Simmons sets big push into luxury arena

Atlanta— Simmons is making a big push into the luxury bedding market with a new company called Windsor Bedding Co. LLC, which is producing and marketing European-style bedding.

Windsor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Simmons, is making hand-crafted beds using a variety of luxury materials

Consumers who purchase the top bed with all its options in king size will break the $10,000 price point barrier.

The line, offered in limited distribution, will debut at Marshall Fields' State Street store in Chicago this month.

Windsor will be introducing the line to select retailers in invitation-only meetings that will begin this month.

"We believe there is an opportunity to reinvent luxury bedding under the Windsor Bedding banner," said Don Hofmann, senior vice president of marketing at Simmons. "Windsor will represent the finest in luxury bedding, available only at select mattress retailers."

The new company is headed by Mark Owen, managing director of Windsor Bedding. He recently joined Simmons from Slumberland USA, the U.S. licensee of British bedding manufacturer Slumberland UK.

The four beds in the line come with wooden legs and are called "sleeping furniture." Cedar-lined storage drawers built into the beds are optional. The wooden legs can be removed to allow the bedding to fit in conventional bed configurations.

"This is bedding that looks unlike what we are used to seeing in bedding," Owen said. "It has more of a furniture look."

The beds use a new pocketed coil-within-a-coil innerspring unit as well as coil-cushioned box-springs. The beds are all hand tufted with French cotton tufts and are foam encased. All are single-sided beds.

The Persephone is cushioned with latex foam and a layer with a blend of 50% cashmere and 50% fiber. The Desdemona offers Contour Memory Foam and a layer with a blend of 50% silk and 50% fiber. The Rosemund offers a layer of 100% New Zealand wool and a gradient support design. The Illyria is cushioned with 100% cotton and also has a gradient support design.

In addition, the beds are offered with removable luxury layers in three different grades, offering various goose down and goose feather combinations. Those layers retail for $499 to $1,199 in queen.

"These layers offer another level of luxury and a tailor-made feel that is European in nature," Owen said.

Consumers who purchase the beds will receive a gift — a leather-bound journal in which they can record their dreams and achievements. That gift is designed to spark word-of-mouth buzz for the bed.

Owen said the Windsor line will push well into the upper reaches of the luxury bedding market. He estimated the majority of sales will be above the $4,000 price point.

Owen said the line offers "tremendous values" even at high price points. The top model, which will retail at more than $10,000, "is very salable at that price," he said.