BedTimes magazine June 2010

BedTimes
JUNE 2010
THE BUSINESS JOURNAL FOR THE SLEEP PRODUCTS INDUSTRY
What
are they
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Managing
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Spirits up during
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Profiles
Non-wovens
Latex Foam
Foam Products
PowerStack Wire Foundations
InnerRest Fabric-Encased Coil Units
InnerACT Alternating Coil Innerspring
Edge Guards
Bonnell and Offset Innersprings
Bed Frames
Memory Foam Toppers
Memory Foam Pillows
Quilting Foam Rolls
IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE
THAT COUNTS
Tradition. Innovation.Performance.
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JUNE 2010
InSide
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
Feature
16 What do people think about your company?
Nothing is more precious than your company’s good name, but in today’s world of
24-hour news, blogs and tweets, your brand can be damaged in an instant. Experts
offer several ways to safeguard your online reputation.
Departments
7 Front Matter
Traditional strategic planning requires
you to project three to five years into
the future to determine your goals. A
more effective method, one management
expert says, is to imagine your
company’s success decades in the
future—and work backward to figure
out how you got there.
9 Market Report
Moods were good at the spring
furniture market in High Point, N.C.,
as mattress manufacturers rolled out
new products in a wide range of price
points to entice consumers back to
retail floors.
29 Management Issues
Here’s an easy way to gauge your effectiveness
as a boss: Would you want
to work for YOU? Learn how to solicit
useful feedback and then put it to use
to make yourself a better manager.
5 Editor’s Note
33 Industry News
44 Newsmakers
46 Up Close
48 Calendar
49 ISPA Advocacy
50 Advertisers Index
51 Classifieds
52 Last Word
BedTimes | June 2010 | 3

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EDITOR IN CHIEF
Julie A. Palm
336-727-1889
jpalm@sleepproducts.org
SENIOR WRITER
Barbara Nelles
336-856-8973
bnelles@sleepproducts.org
CONTRIBUTORS
Brenda Bence
Dorothy Whitcomb
Jim Whitt
ART DIRECTOR
Stephanie Belcher
336-201-7475
stephanie@jimmydog.com
VICE PRESIDENT OF SAlES
Kerri Bellias
336-945-0265
kbellias@sleepproducts.org
AD PRODUCTION &
CIRCUlATION mANAgER
Debbie Robbins
336-342-4217
drobbins@sleepproducts.org
COPY EDITOR
Margaret Talley-Seijn
BedTimes deadlines
Editorial deadlines for the Industry
News and Newsmakers sections
of the August issue of BedTimes are
Thursday, July 1.
Volume 138 Number 6
BedTimes (ISSN 0893-5556) is published
monthly by the International Sleep Products
Association. Periodicals postage paid at
Alexandria, Va., and additional mailing offices.
Editorial and advertising offices
126 Parkview Lane, Reidsville, NC 27320
Phone 703-683-8371; Fax 703-683-4503
Administrative and ISPA offices
501 Wythe St., Alexandria, Va. 22314-1917
Phone 703-683-8371; Fax 703-683-4503
Postmaster Send address changes to
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Contents © 2010 by the
International Sleep Products
Association. Reprint permission
obtainable through BedTimes.
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
Editor’sNote
What happens when we forget
to keep our customers happy
Sometimes you have to wonder if
the airlines don’t have teams of
people trying to figure out how to
tick off their customers.
They squeezed more seats onto each
plane, giving us all a chance to be closer
to the stranger sitting next to us than
we get to many people we know and
love. They’ve cut back schedules so that
virtually every plane is packed. If you
miss a connection, good luck getting on
a later flight.
Then the airlines started charging
for food. Many got rid of blankets and
pillows (opening a nice market, by the
way, for the bedding industry to roll out
additional travel products).
The latest insult is the baggage fee,
which starts at about $15 or $25, rising
steeply from there as you add bags or,
God forbid, overpack and incur charges
for the extra weight.
I tend to forget about the baggage
fees when I’m booking a flight and the
airlines do little to remind me until I’m
doing early check-in online or standing
at the ticket counter. So a ticket I bought
for $400 ends up costing $450 or
$500—unless I want to wear the same
outfit for five days.
I know many people who have taken
to driving routes they used to fly. They
often can get to their destination more
quickly and less expensively.
Airlines aren’t adding these fees to
purposely anger their customers. They
have been losing billions of dollars
because of increased fuel costs and
other factors. They have to find money
somewhere.
Some analysts have suggested that
the airlines would be better off raising
ticket prices and clearly explaining to
customers why they have to do so. If
nothing else, I’d appreciate a trip calculator
that would allow me to factor in all
the extra fees while trying to compare
prices between airlines.
The mattress industry functions
much differently, but we have our own
issues that turn consumers against us.
Body impressions immediately
come to mind. As an industry, we know
that those plush, fluffy pillow-tops will
compress with time. But we do a terrible
job explaining that to consumers. Then,
when they are disappointed by their
mattress’ performance, we quibble about
whether the body impression is 1 1/4
inches or 1 1/2 inches or 2 inches.
Consumers don’t care what the
“industry standard” is. They bought a
mattress that failed them. How eager
will they be to buy your brand again?
Another issue: The fact that manufacturers
produce specific models for
specific dealers, making it impossible
for consumers to comparison shop.
Our industry has an explanation for
this practice that makes certain sense to
us. You know what? Consumers don’t
understand. More importantly, they
don’t care.
Airlines can lose leisure travelers to
the interstate and business travelers to
teleconferencing. Our customers have to
sleep on something, but they can choose
to keep sleeping on their current bed.
The question is, who are we serving?
Ourselves or our customers? BT
Julie A. Palm
BedTimes | June 2010 | 5

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FrontMatter
Stop strategic planning & start pioneering
Readying yourself
for the future takes
new way of thinking
By Jim Whitt
Before you invest time and money
in traditional strategic planning
consider this: Only 5% to 10% of
strategic plans are ever implemented.
Most companies undertake strategic
planning to reduce anxiety. It’s like taking
a couple of aspirin for a headache. In
this case, the headache is the future and
the aspirin is a couple of days locked
in a room putting check marks in
boxes. Mission statement: check; SWOT
(strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
threats) analysis: check; long-range
goals: check. Ah, that feels better. Then,
like the aspirin bottle, the strategic plan
goes back on the shelf. And the headaches
keep coming back.
This process is flawed. Think back
to five years ago. It seems like a millisecond,
doesn’t it? If you look no further
ahead than five years, you’ll see the
future as an extension of the present.
And you’ll be trying to solve tomorrow’s
problems with yesterday’s solutions.
If you really want your company to
succeed, you need a pioneering process,
not just a planning process. Instead of
looking ahead three to five years, you
need to look ahead decades.
To get started, assemble key people in
your company. How many and whom
you choose will depend on the size and
structure of your business. Ask the following
questions, giving the group time
to share and record their answers.
1. What did the world and the
mattress industry look like 30
years ago? This question primes the
pump. Once you’ve compiled a list of
the monumental changes that have
taken place in the past three decades,
you’ll better understand that there will
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
be more monumental changes in
the next 30 years.
2. What will the world and the
mattress industry look like 30 years
from now? While no one can accurately
predict the future, remember
that Jules Verne wrote about a trip to
the moon 100 years before it happened.
Don’t limit your thinking. Tell your
team to be open.
3. What will your company have to
be and do to succeed in the future
you described? You aren’t bound by
your current corporate structure. Borrow
a page from Star Trek and dare to
boldly go where no one has gone before.
4. What will you have to do to help
the company get there? Planning for
a company’s future requires collectively
creating a picture of a future where we’ll
find meaning and purpose—not just as
a group but as individuals.
The answers to these questions
provide the information your team will
need for the next assignment. Imagine
that a major business magazine has
selected your company as the “Model
Organization for 2040.” Have each team
member write an article describing what
happened in the three decades between
then and now that earned you that
magazine cover.
Such articles engage your team
in writing tomorrow’s history today.
Everything you need to do to succeed in
the future is contained in that history.
You’ll determine your company’s
purpose, operating philosophy, business
model and structure. You’ll define goals
and objectives and determine the people
who need to be responsible for their
completion. What makes this process
effective is that instead of starting at the
present and trying to work your way
forward, you’re starting at the future
and working your way back.
If you want to reduce your anxiety
about the future, take the road most
traveled and use the traditional “check
the boxes” method of strategic planning.
If you want to succeed in the future,
you have to do some serious pioneering.
Pioneering is for those who want to
thrive instead of survive. Pioneers take
the road less traveled. Which road will
you choose? BT
Jim Whitt calls himself “an unapologetic
people provoker.” As a speaker, consultant
and author for more than 20 years, Whitt
has encouraged people and organizations
to reach their full potential. He is cofounder
of Purpose Unlimited, which is in
the business of transforming lives, leaders
and organizations through the power of
purpose. To learn more, check
www.purposeunlimited.com or
call 918-494-0009.
BedTimes | June 2010 | 7

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MarketReport
Bedding vendors happy with High Point Market
Manufacturers offer retailers new products at every price point
By Barbara Nelles
With more than two dozen
manufacturers of all sizes
exhibiting at the High Point
Market in April, the bedding category
has re-established a significant presence
there. Generally speaking, sleep
products exhibitors were in an upbeat
mood, due in large part to strong firstquarter
sales. Added to that, foot traffic
at the show in High Point, N.C., was
up over October, with more buyers in
attendance—and more with mattresses
on their shopping lists. New products
were easy to find and they covered
every price point.
Fascination with foams
Engineered and specialty foams were
on display in cores, comfort layers,
toppers and encasements as mattress
manufacturers continued to tap into
foam’s popularity and profitability.
As a testament to the popularity
of foam, Shifman Mattress Co., a
117-year-old manufacturer of highend,
handmade innerspring mattresses,
introduced its first line of latex beds.
The Newark, N.J.-based company’s
Pure Comfort Latex Mattress collection
has a latex core (7 ½ inches to 9
½ inches) that is covered in high-end
damask. It sits atop the company’s
all-coil box spring. Suggested retail
prices range from $2,199 to $3,999 for
a queen size.*
Natura World, a mattress and sleep
accessories manufacturer based in
Cambridge, Ontario, unveiled Natura
Latex, a collection with a range of
constructions and feels. The beds are
arranged in three groups but all have
coir and natural wool in the comfort
layers. Lower-priced models (beds start
at $999) have latex in the top layers and
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
a polyurethane core with a percentage
of plant-based content. The top bed,
priced at $3,699, has a five-zone latex
core and more latex in the quilt layer.
EcoSleep, a line of compressed and
rolled foam beds manufactured by
Durable Products LLC in Whitewater,
Wis., expanded its offerings. The
Cool-Contour Deluxe, an addition
to the Cool-Contour memory foam
collection, sports a moisture-absorbing
Tencel mattress fabric. Retail is $1,299
for a queen set. Other new offerings
included a latex group priced at $699,
* All prices are suggested retail for queen size unless otherwise noted.
(Photos clockwise, from top left)
Paramount Bedding Steve Mageland (left), Tom
Burke and Richard Fleck introduced a number
of new lines, including Back Performance.
Therapedic Sleep Products Therawrap by
Therapedic is the licensing group’s first line of
encased coil mattresses.
Five Star Mattress President Jim Nation shows
off the True Luxury collection, which features
knit tops, Talalay latex and suede borders.
Jamison Bedding The Oceania foam line
comes with ‘a party’ of marketing materials,
says Ken Hinman, vice president of sales and
marketing.
BedTimes | June 2010 | 9

MarketReport
$899 and $999. The beds have latex
layers over an Acella-Flex polyurethane
core, which has a portion of renewable
content from castor oil. The beds are
covered in super-stretch dimensional
knits with contrasting, upholstery-style
border fabrics.
Maintaining a comfortable sleeping
temperature was top of mind at
International Bedding Corp., which
has created The Sleep Doctor bed in
partnership with sleep expert and
author Dr. Michael Breus.
“Having Michael design for IBC
has been exciting and refreshing,” said
Eric Johnson, senior vice president of
marketing and merchandising for the
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company.
“He has magnificent insight into what
sleep can do for your life. One of the
strongest things about the beds is their
thermal regulation.”
The all-foam line features proprietary
Tempsense, a combination of
phase-change ticking material and
temperature-regulating Celsion latex in
the bed’s top comfort layer. There are
six beds in the group, each upholstered
in bright white with French blue check
accents. Retail prices range from $1,499
to $2,999 for a queen.
Pure LatexBLISS added a model
with temperature-regulating Celsion
latex to its collection of removable
pillow-tops. It retails for about $350 in
queen.
Enso Sleep Systems, a division
of Klaussner Furniture Industries,
launched a nine-model line of all-foam
beds imported from China. There are
eight visco-elastic and one latex mattress.
Most models have zip-off top
panels that can be cleaned or replaced.
The Grandeur, a duvet-top bed with a
high-end look, retails for $1,499.
The line presents retailers with an
opportunity for “long, healthy margins
on beds with stepped-up styling,”
said Chuck Fisher, an executive with
the Asheboro, N.C.-based company.
“These are our initial offerings. Our
direction will be based on where our
dealers and the consumer want to
take us.”
10 | BedTimes | June 2010
Serta The new Trump Home Luxury line was
displayed in the company’s new, still-under
construction showroom.
The foam mattresses are shipped
rolled and in cartons from warehouses
in Asheboro and Kent, Wash. Wood
and wire foundations are shipped
either assembled or knocked down.
Suggested retail prices range from $299
to $1,999.
Alliance Sleep, the Buffalo, N.Y.based
Restonic licensee, added a
number of new models to its lineup. In
a “soft,” regional launch, the company
introduced four Healthrest beds retailing
for $1,299 to $1,699. Each has a
polyurethane core containing plantbased
content that’s topped with layers
of Talalay latex in a range of thicknesses.
The Oceania from Jamison Bedding
is an all-foam bed that comes with “a
party” of marketing tools, said Ken
Hinman, vice president of sales and
marketing for the Brentwood, Tenn.based
manufacturer. “We’re trying to
bring some excitement to the category.
The coolest thing about the bed is its
fast recovery and it temperature-regulating
properties.” Ventilated viscoelastic
and a densified, breathable fiber
layer top the high-resiliency base foam.
Point-of-purchase materials for Oceania
include signage and foot protectors.
Classic Brands, based in Jessup, Md.,
reintroduced its Dormia brand, debuting
eight foam beds in a memory foam
and a latex collection. The top beds
have 5 inches of memory foam or latex
with a “free-floating” look—a box-top
design without any tape-edge.
“The brand has had a lot of nationwide
visibility and we believe that there
is an opportunity to re-establish that
connection with consumers,” said Mike
Zippelli, Classic Brands chief executive
officer.
Adjustable base and mattress
maker Zedbed, based in Grand-Mère,
Quebec, added new adjustable bases
to its ZedMatic and Ortho Zed lines
and introduced the Flex collection, its
first wrapped coil offering. The beds’
top layer is memory foam, latex or a
“hybrid” foam with characteristics of
both latex and visco-elastic. There are
three comfort levels. The suggested
retail price is $1,999 for a queen set on
a flat base. The manufacturer’s Black
Label foam bed collection contains a
new generation of “nonthermo-
sensitive” memory foam.
Durability messages
Reaching out to consumers who’ve
been unhappy with a past bedding purchase,
Paramount Bedding, a Comfort
Solutions licensee with headquarters
in Norfolk, Va., introduced the Heavy
Duty or “HD” mattress.
“Many people have purchased a
pillow-top mattress and experienced
product failure after two to three
years,” said Richard Fleck, Paramount
Bedding executive vice president of
sales. “They’ve felt taken. HD really gets
back to the tradition of the industry. It
offers solid support and comfort that is
designed to last.”
Product messaging revolves around
comfort and durability—not body
weight. The beds incorporate high-end
specialty foams, inner tufting, heavygauge
innersprings and foam encasement.
An extra sturdy, all-wood foundation
is made by Amish craftsmen in
Pennsylvania. The four beds in the line
retail for between $999 and $1,999.
Paramount’s new Back Performance
collection retails for $699 to $1,499
in queen. Its tag line is “Support Your
Active Lifestyle.” The collection itself
is supported by an array of lifestyle
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

The fiber brand for the botanic bed
TENCEL ® is made from wood and is thus 100 % from Nature. TENCEL ® can be used in lots of different ways in beds, starting with
mattresses and mattress overlays, to bed covers and bed linens, through to lingerie. Thus a completely botanic bed becomes a reality.
Lenzing Fibers, Inc.
530 Seventh Avenue, Suite 808, New York, NY 10018-3508
Phone: 212 944-7898, E-Mail: n.nadash@lenzing.com
www.lenzing.com/tencel
Home Home Textile Textile Sourcing Sourcing event event
at at the the Jacob Jacob Javits Javits Center Center in in NYC NYC July July 13th 13th – – 15th 15th
Please Please register: register: www.htfse.com
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Lenzing AG, A-4860 Lenzing, Austria
Lenzing AG, A-4860 Lenzing, Austria

MarketReport
point-of-purchase photography and a
series of videos.
Gold Bond told a durability and
value story with its collection of twosided
beds.
“The story is selling—especially in
this economy—that you get twice as
much bedding for your money when
you buy a two-sided bed,” said Bob
Naboicheck, president of the Hartford,
Conn.-based company.
Gold Bond’s new Imperial with
Sacro-Support is a step-up, two-sided
bed available in firm, plush and pillowtop.
It retails for $799 and $899 for a
queen set. The bed’s sleep surfaces have
knit fabrics with delicate black floral
motifs. Borders are a coffee-cream
linen.
Other manufacturers showing
two-sided beds included Paramount
and Therapedic Sleep Products. Park
Place Corp., based in Greenville, S.C.,
showed in a new space in the International
Home Furnishings Center and
saw increasing interest in two-sided
beds, according to Jimmy Orders, Park
Place president.
Moving into new prices, categories
Ultra-premium bed maker Hästens,
based in Köping, Sweden, unveiled
the next generation of its lower priced
frame beds. Three models retail for
$5,100 to $6,950 in queen—about 20%
less than its previous line. In addition
to layers of horsehair, cotton, wool and
wrapped coils, the upholstered beds
incorporate a new “sectioned-off, Deltabonnell”
system that reduces motion
transfer.
According to Janet Stein, U.S.
country manager for Hästens, there has
been a return to luxury goods con-
12 | BedTimes | June 2010
EcoSleep Cool-Contour
Deluxe is an addition to the
Cool-Contour memory
foam collection.
sumption, but with a new ethos.
“People are re-learning the value of
sleep and placing more value on beds,”
she said. “The luxury customer wants
something that is authentic, differentiated
and of real quality and craftsmanship.”
Serta made a late-date decision to
take its new permanent showroom in
the IHFC. The bedding maker turned
lemons into lemonade, decorating the
space with an “Under Construction”
theme complete with scaffolds, raw
plywood decor and paint buckets filled
with flowers. In high relief stood the
elegant Trump Home Luxury five-bed,
step-up collection. Priced from $1,699
to $2,999 in queen, the beds glimmer
with gold damask fabrics and sparkling
crystals. They feature specialty foams,
foam encasement, wrapped coils and
coil-on-coil construction in some
models. The top bed has Serta’s Smart
Support gel comfort layer.
Shifman brought out the Limited
Edition Mattress collection with a
tack-and-jump quilt. A pilot program,
the bed is available for the month of
June only and is in a moderate price
range for the high-end manufacturer—$1,499
for a queen set. In keeping
with Shifman tradition, the beds are
handmade, two-sided and sit atop
eight-way, hand-tied foundations.
Therapedic added some sparkle in
its first foray into encased coil mattresses.
The Princeton, N.J.-based
licensing group put the spotlight on
its five-bed Therawrap by Therapedic
collection. Each bed is foam encased
and upholstered in a silver, black and
white ticking with a gleaming metallic
silver tape-edge. The beds have up
to a 2-inch specialty foam comfort
layer—either visco-elastic or latex. The
top model is an encased coil-on-coil
construction. Retail prices range from
$699 to $1,199.
“We are very excited to finally have
a branded, encased coil line like
Therawrap,” said Gerry Borreggine,
Therapedic president. “We’ve positioned
the line as a value alternative
to the other ‘like products’ cur-
rently in the marketplace. It is being
exceptionally well received by both our
dealers and the factory reps.”
Promotional brand Five Star Mattress,
based in Hoffman Estates, Ill.,
reached for the higher end with its
True Luxury collection, a 14-bed line
retailing for $599 to $1,499. The top
bed in the line has 2 ½ inches of Talalay
latex in a “super pillow-top.” Rich
styling in shades of mocha and tan,
knit tops with scroll motifs, suede borders
and thick tape-edges are teamed
with point-of-purchase banners in
chocolate satin.
“It’s certainly a luxurious new look
for us,” said Jim Nation, Five Star Mattress
president. “And something people
don’t often think about—those suede
borders keep sheets in place so they
won’t pop off the bed.”
Emphasis on accessorizing
Accessories collections continue to
grow from market to market as vendors
look for new ways to help retailers
increase sales.
Leggett & Platt’s Consumer Products
Group introduced a 400-thread
count sheet set with RestAssured Easy-
Fit Corner Pockets, part of its Home
collection brand. The fitted sheet has a
stretchy fabric band that is guaranteed
to keep sheets snugly in place over any
mattress up to 18 inches deep. A queen
sheet set retails for $99.
“We added a number of new
products, as well as new marketing collateral
tying together all of our brands.
The ultimate goal is to help retailers
increase their average ticket by offering
a full line of accessories,” said Herman
Tam, group vice president of sales and
marketing at the Carthage, Mo.-based
company.
L&P offers six categories of accessories,
as well as display units and
point-of-purchase materials in its Retail
Solution program, which is being
used by more than 135 retailers. Retail
participants saw a 21% growth in average
tickets during a six-month period
in 2009, Tam said.
The Cool Aire Memory Foam
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

MarketReport
Pillow from L&P’s Southern Textiles
brand is a new ergonomically designed
contour pillow. Southern Textiles also
offered new microfiber polyester sheet
sets with moisture-wicking properties.
Two new mattress encasements address
growing concerns about bedbugs
and allergens. The Invisicase Surround
Protector is a waterproof, bedbug and
allergen-resistant encasement. The
Platinum Surround Protector offers
the same protection and has a terry top
with four-way stretch.
Hickory At Home is “putting passion
and luxury” into sleep accessories,
said Niles Cornelius, general manager
of the company, a division of Hickory
Springs Mfg. Co. based in Hickory,
N.C.
“No bed sale is complete until you
put the right top-of-bed on it,” he said.
“We want to help consumers spend
more dollars in that store—it doesn’t
14 | BedTimes | June 2010
Hickory at Home Niles Cornelius, general
manager, demonstrates additions to the
company’s line of comforters, pillows and
other top-of-bed items.
matter what brand mattress they buy.”
With anything from 50 square feet
to 1,200 square feet, a retailer can create
a “Final Touch” accessories department
in their store, Cornelius said.
The product line emphasizes down
fills. Comforters and blankets come in
different weights and contain European
goose down. Retail prices range
from $699 to $899. Feather beds in
queen with European goose down are
$699. Domestic goose down feather
beds retail for about $200. There also
are sheets with long-staple cotton,
several types of mattress pads and 10
pillow variations with a range of fill
types.
Jamison has branded its own line of
two-sided latex and visco-elastic pillows.
There are three SKUs—for back,
side and stomach sleepers—that retail
for $129 in queen size.
Classic Brands added the Perfect
Pillow, bringing its pillow lineup to
six. The Perfect Pillow is two-sided
memory foam with a velour cover. One
side is smooth while the other is contoured,
making it suitable for all sleep
positions. It retails for $89 in queen. BT
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

16 | BedTimes | June 2010
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

What they’re saying
Why managing
your online
reputation
is critical
By Barbara Nelles
Have you noticed how quickly bad news rises to the top of Internet
search results? It’s human nature: People love gossip and
scandal. They’ll forward links and post comments on blogs,
Twitter and forums. Before you know it, a video of two misbehaving
employees “goes viral” on YouTube and turns up just below the company’s
official corporate Web site in Internet searches.
That’s what happened to Domino’s Pizza when a gross-out
video created by a couple of unhappy workers garnered 1 million
views before the company even discovered its existence. United
Airlines had a similarly unpleasant experience when a passenger
whose guitar was broken by baggage handlers chronicled the incident
in a song that became an Internet hit.
Nothing is more precious—and perhaps more fragile—than
your company’s reputation. Damage to it can affect everything
from sales to relationships with suppliers. And it can have longlasting
impact on consumer attitudes toward your company and
the entire industry.
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
BedTimes | June 2010 | 17

The rise of social media has
created what some experts call the
“people paparazzi”—the multitudes
that stand by ready to broadcast a
company’s every slip-up.
“Online reputation management
is critical and growing in importance.
The fact is, there is so much
incivility out there and anyone with
a computer and an opinion can go
online and malign you,” says Leslie
Gaines-Ross, chief reputation strategist
at public relations firm Weber
Shandwick, headquartered in New
York.
Among the potential troublemakers
are angry consumers, disgruntled
employees and malicious competitors,
not to mention “squatters” and
impersonators who can hijack your
brands or company name online.
What is a company to do?
First, don’t think you can escape
by avoiding the online world, reputation
experts told BedTimes. That
won’t stop others from talking about
you, boycotting your products or
launching defamation campaigns.
“Many companies worry about
engaging, but all they need is one
crisis to realize they have not built a
community of online advocates and
evangelists who will come to their
defense,” Gaines-Ross says.
The business-to-business aspect
of online reputation management is
growing steadily, too.
“Mattress manufacturers will
want to keep an eye out for unhappy
retailers or other business
partners,” says Andy Beal, a reputation
management consultant and
author based in Raleigh, N.C. “For
instance, if someone at a big chain
is saying your product quality has
gone downhill in the past five years,
they may have lots of influence over
consumers and other retailers. You’ll
want to be able to reach out quickly
and address that.”
“Another thing companies need
to realize is how online reputation
relates to traditional media,” Gaines-
Ross says. “Social and traditional
media go hand in hand. Something
that bubbles up online can easily
show up in traditional media. It’s
where many journalists are getting
18 | BedTimes | June 2010
their stories today. That type of
news can impact all of your business’
stakeholders.”
Plug in
“It is imperative that all companies
monitor their online reputations,”
Gaines-Ross says. “Create your own
baseline audit—or have it done by
an outside agency or consultant. At
the most basic level, create alerts in
the major search engines with your
name and brands, mattress industry
keywords and your competitors’
names—because anything that hap-
7 traits of the ideal
‘community manager’
1. Diplomatic
2. Lives and breathes the brand
and the industry
3. Online extrovert and people
person
4. Excellent written communication
skills
5. Customer-service oriented
6. Creative—able to proactively
manage reputation by building
unique content that makes
points about the company and
its products, services
7. Easygoing and egoless
pens to the competition can easily
spill over to you.”
You can set up alerts at search
engines that specifically crawl social
media, such as Whos Talkin and
BackTalk. Use Technorati to search
blogs; for Twitter check
http://search.twitter.com. By setting
up searches at Boardreader
or BoardTracker, you can follow
comments on message boards and
forums, which are especially difficult
for major search engines to navigate.
“Keeping an eye on forums is a
great way for companies to solve a
problem before it goes public. Many
people post to them when they have
a gripe, a problem with a product or
need to know how to fix something,”
says Rhea Drysdale, chief operating
officer for Outspoken Media, an
Internet marketing, search engine
optimization and reputation management
agency based in Spring
Hill, Fla.
“No matter what your company’s
size, I recommend that you begin by
monitoring your reputation yourself,”
Beal says. “This will give you
an idea of what kind of support you
need. If you decide to outsource,
you are better informed in choosing
and directing an agency.”
There are many free and paid
listening platforms available for
monitoring online reputation.
“I created Trackur because I was
disappointed with Google Alerts,”
Beal says. “You don’t have to set each
search individually and you get an
intuitive console for viewing results
online.”
Trackur has a basic version available
for free. Paid plans begin at
$18 per month. If you outsource
monitoring to your marketing or
public relations firm or have a large
budget, you might use a tool such as
Alterian, Radian6 or Visible Technologies.
Less expensive Scout Labs
starts at $199 per month for individual
companies and offers a free,
trial version.
Use your monitoring platform
to gain competitive intelligence and
market research insights.
“Look to see what customers like
and dislike about competitors’ prod-
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ucts and capitalize on that. Track for
trends in mattress purchasing. Learn
about the phobias and misconceptions
within the category and how
to better align your marketing,” Beal
says. “Pass information on to your
retailers: ‘We think consumers will
find the experience more enjoyable
if you do this.’ ”
Get help
“The prevailing school of thought
is that it’s OK to outsource the
monitoring of your online reputation,
but companies should manage
reputation internally. Yet some
companies are not ready to take on
the responsibility,” says Tom Martin,
president and “social media guy” at
New Orleans agency Zehnder Communications.
“I recommend a hybrid approach,”
Beal says. “Definitely look
outside for help in developing best
practices and strategy: Which media
channels should you be involved
with? What should you do in a
crisis? But take ownership internally.
The more you outsource, the less
transparent you become.”
“We would always prefer that
a company takes its reputation
management in-house and come to
us for assistance at different levels,”
Drysdale says. “When companies
get more social, they sometimes
delegate responsibilities to a marketing
intern. Is that person well versed
in your brand and industry? Do they
have the maturity to be out there
representing you?”
Whether outsourced or in-house,
community management is a growing
field. The community manager
is the company’s face in the social
media arena.
“If your company is attacked, it’s
only natural to feel upset,” Martin
says. “But the ideal community
manager is able to separate out the
emotion and ego and respond appropriately.
They must be incredibly
diplomatic and cool under pressure,
in addition to being a great writer
and thinker.”
When the environmental group
Greenpeace launched a concerted
social media attack on food con-
20 | BedTimes | June 2010
Nasty or nice:
Claim all your
names & domains
smart companies prevent imposters
from “squatting” on their identity
by purchasing all domain
name variations for their brands
and their company. They also
purchase different domain name
roots—
.com, .net, .org, .us, .ca, etc.
But you should take that a step
further, reputation experts say.
Protect your company reputation
by purchasing unpleasant
variations of your online identity
such as “companyxyzsucks” or
“ihatebrandx” and the like.
Whether or not you participate,
it’s important to claim your
name on social media networks,
such as Facebook, MySpace,
LinkedIn and Twitter. The more
expensive plans go beyond
signing you up and claiming
your name at each network. For
instance, KnowEm will complete
your company profile and post
additional information that you
supply, such as photos and bios.
Pricing is a one-time charge between
$99 and $599.
glomerate Nestlé in March 2010, the
person managing Nestlé’s Facebook
page got “snarky with commenters
and only added fuel to the fire,”
Martin says.
“Choosing someone appropriate
internally, with industry experience,
and then training them to be more
adept in social media is the best
route,” Gaines-Ross says.
“They know the terminology,
they know the competition, they
understand what goes into building
a mattress. They can identify the
individual benefits of every product
you make and understand the rigor
of your R&D department,” Beal says.
“Think of it this way, social media
is just a communication medium.
Like with email or the telephone, it’s
the person on the other end who’s
important.”
Managing a company’s social
media space “is a time-suck,” Martin
says. “You need someone willing to
work all hours. Nights and on weekends
they’ll be checking Twitter and
blogging, etc. It really helps to find
someone who is already into social
media.”
Accentuate the positive
Take steps now to insulate your
brand from attacks. It’s what
Gaines-Ross describes as “inoculating
your brand” against future
threats. One way you can do that
is by dominating search results for
your company and your brands in
major search engines.
If your online reputation is
already suffering damage, expect
it to take several months, possibly
more than a year, to clean things up,
reputation experts say. And don’t
rely on vendors who claim they can
fix things by asking sites to remove
negative content about your company.
It doesn’t work. For one thing,
it’s in the best interest of complaint
sites like Ripoff Report and Epinions’
to keep attention-grabbing
negative commentary posted.
“Look at Google not as a search
engine, but a reputation engine. The
good news is that about 85% of Web
surfers don’t look beyond the first
page of search results and about
95% don’t look beyond the second,”
Beal says.
So it’s important for a company
to populate that first page with its
own content.
“Google is your brand,” says
Heather Lutze, a search engine
expert, author and chief executive
officer of the Findability Group in
Denver. “Dominate that first page
of search results with your Web site,
your Twitter account, your compa-
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

ny’s LinkedIn and Facebook pages,
your Flickr account, your personalized
YouTube channel, microsites,
your blog, etc. It will help quiet the
criticism and push bad stuff off the
page.”
You may want to create additional
Web sites for your company.
For instance, build a separate site
for customer service or to talk about
your company’s charitable works,
Drysdale says. Make sure the subdomain
name includes your company
name: “brandxcustomerservice”
or “brandxinthecommunity.” Also,
build microsites tied to product
launches, special promotions or
advertising campaigns.
When searchers type a mattress
company’s name or brands into
Google, they often refine the search
with terms such as “review” or
“comfort.”
“Find out where reviews of your
product or product category are
posting. Is it Epinions, Yelp, TripAdvisor?
Encourage the growth of
positive content there,” Beal says. “If
Learn more
22 | BedTimes | June 2010
you do that now and face some sort
of reputation attack later, there’s less
chance negative posts will reach to
the top of search results.”
“Be sure to give your Twitter
accounts and blogs personality,”
Gaines-Ross says. “Use people from
within your company who are able
to step out and build relationships
and a good reputation around the
mattress industry and your company.
It may be someone involved
in designing or building mattresses
who has their own blog and they
talk about how the technology is
changing. GM created the popular
FastLane blog. In a crisis, it has a
venue for addressing customers.”
Putting the focus on employees is
especially important when it comes
to reputation management.
“We think of employees as ‘embedded
journalists’, ” Gaines-Ross
says.
Disgruntled employees could be
among those bad-mouthing your
brand online. Unfortunately, company
guidelines and online monitor-
Books
➤ Corporate Reputation: 12 Steps to Safeguarding and Recovering Reputation
by Leslie Gaines-Ross (Wiley, John & Sons Inc., 2008)
➤ Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online by
Andy Beal and Judy Strauss. (Wiley, John & Sons Inc., 2008)
Online resources
➤ “Greenpeace vs. Nestle: How to Make Sure Your Facebook Page Doesn’t
Become a PR Trojan Horse: Part 2,” The Brandbuilder Blog by Olivier
Blanchard, March 24, 2010, http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com
➤ “Guide to Social Media Monitoring Platforms” by Social Target,
http://socialtarget.com/research. The guide, available for $300, assesses
21 monitoring plans.
➤ ReputationXchange blog by Leslie Gaines-Ross,
http://reputationxchange.com
➤ ReputationRx site by Weber Shandwick. Check out the free download:
“Safekeeping Reputation: 99 Tips,” www.reputationrx.com
➤ Reputation Dot Me by Andy Beal, compendium of current online reputation
management news and information, www.reputation.me
➤ “Risky Business: 15 Realities and 15 Rules for Managing Reputation Online”
by Weber Shandwick, www.online-reputations.com/findings.html
➤ “The Online Reputation Management Guide” by Outspoken Media, free
step-by-step assistance and a reputation assessment sheet, http://outspokenmedia.com/guides/orm-guide
➤ “What You Need to Know About Outsourcing Social Media,” SocialMedia
Examiner blog, www.socialmediaexaminer.com
ing will not prevent the dissatisfied
from becoming anonymous mudslingers.
“But companies must listen and
respond to employees’ needs if they
are to turn unhappy employees into
advocates,” she says.
Battle plan
“Theories on how you should react
to online criticism are fluid. They are
evolving and changing with time,”
says Julien Smith, an author, consultant,
podcaster and online communities
expert based in Montreal.
Don’t be surprised if you’re unsure
how to handle your company’s first
reputation crisis. It’s best to line up
expert help ahead of time. A digital
marketing agency or online reputation
consultant can conduct an audit
of your current reputation, develop
a crisis plan and stand at the ready to
help you diffuse situations.
“When you are deciding whether
or not to respond, you want to figure
out if the person being critical is misinformed,
if they have a real beef or if
they’re just crazy,” Gaines-Ross says.
Gaines-Ross and others hold up
the U.S. Air Force’s “Rules of Engagement
for Blogging” as a groundbreaking
tool for deciding when to
respond. Many reputation consultants
use the flow chart as a jumping-off
point for creating individualized
response plans. The original chart
can be viewed at www.globalnerdy.
com/2008/12/30/the-air-forces-rulesof-engagement-for-blogging.
There are times when you don’t
want to respond. For instance, if a
complaint is likely from a competitor
trying to cause trouble, you may
not want to give the comments “legs”
or credibility by responding. You
also might ignore a minor complaint
posted in an individual’s blog.
“But if your company has made a
mistake—whether it’s product defects
or poor customer service—then you
need to respond,” Beal says. “If you
don’t, the complainer may take their
complaint to Facebook, Epinions or
the Better Business Bureau.”
“When you respond depends on
the situation,” Drysdale says. “Who is
behind it? If it’s a consumer, then you
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

Experts say ‘be human,’ not robotic or
bureaucratic in your responses. On Facebook,
use your real name and a thumbnail photo of
yourself—not the company logo—when
responding to an irate posting.
do what you can until you realize they
will not accept any apology. Then you
let it go. Hopefully, you have built up
a community that will rise to your defense
in these situations. That is what
24 | BedTimes | June 2010
great brands do.”
Experts say “be human,” not
robotic or bureaucratic in your responses.
On Facebook, use your real
name and a thumbnail photo of your-
self—not the company logo—when
responding to an irate posting.
“Some people have never learned
how to apologize when things go
wrong and most companies haven’t
either,” Smith says. “Yet the ability to
be vulnerable in public is incredibly
powerful and can gain you the empathy
of tons of people.”
“Responding doesn’t need to be
complex,” Beal says. “I’ve distilled it
down to three words when you’re facing
a crisis: sincerity—offer a sincere
apology, often that is all the person is
looking for; transparency—be open
about how the situation came about;
and consistency—make sure this
is an isolated incident and fix the
problem that led to the crisis.”
“Toyota did a bad job of responding
to its recent crisis,” Beal says.
“They were slow to react (customers
had been complaining about
accelerator problems for months
beforehand) and slow to take responsibility.
Now they’ve lost a lot
of credibility. Jet Blue did a good
job after having stranded all their
passengers. They responded quickly,
they apologized and introduced a
passenger bill of rights. Dell is the
poster child for reputation turnarounds.
They went from really
bad to having a really good reputation
and being very engaged with
customers.”
“Making it easy for people to reach
your company in the first place goes
a long way,” Drysdale says. “Problems
arise that are difficult to fix when
consumers are unable to get ahold of
a real person. Display your contact
information online or create a separate
customer service site.”
“One thing we always tell clients
if an online response is called
for, do not go in and use your
company and your brand names,”
Drysdale says. “It’s correct to give
your name and title and establish
your credibility as an employee
of the company—you want to be
transparent. But I’ve seen people
mention their company name 10
times in a single post. That shoots
the complaint you’re responding
to right up to the top of the search
results for your company.” BT
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ManagementIssues
Would you want to work for YOU?
See yourself through the eyes of others to improve your leadership brand
By Brenda Bence
The Starbucks brand of coffee can
teach you a lot about your own
brand as a leader. How?
Consider this for a moment: When
coffee is in its initial coffee bean state,
it’s a commodity that sells for just
a few cents per cup. When you add
packaging, a brand name and place
the coffee on a grocery store shelf, the
price goes up to between 5 cents and
25 cents a cup. Throw in service and
add “personality” to that coffee by
offering it at, say Dunkin’ Donuts, and
the price rises to between 75 cents and
$1.50 per cup.
Then there’s Starbucks coffee, which
sells for $2 to $5 per cup. How does
Starbucks do that? What does it have
that those other cups of coffee don’t?
It isn’t just a better tasting cup
of coffee. What Starbucks offers is
If you’re unsure how to turn feedback into
action or if you need extra motivation to
change some nonproductive habits, find an
executive coach to help you.
something much more than taste:
It offers a rewarding coffee-buying
and drinking experience. When we
buy a cup of Starbucks coffee, we’re
paying for the experience of taking a
break during the day, enjoying a jolt
of java with friends or relaxing with
a decaf mocha latte after a night at
the theater. It’s those experiences
that differentiate Starbucks from
many other coffee brands.
If you want to earn more money
and advance your career, think
about the experience you offer as a
leader in the workplace. Are you a
grocery store brand of coffee or a
cup of Starbucks?
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
To put it another way, if you
could step into the shoes of the
people you are leading, what would
it feel like to be part of a team with
you at the helm? In short, would you
want to work for YOU?
Because you’re not in your team’s
shoes, it can be difficult to answer
that question. But if you don’t, your
personal leadership brand will suffer.
To make sure your individual
brand is bringing you success and
growth in your career, you need to
learn how others perceive, think and
feel about you as a leader. Only then
can you find out if your brand needs
improvement. And that means get-
ting regular, helpful feedback.
That can be easier said than done,
of course. If no one is offering you
feedback because of your position
as a manager or if you don’t feel
you’re getting honest feedback from
subordinates, it’s your responsibility
to go after it. There is no better way
to improve both your career and,
ultimately, your company’s performance.
Here are four ways to gain a better
understanding of what it’s like to
work for you:
1Use 360-degree feedback
tools These assessments allow
you to get formal, standardized
feedback from subordinates,
your boss, colleagues and even customers.
There are literally hundreds
of them on the market, so choose
carefully in order to find one that
will help you meet your specific
objectives.
For example, if you want to
improve your leadership skills, use
a leadership assessment tool such as
Leadership Agility 360. If you want
to better manage your emotions
on the job, try an emotional intelligence
assessment such as the Emotional
Capital Inventory (ECi 360).
Before purchasing one, ask to see
an example of the performance/
outcome report you will receive and
check to see if you need a certified
coach to administer the assessment.
2Ask for feedback—regularly
In a one-on-one environment,
sit down and ask for feedback
from your subordinates, your boss
and key colleagues. The one-on-one
part is important: If you try to have
a group meeting for feedback, no
one will be honest with you.
BedTimes | June 2010 | 29

ManagementIssues
Let each person know that you’re
sincere in your request and that you
want candor. Listen intently and
write down what you hear. Don’t allow
yourself to become defensive—
no matter what is said. If you do, the
exercise will backfire and chances
are you’ll never receive honest feedback
again.
When the person is finished,
simply say, “thank you” and nothing
more.
3Audio or videotape yourself
conducting meetings Then
sit back and review them
objectively. This can be a real eyeopener.
As you watch or listen, put
yourself in the other people’s position
and imagine what it felt like to
be in that meeting with you.
Are you communicating the leadership
brand you want? If you find
it difficult to assess the recordings,
ask a trusted colleague for honest
feedback.
30 | BedTimes | June 2010
4Put it all together After
you’ve gathered all of your
notes from your feedback
assessments and from watching and
listening to recordings, look for the
common elements and themes.
Based on your review, what are
the key behaviors that you want to
focus on improving? Choose the
top three or four and then create an
action plan to begin to change. If
you’re unsure how to turn feedback
into action or if you need extra motivation
to change some nonproductive
habits, find an executive coach
to help you.
Work on making changes every
day, but don’t expect immediate
success. Long-lasting changes in behavior
require time and persistence.
Many of the behaviors you will want
to change have become ingrained
habits, so you first need to become
aware of what triggers the behavior.
Then you’ll be in a position to stop
yourself and do something different.
Even if the feedback stings in the
beginning, you will soon discover
the many rewards of strengthening
your personal leadership brand.
When you succeed in changing a
limiting behavior, you feel a strong
sense of accomplishment. And the
respect you will receive from your
team as a result of listening to their
feedback is invaluable. They will
feel empowered by the fact that you
took their comments to heart and
you will become a great role model
for how they can use feedback to
Let each person know that you’re sincere in your
request and that you want candor. Listen intently and
write down what you hear. Don’t allow yourself to
become defensive—no matter what is said.
improve themselves in the workplace,
too.
Only through strengthening your
personal leadership brand can you
continue to grow as a leader and
further your career. That’s how you
enrich the experience of working
with you and make yourself someone
you’d be happy to have at the
helm. BT
Brenda Bence is an internationally
recognized branding expert, certified
executive coach, professional speaker
and award-winning author of the
How YOU Are Like Shampoo personal
branding book series. As president
of Brand Development Associates
International Ltd., Bence travels
the world speaking, training and
coaching individuals and companies
to greater success through corporate
and personal brand development. For
more information, check
www.brendabence.com.
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

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IndustryNews
L&P’s first-quarter sales tick upward
Components supplier Leggett &
Platt in Carthage, Mo., reports
that it generated $816 million in
sales from continuing operations
during the first quarter of 2010, a
14% increase over the same period
in 2009. First-quarter earnings
were $0.29 per share. Unit volumes
increased approximately 18%, but
were partially offset by reduced
prices associated with steel-related
deflation, the company said.
David Haffner, L&P president
and chief executive officer,
said earnings were up due to the
market’s improvement and sales
growth, combined with the company’s
2009 cost-cutting measures.
“Our balance sheet and cash
flow remain strong,” Haffner said.
“We have essentially concluded the
first part of the three-part strategic
plan we announced in November
2007, having successfully refocused
the company by divesting lowperforming
businesses. We’ve also
made substantial progress on the
second step of the plan—to improve
margins and returns on the
businesses we have kept—despite
significant declines in market
demand. The third step of our
strategy is to grow the company at
4% to 5% per year, on average, over
the long term.”
In the first quarter, the company
repurchased 2 million shares of
stock and outstanding shares declined
to 147.8 million. Net debt to
net capital was 25.6% at the close of
the quarter—well below the company’s
30% to 40% target range.
Total sales from continuing operations
in the residential furnishings
division, which includes domestic
bedding products, increased $20
million, or 5%, during the first
quarter over the same time last year.
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
Total sales from continuing operations
in the specialized products
division, which includes the Global
Systems Group machinery division,
increased $32 million, or 31%.
“For the next couple of years,
gradual market recovery should
provide ample growth and we
should benefit significantly from
our advantaged competitive positions,
improved cost structure and
spare production capacity,” Haffner
said. “Longer term, we aim for
growth to come from development
and commercialization of innovative
new products and from identification
of and expansion into
potential new growth platforms.”
Select Comfort’s same-store sales rise 29%
Minneapolis-based airbed Maker select coMfort reported improved performance
during the first quarter of 2010. Net sales for the quarter totaled $158 million,
an increase of 13% over the same period a year ago.
The increase in sales was driven by a 29% increase in same-store sales,
offset by the impact of the closure of 76 stores since the beginning of
2009 and the termination of retail partner relationships at the end of the
third-quarter 2009. The net decline in store count and retail partner terminations
represented $12.8 million in sales in the first quarter of 2009.
Direct marketing and Internet sales increased by a combined 16%, as
compared to the year-ago period.
Net income for the quarter was $7.8 million, or $0.14 per diluted
share, compared to a net loss of $2.7 million, or $0.06 per diluted share,
in the first quarter of 2009.
Gross profit margins were 62.1% of net sales, in line with company
targets and 350 basis points higher than the 58.6% gross profit rate in the
first quarter of 2009.
Cash flows from operating activities were $29.5 million for first-quarter
2010 compared to $24.1 million, including a $23 million tax refund, in
the year-ago period. Capital expenditures totaled $1 million, compared to
$1.2 million in 2009. At the end of the quarter, cash and cash equivalents
and restricted cash totaled $44 million and the company had no borrowings
under its revolving credit agreement.
“During the quarter, our solid execution resulted in improved performance,
demonstrated by sustained same-store growth and strong
operating margins,” said Bill McLaughlin, Select Comfort president and
chief executive officer. “We took advantage of an improving consumer
environment and positive in-market testing to increase media investments
behind our proven value messaging. The result was sales growth across all
company-owned channels.”
McLaughlin continued, “While still cautious about macrotrends for the
balance of the year, we anticipate an improved outlook for 2010 based on
our continuing momentum and consequently are increasing our earnings
guidance.”
BedTimes | June 2010 | 33

IndustryNews
Tropical Bedding recalls 15,000 mattress sets
Tropical Bedding Mfg., based in
Caguas, Puerto Rico, has recalled
15,000 mattress sets because they fail
to meet the federal open-flame mattress
standard, 16 CFR Part 1633.
No injuries or incidents have been
reported in association with the mattresses,
according to the U.S. Consum-
34 | BedTimes | June 2010
er Product Safety Commission, which
issued the recall notice.
The recall involves crib and bunk
mattresses and mattress sets in twin,
full, queen and king sizes. The crib
and bunk mattresses do not have
any labels. The other mattresses have
“Classics,” “Classics II,” “Imagine,”
w w w . s t a r s p r i n g s . c o m
Innovations and technology for the future
SWEDEN BRASIL POLAND USA
“Sweet Mysteries,” “Treasures” or
“Comfort Dream” printed on a label
located on the top panel at the foot
of the mattress. “Classics” models
manufactured between August 2008
and April 2009 are not included in
the recall. That model has a federal
label attached that includes the date of
manufacture and “Classics.”
The mattresses were sold at City
Mattress and furniture stores in
Puerto Rico from July 2007 through
September 2009. They retailed for
between $30 and $135.
The CPSC tells consumers to
“stop using the mattresses immediately
and return them to Tropical
Bedding Mfg. for a refund.” Consumers
can contact the company by
calling Carmen Martinez at
787-586-1139.
Short
Dunlopillo offers PlasSpring
Dunlopillo
Indonesia, with
headquarters
in Jakarta, has
introduced
PlasSpring, a
plastic spring that
is 100% recyclable.
It’s made
from a nontoxic,
nongaseous
thermoplastic
elastomer that is
commonly used
in food containers. The spring
is extremely durable and its
unique design can support five
times the weight of a conventional
steel coil, according to
the company. Unlike metal
coils, PlasSprings require no
wire frame or encasement to
hold them in place. Instead, the
plastic springs have connectors
that lock them tightly together.
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

Winco acquires Spring Air’s Florida license
Winco USA, the Spring Air licensee
based in Corsicana, Texas, has
acquired the license for Florida. The
company will service the state from its
manufacturing plant in Bartow, Fla.
Previously, Spring Air-Midwest had
been serving retail customers in Florida
Shorts
NCFI introduces new foam
Foam supplier NCFI Polyurethanes,
a division of Barnhardt
Mfg., has introduced Bio-Lux
Max, an extension of its Bio-Lux
line of flexible foams with renewable
content. According to Chris
Bradley, director of sales for the
Mount Airy, N.C.-based company,
the high-density and conventional
polyurethane foams in the
new line contain between 30%
and 33% total renewable content
derived from Cargill’s soy-based
BiOH polyols. “We have been
working on this introduction for
some time,” Bradley said. “Our
customers have been asking
us for a product that contains
significantly higher amounts of
renewable content than current
products in the market.”
Sedlak remakes bedding dept.
One of Ohio’s largest furniture
retailers, Sedlak Interiors in
Cleveland, recently completed a
makeover of its mattress gallery.
The space was remodeled from
floor to ceiling with the goal
of putting the spotlight on its
featured bedding brand Shifman
Mattresses. The redesign includes
plush carpet and a six-panel
skylight that gives the illusion
of the outdoor sky with drifting
clouds. Shifman crafts high-end
mattresses by hand in its Newark,
N.J., facility.
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
from its facility in Columbus, Ohio.
“With an existing mattress factory
in Florida and the company’s
knowledge of our products and how
to manufacture them, Winco will
be able to hit the ground running,”
said Rick Robinson, president of the
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Boston-based Spring Air International
mattress licensing group. “This change
will significantly strengthen our position
in the Southeast.”
The Spring Air brand is manufactured
in 17 U.S. plants and 29 international
facilities.
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BedTimes | June 2010 | 35

IndustryNews
Simmons grows Mideast
presence with Intercoil deal
atlanta-based Mattress Major siMMons bedding co. announced it has inked licensing
and technical agreements with Intercoil International LLC, a bedding
manufacturer and retailer headquartered in Dubai. The deal expands Simmons’
presence in the growing Middle East retail and hospitality markets.
“While Simmons has been in the Middle East for some time, we know
there are greater opportunities that we can take advantage of through our
partnership with Intercoil,” said Todd Merker, Simmons director of global
licensing.
As part of the deal, Intercoil plans to have eight dedicated Simmons
retail locations in place by the end of 2011. Intercoil also will distribute
Simmons products through its established retail network in Bahrain,
Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and
United Arab Emirates.
“We believe that our partnership with Simmons is an important milestone
in the history of the company and it will definitely support us in realizing
our vision to become the market leader in the Middle East region,”
said Hassan Al Hazeem, Intercoil managing director.
36 | BedTimes | June 2010
Short
Serta, Cargill hold contest
In a lighthearted Facebook
competition sponsored by
foam industry supplier Cargill
and Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based
mattress maker Serta, entrants
submitted early morning, “bed
head” photos of friends, family
and even pets. Contestants in the
“Bed Head is Soy Stylish” competition
were vying for an HGTV
Green Home by Serta queen
mattress set; four runners-up were
to receive $100 iTunes gift cards.
The public could vote for their
favorite photo at Cargill’s BiOH
Facebook page
(www.facebook.com/biohfans)
from May 29 to June 4.
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

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IndustryNews
Glideaway revamps
Sleepharmony line
in a Move designed to reposition the brand, Glideaway Sleep
Products has renamed its line of imported specialty
sleep mattresses and pillows Sleepharmony.
“You can be Kmart or Target in the value space,”
said Carmi Fredman, president of the St. Louis-based
company. “We want to be the latter. We conducted
research and took a chapter from their brand positioning
playbook. Consumers can expect the same
value proposition from Sleepharmony that Target has
captured in the general retail space.”
To complement its rebranding, Glideaway has
launched a marketing campaign evoking spa-like
imagery and conveying a high level of design and
performance at a valuable price point. It also has
created a tag line “Revive your sleep,” new logos and
new product names—Balance, Harmony, Revitalize,
Renew, Serenity and Tranquility.
Centrixx Quilts
Stretch Knits
4800 S. Kilbourn Ave.
Chicago, Il 60632
38 | BedTimes | June 2010
A. Lava & Son Co.
Introduces Our New Kit Line
Value Line
A. Lava & Son Co.
Sewing Threads and Bedding Textiles
www.alavason.com
Customerservice@alavason.com
Tack & Jump
Short
Producer adds specialty youth beds to its offerings
St. Louis-based
Glideaway Sleep
Products has introduced
the Jubilee
visco-elastic youth
bed, available with
a pink or blue velour
cover. The bed,
which comes with
matching pillow,
has a suggested
retail price of $399 for twin size. “Kids are smaller than
adults and need a mattress construction better geared to
their size and weight,” said Carmi Fredman, Glideaway
president. The bed’s less dense 3-pound memory foam
core is more responsive to a child’s body than the standard
5-pound foam used in adult beds, according to the
company.
Organic Ticks
Earth Bed
Ph: (800) 777-5282
Fax: (773) 254-0800
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

Carpenter, Betty White pair up for bedtime reading
Industry components supplier
Carpenter Co. has launched the
Bedtime Stories Project, a campaign
to encourage families to engage in
creative storytelling, reading aloud
and healthy sleep habits. Details are
posted at the Richmond, Va.-based
company’s sleep advice site,
http://sleepbetter.org.
The project includes a range of
elements: an online community,
media appearances, events and specially
commissioned research to raise
awareness about the importance of
a good night’s sleep and the value of
story time before bed.
The Web site features an illustrated
online book, Sleep Tales, which
contains short, funny takes on traditional
fairy tales. Storytelling expert
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
Hillary Homzie lent her expertise to
the Bedtime Stories Project, providing
guidelines on how to weave
original tales and bring more magic
to storytelling. The public is invited
to submit original stories, one of
which will be chosen to be illustrated
by artist Bill Nelson.
As part of the two-month campaign,
which was launched May 4,
television actress Betty White was
scheduled to read several children’s
stories aloud, including one of
the original stories submitted by a
participant in the project. The event
was scheduled for May 26 in Los
Angeles.
“People think of Betty White as
one of the family and we expect that
through this consumer-education
campaign, she will encourage millions
of those families to take real
steps toward getting better sleep,”
said Dan Schecter, Carpenter vice
president of sales and marketing.
BedTimes | June 2010 | 39

IndustryNews
Sealy launches easier-to-use Web site
Bedding major Sealy has revamped
its corporate site, www.sealy.com,
after conducting market research that
showed consumers’ greatest mattressbuying
frustration is trying to determine
which bed is right for them.
“Consumers told us the mattress
shopping experience is incredibly confusing—the
terminology and difference
between brands and products is difficult
to understand and the online research
experience is often disconnected from
the in-store experience,” said Jodi Allen,
chief marketing officer for the Trinity,
N.C.-based company. “We took the
feedback to heart, designing the new site
to help end the confusion and create a
far more satisfying shopping experience
for our consumers, while driving more
convinced traffic to our retail partners.”
40 | BedTimes | June 2010
The new site is easier for consumers
to navigate with “mouse-over” interactivity
that requires fewer clicks to locate
information. Site content covers the
mattress shopping process, as well as
Short
brand, technology and product promotion
and comparison information.
Sealy worked with its marketing
agency, Cramer-Krasselt/Chicago, on
the redesign.
United Feather & Down expands top-of-bed offerings
United Feather & Down, a supplier of top-of-bed and filling materials based
in Des Plaines, Ill., has unveiled new offerings. The Power Sleep by Dr.
Maas pillow collection was developed with James B. Maas, a sleep research
expert, author and professor of psychology at Cornell University. In addition,
United Feather is collaborating with eco-friendly bath and body brand
Portico on the new Portico Hospitality bedding collection. The products
use 100% GOTS-certified organic cotton fabrics paired with hypoallergenic
Lyocell down fill, United Feather & Down’s patented blend of Freshness
Assured Down and Lyocell fibers, or its down alternative Naturelle, which is
made from recycled materials and Lyocell fibers.
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

EcoSleep touts flat-seal packaging technology
ecosleep, a specialty bedding
brand manufactured by
Durable Products LLC in
Whitewater, Wis., says it
has nearly perfected its
flat-seal packaging technology
for mattresses—a
fact that the company says
is reflected in a near-zero
return rate for the products in 2009.
Durable Products, one of several owned by VyMaC
Corp. Chief Executive Officer Dave Young, developed the
eco-friendly EcoSleep mattress line in conjunction with
the packaging technology.
“We took a decade-long, logistics-backward approach
to developing our EcoSleep line and found
we could reinvent the traditional torque-compressed
approach used by the majority of our competitors to
eliminate strain on the product, damages, returns and
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
unhappy customers,” said
Mike Schweiger, vice
president of sales for Eco-
Sleep and VyMaC. “We
searched the globe for
our compression system
and engineered the comfort
and support layers to
work with it.”
Two common problems associated with torque
compression and rolling are breaks and soft spots in
softer foam layers and products not recovering fully.
Durable Products’ flat-seal technology requires special
equipment to compress the mattress to a uniform density
before sealing and rolling. The system preserves
the structural integrity of the whole mattress without
creating undue stress on components. Mattresses
recover completely to their original shape and size,
quickly and without defect, the company said.
BedTimes | June 2010 | 41

IndustryNews
Simmons’ PU foams CertiPUR-US certified
A tlanta-based
Simmons Bedding
Co. says that all of the polyurethane
foams in the company’s mattress
lines have earned the CertiPUR-
US certification seal, verifying that
the foams are low-VOC and free from
CFCs. The certified foam products are
made without PBDE fire retardants,
lead, mercury, formaldehyde, prohibited
phthalates and other potentially
harmful materials.
“Consumers today are paying very
close attention to what’s inside the
products they purchase—whether it’s
food, toys, paint, furniture or bedding,”
said Anne Kozel, brand director
of Simmons’ specialty sleep division.
In a recent survey, Simmons found
that almost two-thirds of consumers
were “very” or “extremely” concerned
about the health and safety of the
42 | BedTimes | June 2010
products they buy.
To achieve the CertiPUR-US certification,
foams are sent to an independent,
third-party lab for durability
and indoor air quality emissions testing,
as well as a content analysis.
The foams must meet the environmental,
health and safety standards
described in the “U.S. Voluntary
Physical Performance and Environmental
Certification Guidelines for
Flexible Polyurethane Foam for Use in
Furniture and Bedding Items.”
A team of industry leaders, scientists
and environmental experts
contributed to the creation of the
standards while developing the Certi-
PUR-US program for the Alliance for
Flexible Polyurethane Foam, a foam
industry trade organization based in
Loudon, Tenn.
Short
Carpenter partners with NSF
Industry supplier and sleep
products manufacturer Carpenter
Co. is creating a top-of-bed
line branded by the National
Sleep Foundation, a Washington,
D.C.-based nonprofit advocacy
group. Products will bear
the NSF logo and be independently
and periodically tested
by the organization for comfort
and support. The line is being
manufactured by the Richmond,
Va.-based company’s Consumer
Products Division.
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

Retailer joins WorldBed relief effort
Specialty retailer Relax The Back is joining mattress maker
Anatomic Global’s humanitarian initiative, the WorldBed
Project to aid victims of the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti.
The WorldBed Project aims to deliver as many as 200,000
cot-sized, compressed beds made of 3-inch cushioning foam to
Haiti. Anatomic Global, headquartered in Corona, Calif., led a
similar effort to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
As part of the retailer’s program, “Buy a Bed, Give a Bed,”
for every mattress purchased at Relax The Back, the store will
donate one WorldBed to someone in need in Haiti. A portion
of the proceeds from every coordinating pillow purchase will
be donated to WorldBed. Additionally, customers will have an
opportunity to purchase WorldBed products online and in
store at a cost of $35 each to be delivered to the relief effort.
“Anatomic Global came up with a very unique concept in
the way the sleep product industry can help disaster victims all
over the world and we wanted to be part of this noble endeavor,”
said J.D. Nespoli, vice president of merchandising for the La
Palma, Calif.-based retailer.
There are plans to include the program in Relax The Back’s
summer catalog.
Pacific Spring Inc.
An American company
importing springs
from Cambodia
6.5” H 312 Bonnel units
7” H 336 Bonnel units
8” H pocket units
Pacific Spring Inc.
Victor Nguyen, VP of Marketing & Sales
6418 E. Washington Blvd.
Commerce Ca. 90040
Tel: (626) 272-8882 • Fax: (626) 226-4166
Email: pacificspring@ymail.com
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
UF&D aids Chicago shelters
bedding accessory producer
United Feather & Down has
given pillows and comforters
to two Chicago area
homeless shelters as part of
the United Relief Foundation’s
Project Restoring
Hope. Project Restoring
Hope is dedicated to easing
the suffering of homeless
individuals and families,
especially veterans.
Helping out Frank Slove (left),
co-founder of the United Relief
Foundation, accepts product
donations from Stephen Palmer,
co-president of United Feather
& Down.
“We take pride in our local community and want to
help those around us who are facing tough times,” said
Stephen Palmer, co-president of the Des Plaines, Ill.-based
company.
The sleep accessories were delivered to the Midwest
Shelter for Homeless Veterans in Wheaton, Ill., and the
Journeys from PADS to HOPE shelter in Palatine, Ill.
BedTimes | June 2010 | 43

NewsMakers
Sammons to lead sales
at Transfer Master division
Transfer Master Products
Inc. has hired industry veteran
Greg Sammons to direct
sales for a new division of the
company. Transfer Master recently
purchased Maxwell Adjustable
Bed, a line of custom
adjustable beds, from Leggett
& Platt and has renamed it
Maxwell Motion Bedding.
“We are building on our
strength and experience in
the health market to enter the consumer
market and Greg is a natural fit for us.”
said Aaron Goldsmith, president of
44 | BedTimes | June 2010
Greg Sammons
Transfer Master, which is
based in Postville, Iowa.
“Greg’s background and
contacts will help the
company bring its unique
solutions to a wide range of
new clients.”
“Our products were
well received at the ISPA
EXPO in Charlotte,” Sammons
said. “We showed the
original Maxwell K-Bed,
the Valiant Hi Low and we introduced a
new portable adjustable bed. All generated
substantial interest.”
Chili Technology adds sales director
Chili TeChnology, a supplier of heaTing and Cooling sleep sysTems, has named David Dowdy
director of sales, a newly created position.
Dowdy reports to Todd Youngblood, president and chief executive officer of
the Mooresville, N.C.-based company. His responsibilities include developing
and implementing a national sales strategy and customer loyalty initiatives, as
well as supervising the sales team.
“Dowdy’s appointment marks a new and exciting time for Chili Technology,”
Youngblood said. “He will focus on cross-functional collaboration that enables
us to achieve our aggressive growth objectives. His exceptional leadership skills
in strategic planning, sales and organizational development will serve the company
well.”
Dowdy has more than 20 years of experience in sales and account management.
Former employers include Procter & Gamble, Worth Chemical Corp.,
Chemguard Inc., and Quest Custom Homes Inc.
Spring Air appoints national account manager
Logistics expert Jason Smith has
joined Spring Air International as
national account service manager.
In the newly created position,
Smith works with Spring Air factories
to provide transportation, in-home
delivery and other logistical services
for national retail and contract
accounts. He reports to both J.P.
LeDoux, Spring Air vice president of
sales, and Bill Frame, vice president of
manufacturing.
“Jason has a very strong background
in logistical services and we
look forward to leveraging his extensive
experience as we continue to grow our
business,” said Rick Robinson, president
of the Boston-based licensing group.
Smith previously was an on-site account
manager for Summit Logistics.
Bergman joins
FabricTech
as VP
maTTress pro-
TeCTion supplier
FabricTech
International
has hired
Sean Bergman
as vice
president of
sales and
Sean Bergman
marketing.
The position is a new one for the
company, which has headquarters
in Cedar Grove, N.J.
Bergman’s responsibilities
include overseeing the company’s
network of independent sales
representatives, sales growth and
brand building, as well as creating
effective retail training programs.
He reports to Jeff Bergman,
FabricTech president and chief
operating officer. Jeff Bergman is
Sean Bergman’s father.
“Sean brings a broad skill set
to FabricTech that will allow us
to continue our rapid growth,”
said Arnold Hershbain, FabricTech
chief executive officer.
“His time spent on both the retail
and wholesale side of the sleep
products industry makes him an
invaluable addition to the executive
management team.”
Previously, Bergman was director
of sales and retail development
for Verlo Mattress Factory Stores.
“FabricTech is a company that
truly cares about retailers and endconsumers,”
Sean Bergman said.
“I am extremely excited about
joining Arnold, David Hershbain
and my father in furthering the
growth and shaping the future of
this company.”
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

“BedTimes is and always
has been great! It is where
I get my news!”
“It’s a quick reference
to find suppliers.”
“Readable. Concise. Timely.”
“BedTimes is my link
to the industry.”
Contact Kerri Bellias, 336-945-0265 or kbellias@sleepproducts.org

UpClose
Rosien taking Natura into new worlds
Communications chief is big on social media marketing
By Dorothy Whitcomb
Though she got her start in journalism
and works for a mattress
manufacturer, Julia Rosien is
hardly bound by the idea of tradition
when it comes to corporate communications.
Instead of mailing press releases, she
tweets the news. At least that’s what she’s
doing today. Tomorrow? It will likely be
something very different. Rosien may be
a firm believer in the power of new media
marketing, but she’s well aware that
using it is like tap dancing on quicksand.
“In social networking, the playing
field is constantly changing,” she says.
“It’s a fast-paced world and you have to
stay agile and flexible.”
Rosien, a self-described “information
junkie,” began her career as a print
journalist, working as a magazine editor,
freelance writer and creative writing
instructor. But journalism started to
change and she watched as recessionary
and other pressures pushed more
and more print media outlets out of
business.
At the same time, the world of Web
sites, blogs and other new media began
expanding rapidly. About three years
ago, Rosien made the platform switch
herself, plugging into the world of social
media while working for an online
media company.
Reinvention is something that comes
naturally to her.
“I definitely make my life up as I
go along,” Rosien says. “Life throws so
many curveballs at you that you have to
learn how to change.”
For Rosien, one of those many
curveballs was being offered a job at Natura
World, a manufacturer of natural
and organic mattresses and sleep accessories
based in Cambridge, Ontario.
When Rosien joined the company a
little less than two years ago, Natura
46 | BedTimes | June 2010
Jumping into mattresses Julia Rosien had a
career in print journalism and online media
before joining Natura World and the bedding
business. ‘I definitely make my life up
as I go along,’ she says. ‘Life throws so many
curveballs at you that you have to learn how
to change.’
World had no communications department,
relying instead on outside public
relations firms to get its message out.
Ralph Rossdeutscher, Natura World
president (or “head honcho” in the
company’s parlance), had positioned
the company as a technologically
advanced provider of sleep products
since founding it in 1994 with his father,
Harry Rossdeutscher. Natura World has
always emphasized its use of natural
and organic components and has been
expanding its product line to include
new technologies such as gel.
Rossdeutscher thought there was
a disconnect between Natura World’s
innovations and the marketing tools it
was using. Rosien agreed: Natura World,
she told Rossdeutscher, should be as
forward-thinking in its approach to
marketing as it is to product development.
“Social media today is what radio
was in the ’80s,” she says. “Back then, if
you wanted to be in front of your customers,
you had to be on radio. Today
you have to be on social media.”
When Rosien joined Natura World,
the company had a Web site, but
consumers could only get to it by doing
an Internet search for the company by
name or through ads on Google. One
of her first marketing initiatives was to
begin interacting with communities on
Facebook, Twitter and blogs. Today, the
company has 5,000 followers on Twitter
and 2,500 “friends” on its Facebook
page.
“I’ve canceled all of those (Google)
ads and now we can directly correlate a
large percentage of the traffic to social
media,” she says. “That’s up from zero—
and we’re not paying for it.”
Rosien pays close attention to
“mom bloggers,” mothers who host
online support and information communities.
“They are very influential
and prolific,” she says. “When one says
something, the others listen.”
Successfully promoting a company
through social media requires
transparency and a light hand, Rosien
believes.
“You have to develop the art of
selling without selling. Nobody wants
to be advertised to anymore,” she says.
“Social media consumers want to be
attended to as people and want a personal
relationship with the company,
no matter how large it is.”
Although Rosien acknowledges the
success she has had driving consumers
to the Natura World Web site and,
from there, to the doors of retailers,
she doesn’t consider herself a social
media “guru.”
“No one knows where all of this is
going, but I do think it’s going to be
bigger than any of us can imagine,”
she says.
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

Pioneering spirit Rosien is a naturalborn
explorer who is always looking
ahead to the next bend in the road.
“Social media has taught me that there
are still places in the world where you
can be a pioneer,” she says. “But to do
that you have to get out on the road and
see where it takes you. Becoming too
comfortable is dangerous. Innovation
happens when you’re exploring.”
Getting involved Though relatively
new to the home furnishings and
mattress industries, Rosien recently
joined the Better Sleep Council, the
International Sleep Products Association’s
consumer education arm, and is a
vice president of the board of WithIt, a
professional organization for women in
the furniture business.
The power of running Rosien starts
Learn more at www.archbiocides.com/purista or call 800.491.8375
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
➤ Bio in brief
Name Julia Rosien
Company Natura World
Title Director of communications
(aka “dot.communatrix,”
according to her tongue-in-cheek
business card)
Location Cambridge, Ontario
Education Rosien studied English
literature at the University of
Guelph in Guelph, Ontario.
Family She and her husband,
Stacy, have three sons and a
daughter.
most days at dawn with a run. She
says it makes her feel like a child again.
“When kids run, they feel powerful and
fearless. It works the same for adults, but
In a
recent,
independent
study:
84% of mattress
customers polled said
that they would pay a
premium for the added
comfort offered by the
Purista freshness-enhancing
treatment.
Contact us today to learn more
about how the Purista brand
can become a part of your
polyurethane and latex
foams solution.
most of us have forgotten that. It also
reminds me that I have to take all of the
problems in my day one step at a time.”
Small pleasures As wine connoisseurs,
Rosien and her husband, Stacy, are
interested in not just the taste of wine
but also the science. “I’m very good at
drinking red wine,” she says, laughing.
“And I adore old cheese, rosemary bread
and dark beer.”
Balancing act “I place incredible
importance on my family, but like many
working moms, I struggle with work/
life balance,” Rosien says. To make sure
she stays connected to her children, she
takes long walks with them. The family’s
annual camping trip to northern Ontario
also helps. “I live for those two weeks,”
she says. “We leave all the BlackBerrys
and computers at home and disconnect
completely.” BT
BedTimes | June 2010 | 47

48 | BedTimes | June 2010
Calendar
June
June 3-7
Furnex Egypt
Cairo International
Exhibition Center
Cairo, Egypt
Phone 202-2527-1010
info@expolink.org.eg
www.furnexegypt.com
July
July 15-18
Furnitex
Melbourne
Exhibition Centre
Melbourne, Australia
Phone 61-613-9654-7773
furnitex@aec.net.au
www.furnitex.com.au
July 20-23
Movinter
Interior Eventos
Mirassol, São Paulo,
Brazil
Phone 16-2132-8936
www.movinter.com.br
August
Aug. 2-6
Las Vegas Market
World Market Center
Las Vegas, U.S.
Phone 888-416-8600
info@lasvegas
market.com
www.worldmarket
center.com
Aug. 20-22
Tupelo Furniture
Market
Mississippi &
Tupelo complexes
Tupelo, Miss., U.S.
Phone 662-842-4442
tfm@tupelofurniture
market.com
www.tupelofurniture
market.com
september
Sept. 1-5
Habitare
Helsinki Exhibition &
Convention Centre
Helsinki, Finland
Phone 358-9-150-91
info@finnexpo.fi
www.finnexpo.fi
Sept. 3-5
Perfect Home
& Interior
Warsaw Centre
EXPO XXI
Warsaw, Poland
Phone 48-22-649-76-69
trade@
perfecthome.pl
www.perfecthome.pl
Sept. 3-6
China International
Furniture Fair
China Import &
Export Fair Complex
Guangzhou, China
Phone 86-20-
2608-0427
ciff@fairwindow.
com.cn
www.ciff-gz.com
Sept. 16-19
ZOW Istanbul:
International
Exhibition of
Components &
Accessories for the
Furniture Industry
Instanbul Expo Center
Istanbul, Turkey
Phone 90-212-
3249610
info@zow.com.tr
www.zow.com.tr
OctOber
Oct. 16-21
High Point Market
International Home
Furnishings Center &
other locations
High Point, N.C., U.S.
Phone 336-869-1000
dawn@highpoint
market.org
www.highpoint
market.org
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

ISPAAdvocacy
N.Y. lawmakers amend bedbug bill
For the past year, the International
Sleep Products Association
has worked with sponsors
of a bedbug bill in New York to
amend a provision that would have
prohibited new and used mattresses
from being transported, stored or
sold together unless the used mattress
has been sanitized. New York,
particularly New York City, has seen
the number of bedbug infestations
jump in recent years.
ISPA believes such a requirement
would substantially increase
retailers’ delivery costs because they
would need to use separate trucks to
deliver new mattresses and pick up
used ones from consumers.
The bill also would eliminate
the current 30-day comfort return
policy allowed in the state. The
bill’s sponsors say a returned mattress
could become infested with
bedbugs during the time it is in the
customer’s home. Under the bill, all
customer returns (including comfort
returns) will be considered used
mattresses and must meet labeling
and other requirements. In addition,
the bill would require that all
used mattresses be sanitized before
being sold. Currently, New York law
requires only that renovated mattresses
be sanitized.
ISPA opposed the separate transportation
requirement and worked
with legislators to find a suitable
alternative. Sponsors of the Senate
and Assembly bills agreed to amend
the provision using language provided
by ISPA.
With the revision, used mattresses
will be allowed to be transported
on the same truck with new
mattresses if the used products are
placed in protective covering, such
as plastic wrapping. For instance,
the materials used to package the
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
new mattress being delivered might
be used for packaging the old mat-
Shorts
tress that is being removed from the
home.
The change should advance
lawmakers’ goal of controlling the
spread of bedbugs without imposing
significant new costs on retailers,
according to ISPA. The change is important
not only for retailers in New
York. Other states may use the N.Y.
bill as a model when they consider
how to address bedbug problems.
Calif. bill would regulate flame retardants
Legislation introduced in the California Senate would require the state to
study flame retardants and regulate them accordingly. The mandate would
proceed under the state’s Green Chemistry Initiative. While it is unclear at
this time whether the legislation would affect mattresses, the International
Sleep Products Association has joined other business groups in opposing
the bill on the basis that California’s Green Chemistry Initiative is designed
to evaluate all chemicals and prioritize them based on risk—not regulate
chemicals through “arbitrary” designations. ISPA will continue to oppose the
legislation.
CPSC further defining ‘children’s product’
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act sets new requirements for
children’s products, including lead content restrictions and labeling and tracking
requirements. The law defines a children’s product as “a consumer product
designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger.” The
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has released a proposed interpretive
rule that lists criteria to be assessed when determining whether a product
is a children’s product. They include the manufacturer’s statement on use,
product representation, use as commonly recognized by consumers and the
CPSC’s guidelines for age determination. To comment on the proposed rule,
visit http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-8431.pdf. Comments
must be submitted by June 21.
Feds propose toddler bed standard
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act requires the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission to issue new standards for a number of children’s
products, including toddler beds. The CPSC has released a proposed
rule for toddler beds that is largely based on a recently approved voluntary
standard set by ASTM International. The CPSC proposed standard doesn’t
directly affect mattresses used in toddler beds. Separately, ISPA continues its
work on creating a crib mattress safety standard. To read the proposed rule,
check http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-6947.pdf.
BedTimes | June 2010 | 49

AdvertisersIndex
A. Lava & Son Co. 38
Steve Appelbaum
800-777-5282
(800-777-LAVA)
www.alavason.com
AFT Corp. 19
Rick Brumfield
800-631-1930
American & Efird Inc. 35
Sandra Reynolds
704-357-2378
www.amefird.com
Arch Chemicals 47
Tom Robitaille
770-315-2646
www.archbiocides.com
Atlanta Attachment C2-1, 31
Co. Inc.
Hank Little
770-963-7369
www.atlatt.com
Bloomingburg Spring 42
& Wire Form
Vickie Schwarm
740-437-7614
www.bloomingburgspring.com
BLR 32
Martin Leroux
819-877-2092
www.blrlumber.com
Boyteks Tekstíl AS 26-27
M. Nebi Dogan
90-533-685-6041
www.boyteks.com
BRK Group 39
Jeff Miller
562-949-4394
www.brk-group.com
CertiPUR-US 21
Robert Luedeka
865-657-9840
www.certipur.us
Costa International 42
Daniel Vazquez
305-885-9761
www.costa-international.com
50 | BedTimes | June 2010
Diamond Needle Corp. 47
Abe Silberstein
800-221-5818
www.diamondneedle.com
Eclipse International/ 25
Eastman House
Stuart Carlitz
800-634-8434
www.eclipsemattress.com
www.eastmanhousemattress.com
Enriquez Materials 15
& Quilting Inc.
Silvia Enriquez
323-725-4955
www.enriquezquilting.com
Global Systems Group C3
Russ Bowman
954-846-0300
www.gsgcompanies.com
Hengchang Machinery Factory 41
Belinda Lau
769-83307931
www.hcjixie.com
Hickory Springs Mfg. Co. 2
Rick Anthony
828-328-2201
www.hickorysprings.com
John Marshall & Co. Ltd. 13
Peter Crone
64-3-341-2004
www.joma.co.nz
Kenn Spinrad Inc. 43
Randy Weinstock
800-373-0944
www.spinrad.net
Latex Systems 23
Kitti Charoenpornpanichkul
66-2-326-0886, Ext. 204
www.latexsystem.com
Lava Textiles USA Inc. 6
Ann Weaver
864-998-4892
www.lavatextiles.com
Lenzing Fibers Inc. 11
Nina Nadash
212-944-7898
www.lenzing.com
Middleburg Yarn Processing 40
Co. Inc.
Howard Reese
570-374-1284, Ext. 210
New England Needles Inc. 36
Thomas Lees
800-243-3158
www.newenglandneedles.com
Pacific Spring Inc. 43
Victor Nguyen
626-272-8882
P.T. RubberFoam Indonesia 14
Andreas Janssen
62-21-53662190
www.rubberfoam.co.id
Quilting Inc. 48
Mark Gibney
800-358-0153
www.quiltinginc.com
SABA North America LLC 4, 28
Jim Turner
810-824-4964
www.saba-adhesives.com
Simalfa 37
Darren Gilmore
973-423-9266
www.simalfa.com
Starsprings International 34
Kai Christensen
46-513-17800
www.starsprings.com
Subiñas Confort S.L. 24
Javier Subinas
34-94-416-04-40
www.subinas.es
Therapedic International 8
Gerry Borreggine
800-314-4433
www.therapedic.com
Tietex International Ltd. C4
Wade Wallace
800-843-8390
www.tietex.com
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

Classifieds
TAPE-EDGE MACHINES, MULTINEEDLE AND SINGLE-
NEEDLE QUILTERS, long-arm label machines, sergers, etc.
Contact Victor LeBron, American Plant and Equipment.
Phone 864-574-0404; Fax 864-576-7204; Cell 864-590-1700;
Email apesales@charterinternet.com;
Web www.americanplantandequipment.com.
REBUILT AND RECONDITIONED MULTINEEDLE QUILT-
ING MACHINES. Specializing in PATHE precision parts and
service. Technical consultants. SEDCO. Phone 201-567-7141;
Fax 201-567-5515.
TAPE-EDGE MACHINES, QUILTERS & MISCELLANEOUS
SEWING MACHINES. Contact Frank Carlino, U.S. Mattress
Machinery. Phone 815-795-6942; Fax 815-795-2178;
Email usmattmach@hotmail.com.
GRIBETZ PARAGON M4 & RELIANCE M4
Equipped with PRO ME panel cutters. In excellent, like-new
condition. Less than 2,600 hours of use on the Paragon; 1,400
hours on the Reliance. Will demonstrate for interested party.
East Coast location. Email dkglobalmgr@gmail.com.
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes
For Sale
SUPPLIERS:
List your company in the only directory compiled specifically
for the mattress industry!
ISPA’s online BedTimes Supplies Guide provides mattress industry professionals around
the world with comprehensive information about industry-specific products and services.
Users can search by keyword or category to find the products they need without the irrelevant
clutter of general internet search engines.
The Supplies Guide will also be published in the December 2010 issue of BedTimes magazine.
Companies that purchase a complete listing by September 17th will also receive a free listing
in the print version.
Complement your listing with a display ad in the December issue of BedTimes, insertion
deadline October 25th. Contact Kerri Bellias at kbellias@sleepproducts.org or 336-945-0265.
ISPA’s publishing partner, MultiView, Inc, will contact you soon about listing
options. Or call Bill Irwin at MultiView: 800-816-6710.
ISPA: 703-683-8371 · www.sleepproducts.org
Seeking Employment
MULTINEEDLE QUILTER SPECIALIST
➤ Electronics & mechanical
➤ Servo drives, motors, computers & PLCs
➤ Retainer drive upgrade
➤ Re-timing eccentrics
➤ Training 101 operations
➤ Stitching problems
Call 772-607-1851 or email lenonramroop@yahoo.com.
Place your classified ad today!
Reach mattress industry professionals around the world with your
advertising message through the BedTimes Classifieds. Rates: $3
per word for the first 100 words and $2.50 thereafter; minimum
charge of $75. “Blind” box number: $50 per insertion. Ad copy
and payment must be received by the first of the month preceding
publication. Send ads and payment to BedTimes Classifieds,
501 Wythe St., Alexandria, VA 22314-1917. Contact Debbie
Robbins, advertising production manager. Phone 336-342-4217;
Fax 336-342-4116; Email drobbins@sleepproducts.org.
BedTimes | June 2010 | 51

TheLastWord
Contact us
Have you ever searcHed a company’s
Web site, trying to find a phone
number or mailing address only to
be led to a generic “Contact Us”
email form? It’s annoying.
Part of good customer service,
whether you’re talking to consumers
or business-to-business clients,
is making it easy for people interested
in your company to contact
you.
Every Web site should have
a clearly marked “Contact Us”
section that includes—at the very
least—a company mailing address,
phone and fax numbers, and an
email address. You might want to
put this information at the bottom
of every page.
If you have a Facebook page,
Twitter account or are involved in
other social media platforms, list
those prominently on your Web
site, too.
The Web site for Jonestown,
N.Y.-based furniture and mattress
retailer Ruby & Quiri includes
basic contact information for the
company, but also provides owner
Rick Ruby’s personal email address,
cell phone number and home
phone number. Now that’s someone
who truly wants to hear from
his customers.
52 | BedTimes | June 2010
“A ruffled mind
makes a
restless pillow.”
— Charlotte Brontë
Quotable
A sound selling idea
Beautiful tickings appeal to the consumer’s eye. Smooth organic cottons and fluffy
microfibers practically demand that she reach out and touch them. If she does, she
might discover the light scent of lavender. Mattress manufacturers know how to appeal
to a variety of senses—sight, touch, smell. But what about sound?
Sure, some high-tech, high-end bed sets include built-in sound systems or iPod
docking stations. But could you be using sound to make your mattresses more
appealing?
Research by Martin Lindstrom, a marketing consultant and author of
Buy*ology, has done research showing the feel-good effects
of sounds—everything from a bird song to a cell phone
vibrating to a cigarette being lit. Study participants
were most interested in and made happiest by the
sound of a giggling baby.
Consider adding evocative sounds to elements
on your Web site or to point-of-purchase
materials you design for your dealers. We’re
not sure that snoring would make a good
soundtrack, but what about a babbling
brook for your green products or a softly
cooing baby for juvenile bedding?
BIG number
59 According to a poll from
Money magazine and Lowe’s
home improvement centers,
59% of American homeowners
say that their happiness
with their homes has a
“significant impact” on how
happy they are overall.
%
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes

*Composite photo created for dramatic effect only.
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