Leggett & Platt Relaunches Educational Website

Furniture World Magazine

Leggett & Platt announced that after a four-month siesta, their website LeggettSleep.com is back online. The site was originally created in September 2007 as part of Leggett’s Spring Alive Tour, a five-day, five-city adventure that visited mattress retailers across the country to spread the word on the connection between sleep and health. During the tour, the Web site housed a blog and vlog so people could follow the tour. The site also offered education for retail sales associates on how to make a better connection with the consumer, and provided retailers with free educational materials for associates and consumers. “Mattresses have the opportunity to change people’s lives, and that fact is sometimes obscured by an emphasis on price and promotion,” says Mark Quinn, group executive vice president of sales and marketing for the bedding division at Leggett. The revised site will continue its emphasis on education and making the consumer connection. Joe Lyon, vice president of national accounts at Leggett and executive editor of the Web site, knows the power of that connection. “Research shows that consumers would rather buy a mattress from someone who emphasizes sleep and health with them more than price and features. When associates understand and practice this approach, they increase their sales and the store begins to increase their market share.” New Content LeggettSleep.com will keep visitors up-to-date on issues that affect bedding professionals and making them active partners in the process. It is designed to be interactive with opportunities for associates to be involved in training, contests, giveaways and more. In addition to the original blog and facts on sleep and health, Lyon says the revised site will incorporate information and comments from several sleep experts. “We want to provide several different perspectives on the industry,” says Lyon. “This site is meant to be a place for conversation and an arena for provocative thoughts on the future of the bedding industry.” Experts on the site include: Dr. Rubin Naiman, a clinical psychologist and leader in the emerging field of integrative sleep and dream medicine. Dr. Naiman is a clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arizona's Program in Integrative Medicine and serves as director of sleep programs at Miraval Resort. Kurt Ling, industry veteran, consumer experience expert and president of Customer Kinetics. Ling’s career includes more than 20 years of sales, marketing and product development for Maytag and Simmons. He holds the honor of being on Fast Company’s Fast 50 list of innovators, dreamers and doers. Craig McAndrews, partner in Innovative Retail Group, a training and education firm that specializes in helping sales associates improve their relationships with customers. McAndrews has a wide range of experience on the wholesale side of bedding as well as the retail side as an owner and operator of a chain of mattress specialty stores. He is also a frequent contributor to industry publications. “The retailers we’ve talked to are very excited about the site,” says Quinn. “They know that if we can educate associates on how to communicate the quality of sleep to consumers, then sales increase and consumers gain a better understanding of the importance of sleep in their lives. They all win.” First Hand Experience LeggettSleep.com demonstrations will be held in Leggett & Platt’s Fashion Bed Group showroom at the World Market Center in Las Vegas next week. At several kiosks in the space, retailers can navigate the site and preview information that will be available to their associates. “The goal of LeggettSleep.com is to elevate our industry by improving the shopping experience for consumers,” says Lyon. “A skilled retail associate is key to the development of a positive experience.” About Leggett & Platt Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG) is a Fortune 500 diversified manufacturer that conceives, designs and produces a broad variety of engineered components and products that can be found in virtually every home, office, retail store and automobile. The company serves a broad suite of customers that comprise a "Who's Who" of U.S. manufacturers and retailers. The 125-year-old firm is composed of 28 business units, 31,000 employee-partners, and more than 300 facilities located in over 20 countries. Leggett & Platt is North America's leading independent manufacturer of the following: a) components for residential furniture and bedding; b) retail store fixtures and point of purchase displays; c) components for office furniture; d) non-automotive aluminum die castings; e) drawn steel wire; f) automotive seat support and lumbar systems; g) carpet underlay; h) adjustable beds; and i) bedding industry machinery for wire forming, sewing and quilting. For more information, please visit www.Leggett.com.