Publisher Column: Winter 2020
As we prepared to say goodbye to the 2010’s and embark upon a brand new decade, we spent a lot of the last few weeks thinking about the future of the bedding industry. What new challenges and opportunities will arise? What trends will make a major impact and which ones will fall by the wayside? How will brands help their partners not just evolve but thrive?
In putting together this edition of the magazine, a few themes began to emerge: simplicity, sustainability and wellness. This begins with our cover story on the newly revitalized Englander. With a new, more straightforward brand message that emphasizes no-frills, authentic value, this legacy manufacturer is an example of how to embrace change and better engage with today’s mattress shoppers. And we hope in the rest of 2020, we might continue to hear a similar refrain from across the industry.
In this issue, we asked a number of industry leaders to talk about how their brands are working to be more sustainable. While our Q&A feature addresses this question directly, our Product Focus does so in a different way, as it showcases products built for babies and children—many of which have an organic or natural story to them.
With the question of how to reengage today’s consumers remaining top of mind, many manufacturers and retailers are looking for new ways to build (and leverage) more relevant branding. In our Special Feature, we honed in on how Diamond Mattress is supporting its partners through tailored OEM solutions.
With wellness becoming a more popular topic among consumers these days, the bedding industry is rightfully focusing on the relationship between sleep and health. Scattered throughout this edition, you will find a selection of health and wellness focused sleep facts from Reverie that speak to this theme.
These highlights don’t even scratch the surface on all the new product releases and stories this issue has to offer. The products showcased at the winter Las Vegas Market are delivering simple but practical solutions. From Supima sheets to CBD-infused items, natural remedies and health-focused sleep accessories and mattresses are top of mind.
With 2020 now underway, we are excited to see how this focus on better made, better branded and better-for-the-planet sleep products will continue shape the bedding industry for years to come.
