At the recent High Point Market, there were nearly 10 mattress manufacturers that shared showrooms with furniture exhibitors, which points to a solid trend that could have staying power.
Partnerships like these can help elevate both brands and increase exposure to new customers, so we spoke with several manufacturers who shared showrooms in High Point to see how they did it and if this is a lasting trend.
Therapedic International returned to the High Point Market for the first time in several years this year and showcased six Tommy Bahama mattresses in Lifestyle Enterprise’s building.
Kyle Borregginne, vice president of specialty sales for Therapedic, says it’s positive that mattress manufacturers are coming back to High Point and that Therapedic wanted to be one of the first ones back.
“We are one of the leaders in the category and wanted to get our name out there again,” he says. “There’s power in seeing the product in person. We wanted our entry back into the market to be strong so we brought the Tommy Bahama line to catch people’s attention.”
Heritage Sleep Concepts made its High Point Market debut in the FD Home showroom, displaying its mattress collections on FD Home’s bed frames.
“For a company of our size, it didn’t make sense to have an entire showroom,” says Andrew Burt, senior vice president of sales. “But we wanted to get our product in front of people, so it did make sense to partner with a company that already has a presence in High Point. It lets us test out the market, see local and regional accounts and potentially reach new customers.”
Burt says the reaction was positive to the mattresses and that showing the beds on frames helps enhance merchandising and lets people visualize how good they could look in their stores — especially when it comes to furniture retailers.
That visualization message was also brought up by Diamond Mattress, which shared a showroom with Fashion Bed Group and displayed its mattresses on the company’s bed frames.
Mike Juoni, Diamond Mattress’s new senior vice president of sales, says the combo of mattresses and bed frames is an idea that can carry over to retail.
“You can use all of the real estate of the store and it’s a cleaner presentation with no inventory,” Juoni explains. “You can be more selective and narrow down your SKUs.”
Purecare also made its High Point Market debut in Paramount Sleep’s showroom where it used 1,000 square feet to address retail challenges like global sourcing. Over the past two years, the company diversified its manufacturing outside of China with the aims of stabilizing pricing and ensuring steady inventory.
Sarah Bergman, Purecare chief marketing officer and senior vice president of product development, says the partnership is about convenience and access and creates a one-stop, elevated sleep shop experience.
And this partnership isn’t new. The two companies, along with Knickerbocker, also share a showroom at Las Vegas Market. Richard Diamonstein, managing director at Paramount, says the partnership creates a destination.
“It’s a successful partnership that has evolved, just as our commitment to High Point has,” Diamonstein says. “The dedication is smart, and we have a history here. Other mattress companies are coming back to the market or showing for the first time, and as the number of manufacturers increases, there is potential for High Point to be a strong mattress market.”
Many manufacturers were in agreement that even though the Las Vegas Market is strong for their company, an East Coast-based market is helpful for clients, of which most are in the eastern part of the U.S.
South Bay International is one of the few that has a permanent showroom in High Point, and this shows its dedication to and belief in the category.
“We came to High Point to attract furniture retailers,” says South Bay International CEO Toby Konetzny, “It’s always better to have more touch points and not have to wait until July.”
The potential of High Point Market was tested this year, and time will tell if mattresses continue to become a prominent category.
