Bedding exhibitors at the High Point Market are weighing in on the issue of mattress quality, saying they are making sure the quality in their mattresses remains high.
The executives are responding to comments made by Somnigroup International CEO Scott Thompson, who recently asserted that some mattress makers, including those producing luxury beds, are using lower-quality materials these days. He named no names.
“One of the things that’s been a little frustrating in the bedding industry,” Thompson said, “is some people have been including components in their beds, sometimes even luxury beds, which I would consider to be less than optimal for the customer. And because the components are in the bed, you can’t see them. I think the quality (in) some luxury beds has deteriorated as they try to get a cost advantage.”
Asked to respond to those comments, bedding executives, including luxury bedding makers, generally said they are focused on maintaining the quality in their mattresses. Some didn’t want to respond specifically to Thompson’s comments, but one, Therapedic Worldwide CEO Gerry Borreggine, took exception to them.
“Those are inflammatory, and without specifics, unfounded comments,” he charged.
Borreggine said Therapedic is taking the opposite approach to those unnamed producers.
“In the case of Therapedic,” he said, “we are increasing the quality of materials used in the compositions of our products. We have an improved coil unit, manufactured by our sister company, Future Coil, in Tampa, Florida. We are sourcing better foams and covers, and employing new production methods such as I-flex that actually quilts a mini-pocket coil into the cover, virtually eliminating surface body impressions on the mattress.”
Another producer, Diamond Mattress CEO Shaun Pennington, said Thompson is identifying a long-term issue.
“I’ve seen this trend in the industry for years,” he said. “My dad always told me not to compromise the product for a short-term gain, and that has stuck with me. For us, 1.5-pound foam is our standard grade, and we go up from there.”
Pennington said it’s particularly important that producers of premium products make sure the materials they are using deliver on performance. “If consumers are paying more for a mattress,” he said, “the materials and construction should back up the story you’re telling and the price you’re asking them to pay.”
At Diamond, he said, “we’re building for the long term, and that means making products we’re comfortable standing behind. It’s why we use the components we do and why we can offer a 20-year warranty with confidence.”
Bill Hammer, president of Shifman Mattress, said luxury beds must earn that designation.
“Just because a mattress carries a luxury price doesn’t make it a luxury mattress,” he said. “We believe luxury has to be earned through what goes into the product, how it’s made, and the standards behind it. For over 130 years, Shifman has built its reputation on that principle.”
Has he seen a lowering of quality in luxury beds?
“We are seeing manufacturers use the word ‘natural,’ even naming entire collections around it, while those mattresses can still contain a significant amount of lower cost materials like polyurethane foam,” Hammer responded. “There’s nothing wrong with using foam, but if you’re going to call a mattress natural, we think the materials inside should support that claim. Natural materials are more expensive, and using them in a meaningful way requires an investment in the product. Consumers deserve to know what they’re actually getting.”
He said Shifman’s customers should not have to simply take its word that it builds quality into its beds. “That’s why we invested in independent testing with GoodBed and Dow to validate the materials and performance behind our products,” he said. “If we make a claim about what’s inside a Shifman mattress or how it performs, we want to be able to stand behind it. To us, that’s what luxury should mean; quality you can see, craftsmanship you can feel, and integrity you can prove.”
Paramount Sleep President Richard Fleck said Thompson’s comments were “too open-ended” to warrant a specific response. But he did have several thoughts on what makes a luxury mattress.
“Luxury needs to be defined, and the definition is not just a price point,” he said. “That is only one aspect of luxury. Paramount defines luxury first and foremost as meaning the product needs to perform for the sleeper night after night – a performance warranty versus a marketing warranty.”
Fleck said Paramount also defines luxury mattresses as bench-made/hand-crafted with a high natural content, and limited production – “not mass produced.”
In his comments, Thompson said that while other bedding makers have reduced quality, “that is not something that Sealy and Tempur-Pedic have done. It’s something that strategically, I think seven years ago, we made a firm decision that we were not going to do.”
Thompson made those comments as he talked about incorporating Leggett & Platt, a leading innerspring maker, into the Somnigroup International business.
“I think the neat thing about what we’re doing is Leggett is absolutely world class in making springs,” he said. “I think everybody in the bedding industry knows it, and being able to highlight their quality is important.”
