Therapedic Times_Vol. 48_Fall 2017 Edition

TIMES Vol. 48 / Fall 2017 Edition / www.therapedic.com

THERAPEDIC GAINING MARKET SHARE, ITS LEADERS SAY NAPLES, FLA

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consistent branding campaign is paying dividends for Top 10 bedding producer Therapedic, which has posted 7.2% domestic growth this year and is gaining market share, executives said.

Therapedic Chairman Norman Rosenblatt and CEO and President Gerry Borreggine delivered their state-of-thecompany assessments as 75 Therapedic licensees and suppliers gathered for the group’s annual meeting here.

Rosenblatt, a Therapedic licensee in New England, said Therapedic is in a “very solid” position and is gaining ground in the bedding marketplace through the efforts of its licensees.

He urged the licensees to look for opportunities in a rapidly changing bedding marketplace, one in which companies serving the middle of the market are struggling as that segment has lost strength.

The disappearance of mid-market consumers has affected retailers, manufacturers and suppliers, Rosenblatt said.

“Consistency is the hallmark of a successful program,” Borreggine said. “We’ve hit on something powerful—the ‘No. 1 brand alternative.’ For retail customers who are looking for an alternative to the rigid programs of major producers, we offer a more flexible alternative.”

Borreggine said Therapedic also has something else—a brand identity that gives it an edge over smaller producers.

While Therapedic is gaining ground domestically in a sluggish market, the company is doing even better internationally, according to Borreggine. He said Therapedic has added key licensees in India, Vietnam and Taiwan and is enjoying a 9.8% sales spike internationally.

He singled out the performance of Therapedic licensees in China and Mexico as being especially noteworthy.

Therapedic has plenty of room to grow internationally, he said, identifying Europe, South America and Africa as offering significant growth opportunities.

New Therapedic trade ad featuring “The Alternative is Clear” concept.

The company is also benefitting from its strong sleep accessories program, which features a growing business at Bed Bath & Beyond, a key retail partner.

New motion and home office licensee Copper River Home positions Therapedic for growth in new categories, Borreggine said.

He said Therapedic has momentum in the market stemming from its January launch of the Bravura line, the biggest launch in the brand’s 50-year history.

New Tommy Bahama models, featuring the company’s exclusive iFlex™ hybrid quilt, should bring Therapedic even more success, Borreggine said.

By David Perry, with permission, Furniture/Today

ISPA TO EXPAND STATS PROGRAM NAPLES, FLA

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he International Sleep Products Association is looking to expand the breadth of its statistics program by better accounting for sales of adjustable bed bases and boxed beds, the group’s president said here.

Ryan Trainer said ISPA is seeking to give the industry more data on those two rapidly growing categories in its statistical reports.

He noted that the boxed bed category “has been underweighted” in ISPA’s statistical reports, a situation that ISPA has been working to correct. ISPA is also looking to gather more information on the adjustable bed segment, Trainer said.

Trainer said that ISPA is “very, very solid” financially, and noted that membership is “very strong” and has not seen the ebbs and flows lately that the association had seen in the years between its expos, the major trade show that ISPA hosts every other year.

He said that the industry’s Mattress Recycling Council, which works with recycling programs in Connecticut, Rhode Island and California, is performing well.

Ryan Trainer, Darren Sodikoff and Mary Helen Rogers.

Maine legislators recently sought to enact a mattress recycling law that would not involve the Mattress Recycling Council, but that proposed law was vetoed by the governor. ISPA felt the proposed law would be “impractical” to implement in a largely rural state like Maine, Trainer said.

ISPA will continue to monitor other states’ interest in recycling programs, he said.

By David Perry, with permission, Furniture/Today

SURVEY: CONSUMERS ARE SATISFIED NAPLES, FLA

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ore than half of consumers surveyed by the Better Sleep Council said a desire to improve their mattress could trigger them to purchase a new bed, said Mary Helen Rogers, vice president of membership and communications for the International Sleep Products Assn.

consumers said they kept their last mattress for 8.9 years.

That figure had been 10.3 years.

The BSC, ISPA’s consumer education arm, has been conducting consumer research for decades and touts the crucial role that a mattress plays in giving consumers a good night of sleep, Rogers noted.

Six in ten consumers surveyed by the BSC would be interested in a “new, sexier” mattress. And that attitude—which she labeled “the improvement option”—could spark more mattress sales, she noted.

Another key finding, Rogers said, was that 81% of consumers were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their current mattress. Only 14% of consumers were somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their current mattress, the research found.

Some of those consumers said they want to upgrade to a better mattress, while others said they want a bigger mattress.

Other reasons for mattress improvement include wanting to try a new mattress technology and experiencing a better mattress in a hotel, the BSC research said.

The BSC research also found that 85% of consumers said they would consider buying a new mattress in a brick-andmortar store, while 27% said they would consider buying a new mattress online, 8% said they would consider buying from mail order and phone, and 6% said they would consider buying a new mattress from a TV shopping channel.

Rogers said that mattress replacement times have dropped below 10 years for the first time. The BSC survey found that

By David Perry, with permission, Furniture/Today

LICENSEES UNVEIL 2018 AD CALENDAR NAPLES, FLA

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op 10 bedding producer Therapedic offers its retailers an advertising program packed full of tried-and-true bedding promotions, the company says.

Therapedic licensees Darren Sodikoff, based in Rock Island, Illinois, and Chris Sanders, based in Filer, Idaho, recently reviewed the company’s ad offerings with Furniture Today.

They noted that traditional promotions like truckload sales and red tag mattress sales remain reliable retail promotions, and offers a wide variety of ad templates for those promotions and many others.

Therapedic offers a variation of the popular “free box spring” offer with its “three for free” event, which offers a free box spring and two free gel memory foam pillows.

“This promotion is effective.

Consumers love free things, and this promotion offers them three free things, rather than just one,” Sodikoff said.

He said the red tag mattress sale idea originally came from department stores, and noted that Therapedic has a twist on that idea noting that producers are using up last year’s fabrics and giving consumers special savings.

Another popular promotion, Sodikoff said, is the “king for a queen,” in which consumers receive a kingsize mattress for the price of a queen. “This promotion still works,” he said.

Sanders said the “mismatch mattress sale” is a good vehicle to drive retail traffic.

“It helps factories clear out inventory and it brings consumers into the store, where they may buy regular products and not just closeouts,” he noted.

Chris Sanders (T-Idaho) and Darren Sodikoff (T-Mid-West & North Central.)

Another successful retail promotion, according to Sanders, is the “friends and family mattress sale.” Those kinds of sales are effective in many industries, and not just the mattress industry, he said.

Sodikoff said that holiday mattress promotions are always popular, and said that “special purchase” sales can be run at any time during the year.

Therapedic backs these ad offers with a variety of pointof-purchase and digital assets, including banner ads, Facebook posts and e-blasts, Sodikoff said.

He said Therapedic’s ad offerings are especially timely. “Retail is sluggish now,” Sodikoff said. “These ads help spark sales.”

“We have great ad templates,” added Sanders. “And these templates set us apart from other producers.”

By David Perry, with permission, Furniture/Today

LYNNE JENSEN-NELSON OFFERS SOLID SALES-BUILDING STRATEGIES NAPLES, FLA

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eteran sales trainer Lynne Jensen-Nelson says salespeople need to work at their craft to maintain their edge in the market.

“You need a pro-active approach in sales,” Jensen-Nelson said in her talk at the Therapedic annual meeting here. “You are either getting better or you are getting worse. Nothing stays the same.”

The founder of the Conversion-omics Sales Training program, who has more than 20 years of experience in sales team development, provided an overview of the skills needed to be successful in sales.

“Today there are no second chances,” Jensen-Nelson said.

“People have access to limitless information, countless options and not enough time to do it all. To win at sales we must show up and be exceptional.”

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Value is a perception, not a calculation. The value must be greater than or equal to the price.” —Lynne Jensen-Nelson

That message applies to everyone, not just people whose job title lists them as being in sales, she said.

“We are all sales people,” Jensen-Nelson said “We are constantly selling ourselves, our companies, our ideas, our products, and our services. Why not be really good at it?”

One key to success in sales, she said, is the use of “partnership language.”

She offered these examples: “Let’s get started. Let’s take a look at that. Let’s look at this new video.” That kind of language “shows that we are working toward something together,” she said.

Another good sales-building strategy is the use of third-party testimonials, which are another partnership tool, JensenNelson said. Some examples: “Here’s what our customers like. Here’s what people tell us.” Language like that brings the customer into a group, and “people want to be part of a group.”

Lynne Jensen-Nelson

She also talked about the importance of creating value. “Value is a perception, not a calculation,” she said. “The value must be greater than or equal to the price.”

She said Therapedic is creating value with its tag line, “the No. 1 brand alternative,” and suggested that Therapedic salespeople need to talk about the value Therapedic brings to the market.

Good salespeople talk about value, she noted. “If you only talk about price,” she said, “people will only talk about price.”

Good salespeople also focus on delivering solutions, not products, Jensen-Nelson said. “Clients aren’t interested in products,” she said. “They are interested in results.”

Looking out a room full of mattress salespeople, she urged them to go beyond simply selling mattresses and to focus on helping consumers solve their sleep problems.

Jensen-Nelson also said that retail mattress sales associates have a lot of work to do, in her opinion. She said she was not impressed with the RSAs she met in the six stores that she shopped. “I only had a pleasant experience in one showroom,” she said. “You are only as strong as your weakest link.”

By David Perry, with permission, Furniture/Today

DENISE KENISTON’S DIGITAL INSIGHTS NAPLES, FLA

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he digital battlefield is a local one, and retailers hold that valuable real estate with their social media channels, a digital expert said here.

Denise Keniston, President and CEO of Web4Retail, an Internet marketing agency that works primarily in the furniture, bedding, appliance and interior design industries, made those points in a well-received address to Therapedic licensees.

Keniston, a former network news anchor who manages three businesses, gave the licensees a primer on how they can boost the Therapedic brand by working with retailers in their local markets. The licensees asked several questions during her presentation, following her points closely.

Denise Keniston

“Your local markets are the front line of the digital battleground,” she said. “68% of all Americans are on Facebook.” An even higher number of Americans—almost 90%—were online last year, according to Keniston.

Keniston said many retailers don’t realize how valuable their digital real estate is, and are surprisingly open, at this point, to giving manufacturers access to those digital pages, if the manufacturers have a clear plan for using those assets.

She outlined this strategy that the Therapedic manufacturers should follow:

Surveying the social media landscape, Keniston said Facebook is the obvious choice these days. “Facebook ads are the place to be,” she said.

But she also noted that LinkedIn and YouTube will gain ground next year because “Facebook will fade a bit as people look for the next new thing.”

Looking ahead, Keniston said that manufacturers will find it harder to post their content on retailers’ digital pages.

“Retailers will begin to understand the value of their social media to you, the manufacturers,” she said. “It’s already happening. The retailers with the biggest and best-managed social media will not post your creative. Instead, they’ll go with the manufacturer that offers them something.”

Eventually, Keniston continued, “you’ll be locked out/forced out. You won’t have access to these local markets digitally unless you run your own campaigns. You simply won’t get access.”

Graphic illustrating ways to market Therapedic on a retailer’s Facebook page seen during Denise Keniston’s presentation.

“Look at your retailers and analyze them for their potential reach. Develop a plan for the creative, including who makes it, sizes it and traffics it. Strategize. Identify someone who has administrative access to retailers’ pages.”

She gave the attendees a “cheat sheet” that includes the pixel dimensions for images and videos on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, LinkedIn, YouTube and Tumblr.

By David Perry, with permission, Furniture/Today

Barbara Rosenblatt (T-New England) and Kim Grubb (Wright Global Graphics)

Stephen Walter (T-Mid-Atlantic) and Mark Savel (T-New England)

2017 THERAPEDIC ANNUAL MEETING

PHOTO ALBUM

Jennifer Hagood, Rick Anthony (Hickory Springs) and Sheryl Friedman (Corporate)

Jose Monroy (T-Mexico), Susan Mathes (Corporate) and Miguel Aponte (T-Mexico).

Ralph and Yona Gerstl (T-Toronto)

Dave Perry (Furniture Today) and Jeffrey Sherman (T-Mid-West & North Central)

Rupesh Srivastava and Ashish Mehta(T-India)

Mark Corvese (T-New England), Rodney Goodrum (T-Colorado) and Jo-Anne Corvese (T-NE)

Carol Zhang (T-China), Gerry Borreggine (President/CEO) and Cui Luo (T-China)

Dominic Giacobello (Remer Giacobello Delacour), Cindy Maher, Lisa Orem (Corporate) and Anna Lopez-Rezakhani (Agility Bed)

Tian Ying Qian, Paul Zhang, Philip Bell, Jim Howle (Copper River Home), Susan Mathes (Corporate) and Joe Savovic (Copper River Home)

Dan Grady, Laura Freeman and Eric Freeman (Leggett & Platt) Norman Rosenblatt (T-New England), Rick Anthony (Hickory Springs), Barbara Rosenblatt (T-NE), Sheryl Friedman (Corporate) and Tana Sherman (T-Mid-West & North Central)

Pat Chaikiattisak and Andrew Rosenblatt (T-New England)

Comedian Joey Evans and Brent Limer (Latexco) Seth Zuckerman (Greenberg Traurig)

Heidi Sanders (T-Idaho), Arlene & Les Mesner (T-Colorado), Chris Sanders (T-Idaho), Traci & Derrick Hanson (T-Idaho)

Adam Weinman, Steve Antinori and Chris Antinori (T-Florida) Sheryl Friedman (Corporate), Mitch & Julie Levine (T-New England) and Susan Mathes (Corporate)

Rodney Goodrum (T-Colorado) Mary Helen Rogers (ISPA) and Susan Mathes and Matt Connelly (T-New Jersey)

Ryan Trainer (ISPA) and Paul Block (Global Systems Group)

Jeff Green (Elite Comfort Solutions) and Laurie Simpson (T-Northwest)

Ashley Brown (BekaertDeslee), Ben Ducatteeuw (Latexco) and Sabah Akabli (Latexco)

CEO: SHARP FOCUS ON BRAND ALTERNATIVE GIVES THERAPEDIC AN EDGE PRINCETON, NJ

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op 10 bedding producer Therapedic has successfully refined its brand positioning over the years, staking out an increasingly differentiated niche in the market, the company says.

Two years later, the company was “defining the Therapedic DNA,” Borreggine said.

Key Therapedic DNA characteristics included brand recognition, support, flexibility and experience, he noted.

“Support matters,” said one 2012 ad. “Flexible and responsive.

Brand recognition. Comprehensive POP support. Custom advertising program. Experience around the globe.”

By 2014 Therapedic was seeing a maturing of its core values messaging, according to Borreggine The next year Therapedic was defining its brand alternative positioning, Borreggine said.

One 2015 ad encouraged retailers to “take the alternate route to success.” It pictured a crowded freeway with the message: “Working with the big guys.” Next to that was an open highway with this description: “Working with the U.S. No. 1 brand alternative.”

2010

2012

Therapedic now touts itself as “the No. 1 brand alternative,” a positioning statement that resulted from a steady brand evolution over the last several years, Borreggine said.

Last year Therapedic was taking that positioning to its “obvious conclusion,” according to Borreggine.

“The alternative is clear…it’s Therapedic,” one 2017 ad said. It carried the tag line “No. 1 brand alternative.”

The company began talking about how it is differentiated from its competition at least as far back as 2010, he said, reviewing the past seven years of Therapedic brand positioning with Furniture Today.

A common theme over the years has been that Therapedic offers things that the big brands don’t, Borreggine observed.

That message is now resonating more loudly in an industry that has seen the big brands increase their market share, making Therapedic’s alternative positioning more attractive to retailers, he added.

A look back at the company’s ad campaigns shows how the brand positioning has evolved with the changing marketplace, Borreggine said.

In 2010, Therapedic’s “unique selling proposition” encouraged its retailers to express themselves by looking to Therapedic.

The headline on one 2010 ad asked: “Need to differentiate?”

The copy made several points: “Express yourself. Are you tired of being told what you can’t do by the big brands?

We have an alternative that is versatile and flexible to meet your needs.”

2015

2017

Retailers like alternatives, and Therapedic’s flexible, agile approach to the business is an increasingly appealing one in a consolidating bedding marketplace, Borreggine said.

That means more “No. 1 brand alternative” messages will be on the way, he added.

By David Perry, with permission, Furniture/Today