The Las Vegas Market this year was noticeably busy, with nearly every exhibitor booked solid with appointments. Retailers and manufacturers alike were buzzing with excitement at the opportunity to go into the new year with innovative products to entice consumers.
Talking to exhibitors, retailers and sales reps around the market, it was clear the show was a success for everyone involved, with some even having the best market (in terms of new prospects) they’ve had since opening a showroom in World Market Center.
Spring Air had several new innovations in its showroom this market, including updated branding, the Cruise adjustable base, the upgraded Back Supporter line and the Fleur De Lis by Chattam & Wells.
The 13-mattress Back Supporter lineup now has new components designed to enhance support. It also has layers of cooling and gel memory foams with zoned individual encased coils. Fleur De Lis exudes luxury, covered in quilted white damask and accented with gold embroidery. The three-model lineup — Genevieve, Eleanor and Marie — blend wool and silk, encased coils and six layers of varied foams.
The Cruise adjustable, which works with any Spring Air bed, is the company’s first venture into bases. Exclusive to Spring Air, the bases rock a sleeper back and forth, much like a baby is rocked to sleep. Spring Air President Nick Bates says it allows sleepers to “zen out” and that, just like babies, research shows adults like to get rocked to sleep, too.
Bedding Industries of America introduced its three-series Eclipse Ice, which has I, C and E models. Beds designated with I are the entry options in the collection, followed by C, which features a copper component, and finally E, the top of the line.
Steve Karns, vice president of sales and business development, says these are “yes” beds. “They can be shipped in a box, they use 4 pounds foam and have a ⅛ rail foam encasement,” he says. “Anything a consumer would want is in these beds.”
The company also launched its updated Embrace collection, which features certified organic latex foam and Gold Guard fireproof upholstery.
With the success of its Fab 5 lineup — which offers five beds at five levels of firmness and is easily coded using a 1-5 number system — BIA released the Fab 5 Chill. Karns says it brings cooling technology and offers huge margins, with some retailers seeing up to 70% margins.
This year Mlily revamped its product line in a way that makes it easier for retailers to shop and display in their stores. This includes two firmness options — 1.0 being firmest and 3.0 being softest — and color coding to indicate which mattresses have premium features like cooling or copper.
Aside from new branding on the sheet sets it introduced at the summer Vegas Market, the company has pared down its collection to include three main lines — WellFlex, Midnight and ChrioPro.
WellFlex is a brand the company had in the past, but it took on a whole new sustainable face this market with the addition of natural foam made from soy beans. Midnight is the company’s luxury brand made with plush foams and available in a sleek black. ChiroPro is another line that has been revamped. Designed in exclusive partnership with the International Chiropractors Association, the updated collection uses proprietary foams, temperature regulation and three-zone support to promote healthy spinal alignment.
If you didn’t catch the giant billboard on the front of the World Market Center, Purple unveiled its Rejuvenate collection this market. These news beds layer Purple’s proprietary gel grid technology, which offers different feels. The second layer, which is set up in an opposing direction of the top layer, gives an ample amount of extra support.
The company also unveiled two new pillow designs. One pillow contains a three-tier system with Harmony, Dreamlayer and Freeform that offer different feels. The company also introduced a unique head pillow that comes with a lumbar pillow, and the fill can be transferred between the two pillows based on what the user likes.
The big story for Diamond Mattress this market was its Dreamstage 2.0 collection, which features a whopping 33 models across six collections ranging from $329 to $999. CEO Shaun Pennington says the collection fills a gap in those price points with quilted hybrid and all-foam models.
On the other end of the pricing spectrum, the company’s Black Diamond also gained traction in Vegas. With nine models, Pennington says the line offers latex hybrids that give retailers 60%-65% margins on $2,499 price points.
Diamond also had a unique opportunity this market to display several prototypes in a separate showroom it called its Concept Showroom. One of the lines, Generations, was prototyped at the summer Las Vegas Market and was shown as a finished product this market.
At 3Z Brands, the company released the Copperflex Pro Hybrid under the Brooklyn Bedding name, which consists of four models ranging from $500 to $800. It also unveiled a refreshed collection by Helix, which features a heavy 7-pound proprietary foam.
The big news going into market was 3Z’s acquisition of Southerland, and company officials told us that nothing is going to change at Southerland. The acquisition simply allows 3Z to offer better resources, equipment and research and development opportunities for all of the company’s brands.
Serving as a valuable networking event to connect with fellow industry members, Las Vegas Market may have more new bedding products in one place than anywhere in the U.S. This year, retailers came to be impressed, and exhibitors didn’t disappoint.
