Latex International’s Leadership and Pricing Changes
Long-time sales and marketing executives Tomas Eisenberg and James Siragusa have been promoted to new responsibilities including implementing Latex International’s new pricing structure. Eisenberg will assume the leadership of marketing and branding as vice president of strategic marketing and Siragusa becomes vice president of sales for the company’s global sales efforts.
Commenting on the leadership changes, President and CEO Dave Fisher states, “Today we are recognizing two of our most seasoned executives giving them expanded responsibilities critical to the mission of our company. They will play an important role as we evolve from a company that manufactured latex cores and toppers, into the leading brand in the hottest growth sector in sleep products—latex.”
Eisenberg joined the company in January 2002 first heading the pillow sales division and then assuming senior sales positions in 2009. Prior to joining Latex International, Eisenberg had a decade of senior sales management experience in consumer products. Under his leadership, pillow sales increased by more than 25 percent and international business doubled. In this newly created position, Eisenberg will spearhead a new corporate branding and marketing initiative, which is expected to unveil later this year.
Siragusa returned to Latex International in early 2011 to assume responsibility for international sales. After joining the company in 1998 as director of business development and then as managing director of international growth, he left the company in 2009 after being credited with designing and executing direct-to-retail programs globally. Siragusa has held senior sales positions at Sealy, Simmons, and Premier Bedding Group. He was also a buyer for Gimbel’s, Macy’s, and Dillard’s.
Latex International’s new pricing structure ends the more traditional manner in which manufacturers pass along raw material price increases, instead holding base pricing steady and adding a “surcharge” to reflect the ups and downs of latex costs. This simple formula calculates the weight of the product and multiplies it by the increased raw material cost. For example, a queen-size, one-inch, 24 ILD topper translates to 9.7 pounds multiplied by an increase of 25-cents a pound, resulting in a $2.43 surcharge for the product.
“Since February, natural latex pricing has increased by 31 percent and synthetic latex is up 21 percent. At this time, we’ve chosen not to pass on a traditional price increase, but will instead be applying a latex surcharge, based solely on cost increases, for all shipments on a line item basis.” Fisher continues, “We do this with great reluctance, but feel this option is in the best. This surcharge will minimize the impact to your business and be based on actual increases or decreases based on pricing fluctuations in the wordwide latex market. We will update the ‘latex surcharge’ on a monthly basis which will be clearly communicated on each invoice and order acknowledgement for our customers.”
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