Unlike at the winter Las Vegas Market, exhibitors at the summer market are less focused on products and more focused on relationships, feedback and connections. In a challenging business environment, this seems to be more true than ever this year as manufacturers tell Bedding News Now that while the halls seem quiet, retailers who are coming into their showrooms are quality customers.
Derek Leishman, national sales director for Mlily, says retailers are optimistic for the remainder of the year and that business has plateaued for many retailers. And although it’s traditionally a lighter market than January, Leishman says the July market is a great opportunity to get feedback and devote more time to those who come in.
“We like that we can have more quality time with our retailers and things don’t feel as rushed as January,” Leishman says about the summer market. “We are also able to preview upcoming products and get feedback from retailers.”
The company asked retailers for feedback on its new Essential line this market. The Essential line offers retailers a way to strategically fill their assortment gaps with a private-label brand at accessible price points and high-quality products.
The lineup includes six available mattresses, and the mattress models include all-foam options in 6-, 8-, and 10-inch profiles, a 12-inch cooling memory foam model and 10-inch and 12-inch hybrids. The 12-inch hybrid model features Bamboo Charcoal Gel AeroFusion and Liquid Gel CoolFlex foams for added cooling and comfort. The company also offers two matching pillow options that are unbranded and feature cooling material on one side of the pillow.
“The Essential line gives retailers the freedom to build their story and meet the needs of all types of consumers,” Leishman says. “We’re offering more tools to sell to the people who come in at a time when there are fewer door swings.
Puffy was another company looking for feedback on a new model. Brent Biermann, retail general manager at Puffy, says the company is starting to evolve its line to include more luxury products.
One of these new products is Legacy, the company’s highest-end line that features elevated materials like Tencel, latex and 8-inch coils. It uses materials like cashmere, horse hair and wool and is priced from $5,000 to $7,000.
“We’ve been using purple cow marketing to help our retailers differentiate themselves,” Biermann says. “We’re starting to position ourselves as a luxury brand, and we’ve seen a 10X jump in sales in our Monarch beds, which retail for $3,199. With Legacy, this is a good market to get feedback and make changes before we launch it in the next few months.”
On the other ends of the pricing spectrum, Molecule returned to Las Vegas Market with its new 10-inch Core hybrid, an entry-level bed at an approachable price point that offers retailers a way to compete with big online players.
With a 15-year warranty, a cooling cover and a foam encasement, the suggested retail price is $1,299.
“We want to help retailers drive door swings, but more importantly, we want to drive transactions,” says Justin Westerman, Molecule’s director of sales. “We offer a competitive price advantage, and we don’t do sale pricing on our site so we don’t take away from the retailer.”
The company also expanded its Engage lineup and adjusted the line based on feedback from its retail partners. Westerman says the beds offer high-quality foams — one model features 8-pound foam produced exclusively by and for Molecule — at more affordable prices. Additionally, each bed had a removable cover that can be washed.
The five-bed Engage collection uses Sculpt Tech, a proprietary kind of memory foam that’s more breathable than standard memory foam. Sculpt Tech foam is a proprietary material made with slow-response viscose that adapts to a sleeper’s body. It ranges from 5 to 8 pounds in density, and all of the beds feature foam encasement to offer more support when sitting on the sides of the beds. Hybrid options are offered at the higher end of the line, including its premium mattress, SculptMax.
DeLandis has thrived in the mattress industry as what it calls “the brand behind the brand.” Its primary business is OEM and ODM, with four factories in Houston, and David Wachendorfer, senior vice president, credits the company as being one of the first to figure out how to roll-pack a foam-encased bed. Notably, the company was the initial partner of Bob’s Discount Furniture and made the Bob-O-Pedic for the retailer, a role it proudly continues today.
However, Wachendorfer says the company believes it’s time to focus on specialty and independent mattress retailers and offer them DeLandis’ capabilities for a competitive edge.
This market the company introduced its DeLandis Direct program to help retailers compete with the likes of Amazon and Wayfair.
“DeLandis Direct is a low-risk, nonbranded program that has great value price points,” Wachendorfer says. “If a retailer wants to expand the offerings on its website, they can direct ship these models to consumers, or have them direct shipped from our facility in Houston.”
Products are competitively priced to support retail margins of 65%, starting at $199 in queen. Orders ship within 72 hours with white-label packaging via the retailer’s UPS or FedEx account.
“We created the DeLandis Direct program to remove the traditional barriers to selling beds online,” Wachendorfer continues. “With no inventory to carry, fast delivery and a proven assortment, it’s designed to help our retail partners grow their business without adding complexity. We’re excited to offer early access to retailers so they can get in on the ground floor.”
