INTEREST GROWS IN BOXED BED ARENA AS HIGHER-PRICED MODELS DEBUT

LAS VEGAS — The boxed bedding category drew new entrants to the recent market here and expanded upward into higher price points, signs of even more growth to come in that hot category, producers reported.
Boxed beds were featured in a growing number of showrooms, including Southerland, which successfully entered the category, officials said.

Business is booming at Brooklyn Bedding, a maker and retailer of boxed beds, and the company expanded its product line here with six new mattresses to meet growing demand for its products.

The new beds lend themselves to private-label programs for retailers shopping the market here, officials said.
“I can’t overemphasize the momentum we’ve gained by expanding our wholesale business,” said John Merwin, CEO of Brooklyn Bedding. “Broadening our footprint has broadened our vision and our ability to innovate — to better understand the business needs of our partners while solving the sleep needs of customers across the country.”
Eclipse International responded to the success of its Velika European-style luxury bedding program with the introduction of a new bed-in-a-box design. Laska by Velika will give retailers a luxury boxed-bed design that touts the high-end style Eclipse brought to the marketplace with Velika, company officials said.
As the bed-in-a-box business continues to grow, Eclipse sees significant potential in the luxury bedding segment of the category. Traditionally thought of as an opening price point business, boxed mattresses tend to offer few upscale features, Eclipse officials said. They noted that they are aiming to change that perception with the introduction of Laska by Velika, which will retail at $2,999 in queen, with a platform unit.
“The successful launch of Velika and strong encouragement from retailers helped solidify our decision to design a model that could be easily boxed and shipped anywhere,” said Stuart Carlitz, CEO of Eclipse International. “This enhanced boxed bed will feature the great upscale look and design that the original mattress offers.”
Classic Brands got dressed up for the bedding market here, bringing upscale looks to the hybrid boxed bedding category. The new beds should “suit” retailers and consumers alike, officials said.
Mark Owen, executive vice president of sales and business development at Classic Brands, said his company got a “fantastic” response to its new Savile Row collection, which features boxed bedding at retail price points of $799 to $1,499 in queen. “Dealers loved the higher-end look and feel of these mattresses,” he said. “They realize they don’t have to limit themselves to price points below $1,000 for bed-in-a-box.”
The new beds feature two layers of encased coils as well as memory foam and latex and gel foams. Available with profiles of 12, 13 and 15.5 inches, the mattresses have fashion-forward knit covers that blend deep blue and gray hues, reminiscent of men’s suits, officials said.
Like all Classic Brands mattresses, the Savile Row collection can be boxed and shipped by UPS or FedEx.
Soft-Tex International offered a broad assortment of new products here, spotlighting its boxed bed products and programs.
The company’s introductions included a new sourcing-as-a-service solution for compressed and roll-packed mattresses, a new line of adjustable bed bases and new RTA furniture products.
As the demand for compressed and roll-packed mattresses continues to increase, Soft-Tex unveiled a comprehensive sourcing-as-a-service solution for retailers looking to launch new mattress-in-a-box programs or to lower their costs. Soft-Tex is touting its track record of providing retailers with high-quality memory foam mattresses at lower costs than domestic suppliers, officials said.
Independent bedding producer Southerland noted that direct-to-consumer sales continue to grow in the boxed bedding category and said its new boxed bed program is designed to allow independent retailers a competitive edge with a private-label program that offers custom branding.
The six-model boxed bed collection under the iBnB Program will be packaged in a box that can easily be branded for the retailer and will allow drop shipping to consumers by Southerland, officials said.
“Our independent retailer partners are eager to have a committed partner to support them in selling well-made mattresses that can compete in the growing roll-pack mattress business,” said Bryan Smith, president and CEO of Southerland. “With our iBnB Program, we’re providing retailers with a private-label option that will allow them to compete with some of the more popular names in the category.”
Retail interest in the new boxed bed line was strong, Smith said.
Diamond Mattress sees interest growing in its private label boxed bedding program, said Shaun Pennington, president.
“Retailers like the product differentiation, flexibility and control that private-label programs offer,” he said. “And retailers don’t need to change those lines every year.”
Enso’s boxed bed display program continues to attract interest, said Mark Akerman, president. Enso offers a display system that helps retailers illustrate the benefits of boxed beds with a modest investment in real estate, he said.
“There is more interest in the bed-in-a-box category,” Akerman said. “We are seeing some retailers and manufacturers fall out of the category.”