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NOVEMBER 2011
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ON BEDDING
Beds Gelling at High Point
GEL IS THE COOL NEW MATTRESS INGREDIENT AT FALL MARKET
N By HOWARD WHITMAN
I
January Las Vegas Market—
f there was any clear-cut
Sealy announced its “Whatever
trend in view among the new
you do in bed, Sealy supports
bedding offerings at October’s
it” ad campaign recently won
High Point Market, it was gel.
an award from the American
In the wake of Serta’s breakAssociation of Advertising
through success with its gelAgencies; the company also
infused iComfort mattresses,
promoted its new Bed Buddies
many bedding manufacturers
Facebook program, which will
have rolled out their own gelenable the company to learn
based products.
more about its consumers, creWhy the sudden move towards
ate a forum for discussion of its
gel? The material is viewed as
products, and increase customer
a solution to the most common
awareness of Sealy mattresses
complaint about Visco memothrough contests, announcery foam-based beds: that they
ments and special promotions.
sleep hot. The belief is that gel
Serta, also holding off on new
has properties that enable con- The Cézanne mattress toplines Shifman’s newly upgraded Masters Collection.
product releases until Vegas,
sumers to sleep cooler when on
using its High Point presence to promote the ongoing success of
beds made with gel-infused foam or gel-based layers.
Besides that, gel is new, different, and the word “gel”—well, it its iComfort beds and add-ons. Company promo programs include
offering two free iComfort pillows with the purchase of a mattress;
just sounds cool.
But the rapid emergence of gel has created its own controversy: huge ad and TV pushes for Veterans Day and Black Friday; and a
What constitutes a true gel bed? Similar to what happened a timely President’s Day offer of a free fleece blanket with the purfew years back when a number of bedding vendors were coming chase of an iComfort or Perfect Sleeper mattress.
out with eco-themed beds that incorporated terms like “green”,
“organic” and “natural” in their names and marketing, there are
varying trains of thought on what makes a bed a gel model. Some
gel beds are memory foam with beads or swirls of gel material; gel
has been added to latex as well; and some beds feature layers of
100 percent gel.
Another strong trend at Market: Adjustable beds also continue
to gain headway in this sector. Also, bedding vendors continue to
roll out new promotional/marketing efforts, with a strong focus
on social media and the Internet.
Here are some of the gel and adjustable models we saw at High
The NexGel MemoGel Contour Pillow
Point Market, along with other products and promotional efforts
from Natura
of interest from the various manufacturers there.
Rather than rolling out new products—that will occur at the
32 NOVEMBER 2011
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New foam- and gel-based beds
exhibited at High Point included
(from top): Spring Air’s Sleep
Sense BioMax, GoldBond’s Eco
Sense, the Jamison Gel Comfort
Oceania Bed and Therapedic’s
GelTouch.
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33 NOVEMBER 2011
S
Simmons made it three for three of the “S brands” utilizing
High Point to talk marketing programs and existing products
instead of new ones (coming in—you guessed it—Vegas). The
company demonstrated its smart device app, which promotes
the benefits of Simmons mattresses, showing the components
that comprise the beds (layered AirCool sleep system, NXG
memory foam, etc.) Simmons also discussed its beds’ CertiPUR
certification, which entails third-party testing of all mattresses
to ensure they’re low-emission.
In the specialty sector, Anatomic Global (AG) unveiled its
new Contour Lounger adjustable power base, which features
a patent-pending anchoring system for a contoured look in
any position, as well as a Spa Foot Drop feature and pre-programmed wireless remote control. The base retails at $1,499
in queen. AG also showed its new middle-end, five-mattress
Shoreline Group; the Visco foam beds are will retail in queen
from $499 to $1,499. Finally, AG announced its new Quick
Ship program, which it said will cut five to seven days off of
typical delivery times by utilizing shipping centers in California
and North Carolina stocking five of the company’s best-selling
Comfort by Design SKUs.
ON BEDDING
also unveiled its GEL inside pillows and topClassic Brands threw its hat in the gel bed
pers, made from natural Talalay latex with
ring, rolling out its new Cool Gel Mattress
ACTIVE Gel Technology.
Collection at Market. The beds feature a Cool
Italian bed maker Magniflex displayed the
Gel memory foam layer combining visco-elastic
new branding initiative for its Magniflex Shoppolymer gel with gel-infused memory foam.
in-Shop program. Designed to work in specialty
The line includes the 9-inch Breeze, 10-inch
sleep shops as well as larger furniture stores,
Moonlight and 12-inch Skye. The beds will
this program promotes the brand’s quality and
retail for $799 to $1,499 in queen.
eco-friendliness. Shop-in-Shop is offered in
Gold Bond introduced its value-priced gel
three different sizes, all of which include a cusline, Cool Response Gel, which features an
tomizable collection of Magniflex mattresses,
open-cell gel foam construction that blends
the comfort properties of gel with the support Captain Cool, Jamison’s new super-powered pillows, accessories, display racks, wall art, carpets and other POP materials.
of latex. It features a new polymer designed mascot, made his chilly debut at Market.
Eco-friendly specialty sleep vendor Natura announced its
to be cooler, more durable, and to circulate airflow more quickly,
helping to increase blood flow and oxygen around the body and first “smooth-top” latex mattresses, the NaturaSleek Collection,
reduce body heat quicker than other foams. The Cool Response intended to be a contemporary-looking departure from convenGel line’s three models will range in price from $1,099 to $1,499 tional pillow-top styling. Retail pricing for the line will range from
in queen. Gold Bond also showed its newly redesigned Premier $999 to $2,499 in queen. Natura also introduced its new NexGelSeries of three two-sided innerspring mattresses—firm, plush and branded pillow collection using pressure-relieving OrthoGel techEuropean box pillow top—which carry suggested retail prices nology and shape-conforming gel. The pillows will range in price
from $1,199 to $1,899 in queen. The company said this line offers from $156 to $180.
New Jersey-based specialty bedding manufacturer Shifman
comparable quality and higher margin for retailers than similar
rolled out its newly redesigned, expanded Masters Collection
models from the three “S” brands.
Hickory Springs unveiled a new addition to its iCare brand of (planned for January 2012 release) early at Market due to trespecialty sleep products: iCare adjustables. This line of adjustables mendous response at retail. New additions to the high-end line
features up to six panels that move independently of one another, include: The Cézanne ($7,399 in queen), made with 95 percent
enabling consumer to create custom settings for personalized natural materials including pashmina cashmere, cotton and natural latex; and The Chagall, a firm version of the plush Matisse,
sleep.
Stuffed versions of Captain Cool, Jamison’s new superhero which received a makeover with the addition of new aesthetic
penguin mascot, heralded the arrival of the specialty bedding details.
Spring Air brought its new BioMax specialty line to Market.
manufacturer’s new Gel Comfort gel-visco mattress line. The
Documented
by the Specialty Sleep Association (SSA) to meet
four-model series uses Theragel, Jamison’s exclusive formulation
several
environmental
standards, the BioMax line consists of four
of high-density memory foam (the same foam core used in the
beds,
all
of
which
will
carry
a 20-year warranty and are expected
company’s Marriott Hotel mattresses) blended with gel beads to
to
retail
from
$1,299
to
$2,199
in queen. BioMax beds feature
enable the beds to sleep cooler. The Gel Comfort line will retail
Oeko-Tex
Standard
100-certified
latex
foams and panel fabrics, as
from $1,099 to $1,999 in queen and carries a 10-year full warwell
as
CertiPUR-US-certified
polyurethane
foams.
ranty. The company also launched its revamped two-sided Vita
Therapedic’s big rollout at Market was its own gel offering. The
Pedic line and new Talalatex Conformer collection that merges a
new GelTouch series swirls pre-polymer gel in its foam compound
latex mattress with an adjustable system.
while the foam is being made to
Latex International introduced,
create a cooler sleep than that
under its Pure LatexBLISS brand,
Hickory At Home’s new
FLX6 adjustable model
offered by regular memory foam
the Climate Control ActiveFUSION
has six panels to provide
beds. The line will have three
collection of mattresses, pillows and
customizable comfort.
models: The Blue Lagoon 8-1/4”
toppers. Made from natural Talalay
mattress, which has a layer of
latex, the beds feature a Bekaert gel
latex; the Blue Essence 11”
fabric cover. According to the commattress, which adds a layer of
pany, the beds’ activeFUSION techmemory foam; and the 13” Blue
nology uses phase change material,
Heaven, which includes an extra
which stores and releases energy on
layer of Talalay latex. SRP for the
demand, cooling warm sleepers and
line will range from $1,199 to
warming cool sleepers, no matter
$1,999 in queen. HFB
what it’s like outside. The company
34 NOVEMBER 2011
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