs of retailers today.”
A common issue Ruiz says his team found was that other companies similar to Protect-A-Bed were having major warranty issues on mattress protectors, so they improved the waterproof barrier to make it strong, more heat-resistant and more heat-tolerant in the dryer.
“Every time you sit on a pillow or protector it’s breaking down with every single time and over a longer period of time it has to be replaced,” Ruiz says. “The same thing with mattresses — that comfort layer on an unprotected mattress generally only lasts about three to four years before it becomes smashed down and super thin. Same thing when you wash it, so we made a product that can withstand dryer and washer heat so people aren’t having to constantly replace their protector.”
That idea gave birth to ProGuard, which protects the mattress for “as long as the warranty on the bed.” It can withstand up to 130-degree temperatures, which Ruiz says is a unique quality that sets Protect-A-Bed apart.
“That 130-degree non-melt point means that people can put our protectors in hotter water than anyone else out there,” he adds. “They’re also all adjustable-based-friendly with elastic bands on the bottom to keep the protector from coming off.”
Debuting this new innovation in Las Vegas, Ruiz says the reception was excellent, as people had “a ton of positive feedback and people asking us when it will be ready.”
The answer is between May and June, he adds, as the product is being manufactured as of this writing and the company is working on how it will integrate it into retail stores.
“The excitement is real,” Ruiz says. “The responses were extremely positive and we know that it’s going to be a very positive impact for everybody. Having a product that’s going to last longer and therefore cause fewer warranty issues, returns and defects only helps the bottom line of businesses to purchase from us. We’re thrilled that everybody has seen that we’re heading in the right direction.”
