King Koil Introduces New Lines and Revamped Technologies

Retailers heading to the King Koil® showroom during the Summer Las Vegas Market will see an extensive selection of new product presentations, line expansions and updates, plus far-reaching technologies in the company’s diagnostic and mattress selection program.

A new iMattress®2 series, a re-designed Laura Ashley® collection and an expanded Perfect Contour® line with latex-centric models, lead the Top 10 producer’s summer market portfolio.

Demonstrations of advanced scanning and imaging technologies that have been added to King Koil’s exclusive SleepID® assessment system, are also on the agenda.

“Our motivation as a company is steeped in innovation, improvement or expansion both in our thinking and in the sleep products, retail programs and sales tools that we develop,” noted company president and COO Dave Roberts.

“Our presentations this market give retailers new product designs that are highly competitive,” he said, “as well as innovative components, new bed builds and looks that have compelling selling stories and great consumer appeal.

“With the overall economy improving, we’re very focused on generating consumer interest in buying a new mattress and in helping drive shoppers to our retail customers.”

New iMattress2 Foam/ Hybrid Program

Heading up King Koil’s market program is an all-new iMattress2 collection, which encompasses both all-foam and hybrid designs.

The all-foam beds use an innovative, anatomically correct Perfect Response® foam core developed to deliver superior pressure relief and comfort through progressive resistance. The engineered core features cut and shaped foams that surround a premium layer of high conformance specialty foam which varies based on the model.

According to Owen Shoemaker, senior vice president of business development and innovation, the core’s top layer is shaped on the underside to maximize pressure relief and balance at the shoulders, hips and knees. The bottom layer has matching concave cuts and serves as a firm support base for stability and durability.

“The middle layer of specialty material provides excellent shock absorption and gently conforms to the entire core in keeping with the sleeper’s body weight and weight distribution,” Shoemaker explained.

“The critical difference,” he said, “lies in the design dynamics of the Perfect Response core. It provides a level of progressive resistance and anatomic support that many conventional cores cannot.”

Atop the new Perfect Response core are varying layers of King Koil’s iFusion™ gel memory foam, latex and/or other premium specialty foams.

The iMattress2 hybrid beds feature an encased, eight-inch coil core in conjunction with a seven-zone foam layer, perforated for healthy air flow—a design that delivers many of the same sleep benefits and characteristics of the Perfect Response core models. Select iMattress2 models also include a GelResponse™ latex layer with distinctive, continuous wave patterns. Exclusive to King Koil, this layer maximizes conformance, pressure relief and air circulation.

Like their all-foam counterparts, the hybrid versions use different combinations of iFusion foam and other quality foams in the upholstery and incorporate the company’s Excellent Edge™ foam encasement.

The complete iMattress2 line has a clean, contemporary look, carried out in sculpted stretch-knit mocha- and cream-colored fabrics. New patterns and border designs with attractive accents like a decorative ribbon on the beds’ side panels, add warmth and sophistication.

Laura Ashley Re-Design Stays “Beautiful &Smart”

King Koil is also introducing a revamped Laura Ashley-branded collection in three construction designs. The new “Beautiful and Smart” line encompasses three value-priced promotional innerspring models, four encased-coil hybrid models, and three top-of-the-line beds that utilize the company’s new Perfect Response engineered contour core. Every bed in the 10-model series features King Koil’s foam encasement and uses combinations of poly and specialty foams, including iFusion gel memory foam, in the upholstery layers.

“The ‘Smart’ element in the line’s brand positioning is reflected in its new comfort components, builds and tailoring,” Shoemaker said. “The ‘Beautiful’ element will be apparent to dealers when they see the collection’s new fabrics and cover designs, complemented by the plum, blue-green and lavender colorations that for years have helped define and differentiate Laura Ashley beds on retail floors.”

Expanded Latex Options in Perfect Contour Line

Designed to court today’s health- and fitness-conscious shoppers, King Koil’s Perfect Contour collection now includes three new latex-focused models that utilize the producer’s Natural Airflow™ latex topper.

The exclusive five-zone latex topper has horizontal and vertical channel cutouts throughout to promote air flow, plus larger chambers in the shoulder and lower leg areas to further enhance circulation. The topper is positioned at different depths in the beds to provide an assortment of feels and performance levels.

The new foam-encased Perfect Contour models have high density poly foam-cores and include combinations of iFusion gel memory foam, PermaSoft™ high density foam, super soft foam and other quality foams.

With marketing themes like “Play hard,” “Revive” and “Live life to the fullest,” King Koil first launched the specialty collection with five models at the January 2013 winter market. The line was positioned as a high-velocity program, designed specifically to attract athletic consumers who value a healthy—but affordable—night’s sleep.

While the Perfect Contour series continues to start at $799, Shoemaker said the new latex versions—expected to retail from $1,699 to $2,399—“bring additional feels, expanded choices and new sportswear-inspired looks to what has become a very popular program for us.”

Major Advancements in SleepID Assessment Technology

King Koil will demonstrate significant advances in its SleepID diagnostic and mattress selection program. The advances involve new findings in the science of selecting sleeping comfort, as well as new data platforms for providing information and assessment.

Following an extensive, multi-year research project with the International Chiropractic Association (ICA), the company is introducing new technology into the program which uses photo-captures of a consumer’s standing posture, focusing on his/her weight and weight distribution in the spinal region.

Driven by the ICA research results, the new SleepID system relies less on Body Mass Index (BMI)—a combined measurement of height and weight—and more on weight and specific weight distribution to evaluate and recommend the right mattress for the best possible body alignment and conformability.

“This new system is far more sensitive to people’s actual posture, capturing where their weight is distributed and where conformability of a mattress would be most helpful,” Shoemaker explained. “It’s designed to determine how body weight is absorbed on a given bed and helps the consumer achieve a more ideal body alignment than what using BMI alone would typically allow.”

The latest SleepID technology also will be offered on new data platforms that facilitate not only its use on retail floors, but also its integration into a store’s selling process.

The web-based program will be built on new technologies that allow for its use on PCs and on various portable tablet devices like the iPad.

“We believe this next generation in mattress selection systems offers substantial benefits to our retailers,” Shoemaker said. “The new SleepID program will assist RSAs in helping customers select higher quality and better-fitting mattresses. That boosts consumer satisfaction and ultimately, retail sales and profitability.”

The new 2013 SleepID technology also is available for use on store floors in a newly designed, modern kiosk format.

Personal Appointments, Presentations of Dr. Breus Bed Program

King Koil is announcing a new “by appointment” program for its Dr. Breus Bed line—the industry’s first mattress series designed by a sleep doctor.

Beginning this market and into the future, the exclusive collection will be shown to retailers at King Koil’s Willowbrook, Ill. headquarters or at regional showcase events.

“The specialized nature of the Dr. Breus program, with its unique House Call follow-up service and SleepMatch® diagnostic option, is better served and best presented in smaller settings that promote in-depth discussion, allow more time for Q&A sessions and improve overall demonstration,” Shoemaker said.

About King Koil: A global bedding producer, King Koil is among the country’s Top 10 manufacturers and maintains an international licensing group that serves 80 countries. The company markets multiple branded collections that also include Natural Response®, Posture Sense® and Extended Life™.