Therapedic International licensees from around the world and across the country gathered on the eve of the Las Vegas Market for a deep dive into AI, a look at new mattresses and a comprehensive review of the company’s marketing and branding initiatives.
Keynote speaker Brian Carroll, a Home News Now columnist and professor of communication at Berry College, outlined the challenges and opportunities of AI, explaining how it is growing rapidly, gaining millions of users in short order and noting that it represents a technology that cannot be ignored.
“Standing still and not getting involved in AI is to lose ground,” he said.
AI presents “profound complexities,” Carroll allowed, but he urged the Therapedic licensees, many of whom said they are already using AI, to explore the technology one step at a time. “We don’t have to conquer AI,” he said. “We need to start experimenting with it. Just getting started is something we need to do.”
The meeting included a state-of-the-industry address by Alison Keane, president of the International Sleep Products Association and the Mattress Recycling Council. She discussed some of the key issues that will be addressed by the new Trump administration, presented an overview of ISPA’s programs and said ISPA remains committed to building a stronger mattress industry.
In his remarks, Therapedic CEO and President Gerry Borreggine said the brand’s long-term positioning of Therapedic as “the No. 1 brand alternative” puts the group in a strong position to weather the challenges of the hyper-competitive mattress marketplace.
Therapedic has maintained its market share in the past three years, a period in which overall industry sales have slumped. “We have held serve, which is a beautiful thing,” he said.
Looking ahead, Borreggine predicted more growth in the boxed bedding arena and said Therapedic will participate in some form of direct-to-consumer sales. “We are not complacent,” he said. “We will continue to move forward.”
He welcomed a new South African licensee, represented by Johann de Meyer, to the group.
Therapedic’s Kyle Borreggine, vice president of specialty sales, introduced a new Therapedic SleepWare program to the group. The program, which includes pillows, protectors and sheets, is the first sleep accessories program Therapedic has offered to its mattress licensees.
Susan Mathes, Therapedic’s executive vice president, who organized the meeting, said it was attended by about 50 people, including six international mattress licensees representing 10 countries and nine domestic mattress licensees.
“We offered a mix of educational programs, a look at industry trends, and we shared Therapedic initiatives that support our licensees’ success and their retailers’ success,” she said. “Our licensees felt it was a strong meeting.”
The meeting kicked off with a tour of The Mob Museum (officially the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement) in downtown Las Vegas, where the Therapedic licensees learned about the history of organized crime activities, the role organized crime played in the growth of Las Vegas and some of the mob’s leaders, including Al Capone, whose pistol is now on display at the museum.
In the Speakeasy in the basement of The Mob Museum, the licensees sampled legal moonshine and listened to mob veteran George Martorano share his story of being incarcerated for 32 years, including five years in solitary confinement. He survived by writing and by devising educational and health programs for fellow inmates, he said. He was released in 2015 under the Department of Justice’s Compassionate Release Program.
