LAS VEGAS — The vibe of the just-closed summer Las Vegas Market was indicative of the sluggish environment permeating throughout the home furnishings and mattress segment: stagnant, slow and challenging.
The ask from retailers shopping the market? Help with door swings and help with margins. Mattress makers delivered with solutions designed to help boost both. Showrooms were filled with a variety of sharp price points, more lenient payment terms and promotions designed to meet retailers’ needs.
“Retail has gotten worse, which is an ongoing concern,” said Jon Stowe, managing director of E.S. Kluft & Co. “The industry is now reliant on the five sales periods, and there are fewer customers coming into stores for retailers to sell.”
To help push more consumers through retail doors, Kluft is accelerating its digital advertising program in both frequency and spend for the balance of the year. The campaign includes connected TV buys, as well as a range of social media content designed to target mattress consumers.
“We aren’t focusing on new product right now; retailers don’t need it,” Stowe said, adding that the digital advertising campaign first introduced last year is netting results for retail partners who have leaned into it.
King Koil recognizes that retail remains challenging and came to market with extended payment terms for its retail partners. David Binke, CEO, said in times like these, retailers could use some help getting over the current hump.
“Fortunately, we are in a position to be able to offer that,” he said, adding that the company also came out with a limited four-bed collection that offers enticing values for six months designed to help retail traffic. “We’ve gone through these challenges before. We, as an industry, can’t let apathy settle in. We’ll take calculated risks where we have to, and we’ll continue to work harder and smarter.”
Gerry Borreggine, CEO and president of Therapedic International, said the bottom line is that retailers are in desperate need of door swings. The company, which rolled out PromoBoxx in 2022, a digital platform that hosts a library of assets for dealers to use on social media channels, continues to strengthen the materials.
“We’re doubling down on the PromoBoxx program to help retailers pull in customers,” he said, adding that it is an easy way to share the message of products. “Consumers are out there they need to be wooed with value, and that doesn’t mean cheap. Consumers need to understand that our products can deliver solutions. The message isn’t about values, but the fact that we have a product that can be better.”
