Mattress exhibitors at the bedding-rich market in Las Vegas this week found some encouraging signs as the event got underway. And retailers found some exciting displays – and a variety of new products – in major mattress showrooms.
Buoyed by reports of some positive mattress retail trends, the exhibitors say they are expecting a productive market at which they can work collaboratively with their retailers on business-building strategies designed to offset retail traffic that remains challenging.
Several exhibitors reported schedules heavy with appointments.
“We have a full schedule with some very impressive businesses,” said Bill Hammer, president of Shifman Mattress. “Market is all about the relationships, the opportunity for the industry to get together for networking. Summer market traffic might be light, but it’s the opportunities you get with retailers that matter.”
Spring Air President Nick Bates said he’s encouraged by the retailers he’s planning to see in Las Vegas. “My appointment stack is good,” he said. His outlook for market: “We expect to see key retailers.”
Added Kenny Gorski, strategic account manager at digitally native brand Molecule: “We have some very good appointments.”
The broadest display of new mattress lines is in the Serta Simmons Bedding showroom, where a total of 32 new models are being shown. The new Beautyrest Black Hybrid line features 11 mattresses, while the new Serta Perfect Sleeper X and Serta iComfort Pro lines together add 21 new mattresses.
Those major launches follow the debut of 56 new SSB mattresses in January as the bedding major reintroduces its brands to consumers.
Tempur-Pedic experienced a busy showroom Saturday, as many mattress showrooms across the market were open and ready for retailers ahead of the official Sunday opening day. “Definitely, people are already here,” said Jill Johnson, Tempur-Pedic’s vice president of brand management.
Tempur-Pedic is introducing new sleep accessories to complement its Breeze and Adapt mattress lines. Five new pillows are highlighted with a wall packed with pillows in part of the Tempur-Pedic showroom.
Dramatic displays are also the order of business at Kingsdown, which unveiled an eye-catching and colorful mattress display in its front window, surrounded by floral accents, that featured stylish mattresses with orange, purple and pink borders.
The company’s goal, said Mike James, Kingsdown’s chairman, is “to be different enough to stop people in their tracks, just as I was stopped in my tracks years ago by an orange mattress at a very famous department store. We want to encourage retailers to think about doing something out of the ordinary, and perhaps seasonally focused like other consumer products industries do, to capture the attention of consumers.”
Stuart Carlitz, founder and senior adviser for Bedding Industries of America, was pleased to see some Top 100 retailers early in the market he hadn’t been expecting. And he noted the ready-for-business attitude retailers are bringing to this market. “The retailers who are coming here are on a mission,” he said. “They are serious buyers.”
BIA is introducing a complimentary digital consulting program for its retail partners designed to enhance their online presence and drive significant traffic to their showrooms. “We will provide strategies to enhance each dealer’s website, offering a superior customer site experience that increases both engagement and the duration of shoppers’ visits,” said BIA CEO Jared Carlitz.
Reveal By XSensor got off to a good start. “We have a big enough network of customers that the summer market is worthwhile,” said Bruce Malkinson, chief operating officer. “We’ve seen a good mix of customers. We’ve seen more international customers this market than in the last several summer markets.”
