With two sales holidays — Memorial Day and Fourth of July — behind us, the bedding industry is optimistic about the remainder of the year, including two of the biggest mattress sales holidays, Labor Day and Black Friday.
“We’re still a holiday-propelled industry,” says Gerry Borregginne, CEO of Therapedic International. “Our overall business has been up, and talk about tariffs spiked consumers’ interest. Momentum is building.
As for getting aggressive for the last half, Borregginne suggests to not to hit the gas pedal too hard. Rather, he says to play it cool and “play to win.”
Derek Leishman, national sales director for Mlily USA, says he feels things have plateaued in the industry and retailers are planning for a big Labor Day and Black Friday.
“Black Friday has gained more importance over the last three-four years,” he says. “Retailers should be aggressive. Mlily has been having a growth year, but the industry overall should be flat this year.”
He adds that he feels retailers should be aggressive with pricing and assortment while finding creative ways to drive traffic.
Jerry Lin, co-founder of Helix and executive vice president of strategy and operations for 3Z Brands, says that a tough economy has created pent-up demand.
“We are optimistic for the rest of the year,” he says. “The industry can recover if housing buys pick up and consumer sentiment improves.”
When it comes to driving in-store traffic, Lin says retailers should unpack the root of the problem — a lack of digital strategy. “Look at your business holistically and find services that will help you succeed.”
Bill Hammer, president of Shifman Mattress, tells Bedding News Now that he thinks the last two sales holidays of the season will be positive.
“People will buy if you give them a compelling reason,” he says. “Holidays will always be strong in the industry.
He also echoes Lin in saying that housing and interest rates are the biggest issues in the industry right now, along with tariffs, which have “damaged consumer confidence,” according to Hammer.
“We’re hopeful that the housing situation will change by the end of the year, but it depends on how everything goes,” he says. “If things continue the way that they are, there’s a good chance things could change by the end of the year.”
Paramount Sleep President Richard Fleck says retailers are concerned about low numbers in the second half, and manufacturers are stepping up their ads to get people in the doors and spending.
“Mattresses are a deferable purchase and consumers are not looking for high-ticket products,” he says. “Housing is bad and consumers are hesitant to spend because they’re uncomfortable about the uncertainty of the future.”
Overall, he says the recent Las Vegas Market was an ideal time to connect with retailers and spend quality time with them to develop a strategy that will get them through the rest of the year.
Nick Bates, CEO of Spring Air, has long been a proponent of focusing on holiday sales, especially after Covid, when some retailers pulled back on holiday advertising.
“Retailers needs to build excitement around the holidays,” he says. “We introduced a MAP pricing program that makes products special when they’re discounted. We protect margin and provide services like a marketing calendar and plug-and-play assets.”
Bates doesn’t believe that the mattress industry will see growth as a whole, but he does have high hopes for 2026. “There’s pent-up demand and we are excited for the January Las Vegas Market,” he adds.
There may not be visible growth in the mattress industry as a whole in 2025, but nearly every bedding exhibitor we spoke with at the Las Vegas Market said they are up this year. That signals that there is growth happening in parts of the industry, and that means there’s hope for the second half.
