Simmons' Specialty Sleep Division Unveils Innovative Marketing Strategies for Ready To Assemble Mattress

Furniture World Magazine

With the Halloween season right around the corner, what better time for Simmons' Specialty Sleep Division to be striking fear in competitors with its 1999 strategy. By highlighting an array of "terrifying" marketing endeavors like the "Fire House Edition" of the ready-to-assemble mattress and the "monstrous" initiative of rolling out Simmons' Crash Pad onto select Wal-Mart floors, the Specialty Sleep Division will be treating the bedding, industry to its 1999 "bag of goodies." Where There's Smoke... Everyone will be "fired-up" with the Simmons Specialty Sleep Product Division's newly discovered venue for the ready-to-assemble mattress - fire departments. Adhering to the need for a good night's sleep for this country's courageous firemen, Specialty Sleep has produced a "Fire House Edition" of the RTA mattress. Simmons found "where there's smoke, there's fire" as they pursued the opportunity of marketing the RTA to fire chiefs at the Southeastern Alabama Fire Chiefs 1998 Conference, held in Birmingham. The idea was a hit as the fire chiefs discovered the beds were much more comfortable and easier to assemble than the beds they currently used in their stations. "The 'Fire House Edition' is yet another example of Simmons' constant search for new ways to present its wide array of products," said Don Mitchell, vice president Simmons Specialty Sleep Products Division. "This is also a testament to the popularity of the RTA, which has had amazing success in other markets because of its quality, convenience and comfort." The "Fire House Edition," is provided from the Specialty Sleep Products Division directly to firehouses across the country. Simmons Crashes Wal-Mart with Crash Pad In an effort to take on a new and more aggressive approach to retailer relations in 1999, Simmons' Specialty Sleep Division will announce its agreement with licensee Sleep 2000 to rollout the RTA Crash Pad in select Wal-Mart stores. "An initiative of this nature is symbolic of our 1999 strategy to be more aggressive in the retail arena. The Crash Pad is an extremely popular item in the marketplace and we're confident this will be a lucrative venture for both Simmons and Wal-Mart," said Mitchell. The affordable, portable, storable mattress with the Simmons patented Pocketed Coil system, Crash Pad will be displayed in the Bedding and RTA sections of the superstore. The Specialty Sleep Products Division's rollout of Crash Pad to select Wal-Marts will begin Fall 1998. Partners In Sleep Cementing its reputation as the only one-stop shopping bedding producer, Simmons has formed a strategic partnership with Sleep 2000. In this new relationship, the Stockton, California-based company, specializing in sleep related products, has finalized an agreement with Simmons for licensing of Sleep 2000's waterbed mattress pads, waterbed sheets and sofa bed enhancement products. "The decision to partner with Sleep 2000 was based on their commitment to producing quality specialty sleep products. We feel their styles and methods mirror the standards we set for ourselves and are looking forward to seeing this relationship mature throughout the coming years," said Don Mitchell, vice president Simmons Specialty Sleep Products Division. Maker of Simmons Beautyrest®, BackCare® and Sleep Logic® mattresses, Atlanta-based Simmons Company employs more than 2,500 people in 18 plants throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. For more information, consumers can visit Simmons' web site at http://www.simmons.com.