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From Home Furnishing Business
Company Headed by Bob Sherman Buys 3 Restonic Factories
January 9,
2017 by Larry Thomas in Business Strategy, Industry 
A new mattress company headed by former Serta CEO Bob Sherman has acquired three Restonic factories and become the brand’s largest licensee.
The new company, Visionary Sleep Products, has purchased factories in Buffalo, N.Y., Fayetteville, N.C., and New Albany, Ind., and will operate the plants under one leadership team.
In addition to Sherman, former Serta executives Barbara Bradford and Jay Patel are principals in the new company, as is Laurie Tokarz, former president of Alliance Sleep Products, which owned the Buffalo and Fayetteville factories.
Sherman spent more than two decades at Serta and was at the helm in 2011 when it overtook Sealy as the mattress industry’s largest-selling brand. During his tenure, Serta also launched the extremely successful iComfort line, which was the first formidable challenge to Tempur-Pedic in the memory foam category.
He stepped down from Serta in late 2013, not long before many of the sales and administrative functions of Serta and Simmons were combined by parent company Serta Simmons Bedding.
Sherman is CEO of Visionary Sleep Products, while Bradford, who is Sherman’s wife, is president. She was vice president of marketing and merchandising at Serta and played a key role in the development of iComfort and several branded product collections, including Trump Home.
Patel will serve as chief manufacturing officer of the new entity and Tokarz will be chief sales officer.
Visionary Sleep will operate independently as Restonic’s largest licensee, and Restonic President and CEO Ron Passaglia will continue in that role.
“Bob and Barbara’s heritage and natural understanding of the mattress industry will be a dynamic asset for the Restonic brand,” said Passaglia. “Their passion for excellence will be a great benefit for our Restonic team, retailers and today’s consumers. Our entire team is excited about the future and working together to increase the value of Restonic in today’s market place.”
Passaglia said news of Sherman’s return to the bedding industry, and specifically to the Restonic brand, already is being greeted favorably by retailers.
“It’s refreshing to receive tremendous support from our retailers and this news has already created a groundswell, which is a win-win situation for all,” he said.