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Highlights From High Point
May 21,
2013 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on May 22, 2013
As the Las Vegas Furniture Market becomes more dominant in the bedding sector with each passing year, things were relatively quiet on the bedding front at the April High Point Market.
That doesnt mean there werent interesting bedding products on display, however. Mattress manufacturersboth majors and speciality providerswere at the show in force, including some that dont exhibit in Las Vegas. And, while some companies were more focused on marketing initiatives and promotingand sometimes expandingexisting lines, others did, in fact, premiere new product at High Point.
Here are highlights from what we saw in bedding at Market.
Sealys major High Point announcement was the introduction of gel memory foam into its Estate Innerspring Collection, marked under its Stearns & Foster brand. The new beds combine ClimsSense gel memory foam with individually encased IntelliCoil Titanium-alloy springs. The Estate Innerspring Collection will be available by late spring/early summer and starts at a $1,799 MSRP.
Sealy also spoke of the companys new advertising push for these lines, which offers B-Roll product footage to retailers that can be used by retailers in their local TV spots, as well as new spins on its successful Whatever you do in bed, Sealy supports it campaign.
Serta laid low on new introductions at this Market, opting to promote its iComfort Directions collection, which was announced at Las Vegas Market in January but is currently hitting retail, and retails from $1,999 to $2,999 in Queen. The company also emphasized its new iComfort line of pillows, sheets and mattress protectors, which are selling in the $99 $199 range.
Product-wise, Simmons also focused on product launched at the January Vegas Marketin their case, the Beautyrest Recharge and Recharge World Class lines. The Recharge models, which combine 800-density pocketed coil with Aircool foam, memory foam and GelTouch foams, are priced from $699 to $1,299. Recharge World Class ups the coil to 1,000-density, and adds Trutemp gel, with 14 models ranging in price from $1,399 to $1,999.
Simmons also showed new versions of its humorous ads based around its Recharge theme showing the effects of not getting sufficientor healthysleep.
FXI displayed its Bios line (rolled out at Las Vegas in January), which offers pillows, toppers and mattresses in color-coded packaging to indicate one of three consumer appealsrelief, support or performance. The company also showed its POS display for the line.
Independent manufacturer Gold Bond debuted its new Classic Collection, which is geared to customers seeking lower price points. The eight-model line, which will retail from $399 to $549 in Queen, features coils, steel edge support, and layers of foam for different feels.
It will be available in firm, plush and pillow top feels.
Gold Bond also showed its revised Chelsea Collection, adding three new modelsthe 13-inch pillow top, 13-inch plush and 12-inch firmwhich add layers of foam to achieve the unique feels. The Chelsea Collection starts at $699 in Queen. The collections three Back & Body beds (13-1/2-inch pillow top, 13-inch plush and 12-inch firm) have been updated with new aesthetics.
Jamison Bedding rolled out its English Garden Collection, an eight-model line that, while inspired by the botanicals, symmetries and colors of traditional English gardens, is targeting budget-minded consumers with price points of $499 to $999 in Queen. The beds will be offered in choices of firm, plush or Eurotop styles. The beds have the companys proprietary Palladian Smart Coil technology, and are made with varying densities and combinations of JGel memory foam, other foams, and fiber and cotton-poly layers. Jamison premiered a posh new TV spot crafted to promote the line at High Point Market.
Specialty vendor Pure Latex Bliss big news at Market was the introduction of its Worlds Best Adustable foundationthe industrys first adjustable base to feature latex according to the company. The added four-inch layer of Talalay is intended to create a weightless sensation in any position, even when lifting a user. The Worlds Best Adjustable foundation is available in three sizestwin XL, Queen and Split Cal King.
Pure Latex Bliss also showed its newly expanded collection of ActiveFUSION Climate Control pillows. The new line doubles the companys previous pillow selection, and, according to the company, can cool a warm sleeper and warm a cool sleeper in the same bed. The lines five pillows will retail from $129 to $149, and are available in Fast (with a plusher latex feel) and Slow Response (with more of a memory foam feel, even though its also latex-based) versions.
New Jersey-based Shifman doesnt exhibit in Las Vegas, so the old-school, made-by-hand manufacturer used this Market to announce its big news: the reboot of its Pure Comfort Collection, which is now a double-sided latex line. The new collections three models range from 7-1/2 to 10 inches of Talalay latex foam, and will retail in Queen from $2,899 to $4,999. The manufacturer believes these are the only two-sided latex beds currently available in the industry.
Therapedic International promoted the successful results from recent durability testing of its re-engineered Agility Collectionreportedly, the tests showed just a three-percent reduction in firmness and zero-percent reduction in compression over 100,000 cycles of testing.
Therapedic also showed four new modelsthe Trianon Palace ($1,299 $1,399), Tranquility ($1,099 $1,199), City Harmony ($899 $999) and Waikola Beach ($799 $899) added to its popular licensed Kathy Ireland Home line, which features a five-zone support innerspring system using seven-inch coils, and is styled with grey, blue and white stretch-knit ticking.