Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Hinshaw, Carolina Mattress Guild Team for New Division
July 29,
2013 by in Business Strategy, Industry 
Carolina Mattress Guild owners Neal and Kathy Grigg have teamed with Eric Hinshaw to form Carolina Knights, a new luxury division of CMG.
Hinshaw, who retired from Kingsdown a year ago after serving more than 31 years as its CEO, will return to the bedding industry as president of the new division. Neal Grigg will remain president of parent company, Carolina Mattress Guild, allowing the organization to retain its status as a family owned and operated business.
Carolina Knights, “Purveyors of Fine Bedding,” will produce exclusive lines of premium priced bedding products.
“We are thrilled to expand our brand by adding this complementary division headed by someone of Eric’s knowledge and reputation in our industry,” said Kathy Grigg. The new subsidiary will be located at Carolina Mattress Guild headquarters in Thomasville, N.C., and will be aided by additional production capabilities out of the company’s Orlando, Fla., facility.
“After packing 12 years of retirement into 12 months, I realized that being a part of the industry I have loved and served for so many years is what makes me truly happy,” Hinshaw said. “This exciting new venture gives me the opportunity to be a part of bringing better sleep to the world through exclusive design and innovation, which has been my passion for most of my adult life. I am also looking forward to working with Neal and Kathy, two of the few people in the bedding industry who share both my passion and my tenure.”
“Eric has been known around the world as a true innovator in the design and marketing of sleep equipment,” said Neal Grigg. “I believe Carolina Mattress Guild’s 22 years of experience producing a high-quality, cost-effective product, combined with Eric’s innovative nature, will allow this exciting new collaboration to give retailers exactly what they need: a significantly higher gross margin on each product sold, and a very satisfied customer.”
Hinshaw will be on-hand in the Carolina Mattress Guild showroom, World Market Center-B946, at this week's Las Vegas Furniture Market.