Former Hecht's Mattress Buyer Joins Knickerbocker Bed Company

Furniture World Magazine

Knickerbocker Bed Company has appointed 30-year bedding industry veteran Frank Tamburelli of Fairfax Station, VA, as sales manager responsible for leading the bedding support system company’s expanded programs with its national accounts. Tamburelli is one of the mattress industry’s best-known executives, having served for 23 years as the principle bedding buyer for Hecht’s, where he was responsible for merchandising in 53 stores. He left the Federated Department Stores division in May of this year after the Hecht’s brand was consolidated into Macy’s. “Frank will play an important role in helping our retailers understand how to merchandise our premium frames in order to add incremental sales and give the consumer a real solution for many common support problems they face,” said Richard Polevoy of Knickerbocker. “In today’s marketplace, where mattresses are getting thicker and heavier, and more case goods are being manufactured overseas without the same quality standards we have in the U.S., a premium bedframe is a necessity for the consumer.” Said Tamburelli. “I plan to work with retailers to share my knowledge with them so they see the benefits of premium bedframes for their business and their customers.” The Bedbridge is designed to significantly increase support for mattresses and boxsprings used in conjunction with wood siderails, and headboards and footboards. The patented system relies on three heavy-duty steel beams further reinforced by a spring- loaded tension bar to provide uniform and structurally sound support. The Eventide Support System offers dramatic improvements in support, mobility, style, and safety. The core structural steel components offer a rigid T-Bar center support that accommodates and reinforces any size set of bedding. While aesthetics might appear to be the initial reason for success, functional aspects of the product are paramount. The fully integrated Omni Directional Caster System provides frictionless mobility in all directions, through the use of self-lubricating, gravity-fed ball bearings. Finally, Eventide ergonomically provides a rigid steel product completely encased in state-of-the-art composite materials eliminating any hard edges. The U.S. Patent Office has already issued nearly 12 patents that cover these specific products. Before joining Hecht’s, Tamburelli was bedding buyer for Gimbels and before that with Hess’s Department Stores in Allentown, PA. He is a graduate of Lackawanna College in Scranton, PA, where he majored in marketing. Tamburelli and his wife reside in Fairfax Station, VA with their two children. Founded in 1919, Knickerbocker is the nation’s leading manufacturer and distributor of bed support systems whose products are carried by such leading retailers as: Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Filenes, Strawbridge and Clothier, Famous Barr, The Bon Marche, and Burdines. Knickerbocker invests heavily in research and development, and has created a broad line of products to meet the changing needs of consumers and the bedding industry. All Knickerbocker products are manufactured in the United States.