Norwegian bedding leader Jensen Beds, eyeing the U.S. market, will offer a sneak preview of its bedding line at the upcoming Las Vegas Market.
The high-end bedding maker’s introduction to the market is being led by bedding veteran Michael Nermon, who has worked on the manufacturing and retail sides of the business in his 40 years of industry experience.
His expertise in designing and retailing beds that provide customized comfort makes him the ideal leader to usher Jensen’s customizable sleep sets into the North American market, Jensen officials say.
They envision a “thoughtful” entry into the U.S. market sometime next year, one that is characterized by the collaborative relationships the company enjoys with its current dealers.
Jensen will make its U.S. debut in the Specialty Sleep Association showroom on the bedding-filled 15th floor of the World Market Center’s C building. It is billing the showing, in Space C1565-11, as offering an initial look at its bed and mattress system.
Jensen, founded in 1947 and still producing beds in the small Norwegian town of Svelvik where the company got its start, bills itself as one of the world’s leading bed manufacturers, with distribution in more than 30 countries.
It sees a major opportunity in the North American market, where it will offer limited distribution to furniture and bedding retailers, and will service Jensen-licensed stores, the design trade and the hospitality industry. Once the North American program launches, Jensen will stock products in the U.S. to support its retail partners.
Jensen says its bedding line, which offers customization of fabrics and key bedding components, is rooted in Scandinavian design principles. The company’s Original Zone System offers a coil-on-coil design not currently available in the North American market. The mattresses, reversible with customizable firmness, are supported by “a genuine box-spring construction,” with pocket springs that work with the pocket springs in the innerspring mattress. The top mattress resembles a mattress topper and adds “a light, airy comfort layer” that is reversible and interchangeable for hygienic benefits, the company says.
Nermon said Jensen is known for its market-leading commitment to sustainability, from eco-friendly materials to responsible production practices, ensuring a safe, nontoxic sleep experience.
That commitment should resonate with the growing number of U.S. consumers who value sustainable manufacturing practices and materials, he added.
In its SSA showroom in Las Vegas, Jensen will be featuring the Aqtive II Adjustable Bed, part of its Supreme Collection. Also using a coil-on-coil construction, the adjustable bed offers voice controls, a headrest function to position the mattress correctly for consumers sitting upright in bed and a light under the bed, among other features. The bed is available with fully upholstered headboards, offered in various styles and fabrics. Retails range from $7,000 to $15,000 for a king-sized adjustable bed and headboard.
Jensen Beds is part of Hilding Anders, a Swedish-based bedding group whose brands are distributed around the world. In addition to the Jensen line, Hilding Anders produces Carpe Diem Beds in Sweden, BICO beds in Switzerland and a dozen other well-known European mattress brands.
In its U.S. venture, Jensen plans to establish a sales process designed to ensure dealer success. Nermon knows that approach firsthand; that same business philosophy led Jensen’s CEO, Jan-Trygve Jensen, to reach out to Nermon in the 1990s to help establish Jensen’s position as one of Scandinavia’s leading producers of adjustable beds.
In his two decades as a mattress retailer, Nermon marketed Carpe Diem (Latin for “seize the day”) beds at his showroom in the Las Vegas Design Center. He also operated several Ergo Customized Comfort stores in Southern California that emphasized a comfort-based, educational approach to meeting its customers’ sleep needs and offered a number of high-end bedding lines.
Jensen uses a meticulous process of handcraftsmanship and automation that includes almost three dozen individual production steps to create a single bed. Jensen beds are backed with a 25-year warranty. Retails range from $4,000 to $10,000 for queen-sized mattresses and sets.
