Q&A From the Editors: Creating A Unique Selling Package
BEDROOM has changed the format of its ever successful Q & A feature, allowing manufacturers to elaborate on one, more broad question. This new format offers companies a fresh way to deliver their unique perspectives to our readers.
Looking at the different ways manufacturers are drawing attention to their mattresses on the retail floor, from light up POPs and interactive displays to the way the mattresses are dressed and promotional events and giveaways, each manufacturer has a unique message and selling point they are conveying to consumers.
WHAT DOES YOUR COMPANY DO TO CREATE A UNIQUE SELLING PACKAGE?
Our best successes are simple. There has to be a strong and compelling visual call-out to the shopper that immediately establishes the value of the product. Because every bed on a retailer’s sales floor is vying for the consumer’s attention and telling some sort of story, clarity and resonance at point of sale are essential.”
—Rick Robinson, Spring Air International
We actually just debuted a brand-new “360-Degree Display” in Las Vegas with adjustable bases and double-sided upholstered headboards featuring unique Swedish designed adjustable headrests and of course our Aireloom branding is front and center. It’s a very clean look—there are no lights or electronics—just a classic design that compliments our product beautifully. This really serves as an upscale and functional merchandising tool for our retail partners.
We believe this display provides a real contrast to what’s currently available in the industry. When you walk into a sleep shop now, the point-of-purchase displays have become very busy and confusing as all the brands are competing for attention. We want to stand out for a different reason. Our Aireloom and Kluft lines are lavish products, so we needed to create a fresh, new contemporary design to beautifully show¬cases our mattresses in a method that is classy, yet just as effective. We believe this look will help our retailers bring their attachment rate to a higher level and further increase average sales per square foot.
As for promotional events and giveaways—that’s a selling tool typically used by discount brands, so it’s something we stay away from. It’s not effective for our product or our clientele. Our brand is not about gimmicks and compromising, it’s only for those who want the best.”
—Earl Kluft, E.S. Kluft/Aireloom
The Magniflex Gallery merchandising program truly represents what our company is about–our Italian heritage and high quality, handcrafted, eco-friendly sleep products.
The point of purchase can be tailored to accommodate every showroom floor and budget. Through the Gallery program, retailers can choose three stylish, customizable displays of mattresses, pillows, accessories and marketing materials that can be arranged within three panel displays that feature Magniflex branding, artwork and images of the Italian countryside.
When they are ready, retailers can expand their Gallery space with the addition of another mattress in the Magniflex collection, and to help our partners set up this program efficiently and cost-effectively, we made the Gallery signage lighter than the average display materials.
Accompanying this program is a complete marketing package, which includes quarterly consumer promotions supported by dealer advertisements, a strong web presence and full-page Magniflex ads in a top shelter magazine. We also form exclusive dealer territories to help maximize sales opportunities for our retailers.
—Billy Curtright, Magniflex
Visit www.springair.com, www.kluftmattress.com, www.magniflex.com.
