2011年4月5日 星期二

At High Point: Bedding poised for growth

Bedding producers here say the mattress industry has recovered from a downturn earlier this year and is poised for growth in the months to come.

And those producers are hoping this growing bedding market will help spark solid gains on retail sales floors. Recent retail reports are positive, they say.

Reports of activity in mattress showrooms thus far have ranged from light to excellent, with a number of producers asserting that traffic has improved in recent days after a slow start.

The latest figures from the International Sleep Products Assn. show the bedding industry mired in an unexpected downturn, with unit sales slumping 3% in February and registering a 0.1% decline for the first two months. The dollar value of bedding shipments, on the other hand, grew 4.9% in February and is up 4.1% for the year.
Those ISPA figures reported the first monthly decline in units in four months, fueling fears that bedding's rebound could be short lived.

But bedding producers showing here note that the industry is up against strong comparatives from the first quarter last year. And they say that business in March was good.

"When you factor in March, the industry will be up," said Jim Nation, president of Five Star. "We were up strongly in March."

"I bet that March was positive for the industry," said Gary Fazio, CEO of Simmons. "It was a good month for many retailers."

Noting that the average unit price is up 4.2% through February, according to the ISPA sample of leading producers, Fazio said retailers are selling a better mix of beds and better beds, good signs for growth this year.

Serta President Bob Sherman said he believes the industry shook off its slow start in March. He said retailers may not have ordered enough for President's Day sales in February and "a lot of business went into March."

"I think the industry had a good first quarter," Sherman said. "I'm guessing that sales were up 6% to 7% in the first quarter, with units up 1% to 2%."

"March has been good," said Dan Hige, president of International Bedding. "It was a better month than I had expected. The feeling at retail was more upbeat than downbeat."

Added Jamie Diamonstein, president of Paramount Sleep: "We are not seeing downturns in our business. Consumers are definitely buying again."

Therapedic President Gerry Borreggine put the industry's ups and downs in context.
"We haven't experienced a legitimate recovery," he said. "A one-month unit decline in February doesn't indicate we are in a recession. Business has been sporadic and inconsistent in the recovery. It's a compromised recovery."

Bedding execs see a number of positives this year, including the return of consumers interested in higher end goods. Those consumers are buying better beds, helping boost sales tickets, the execs said.

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