Cover Story Spring Air
The Spirit of Trust and Collaboration By Gretchen Kast
Since first opening its doors in 1926, Spring Air has created a unique position for itself within the bedding market. As one of the top five most recognized bedding brands in the US, the company continues to emphasize its reputation for trust and integrity through quality features and strong retailer support. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Spring Air brand and the company is celebrating with the launch of two exciting new mattress lines and big plans for the future.
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pring Air is dedicated to helping re- tailers stand out from their competi- tion with unparalleled products that truly speak to the needs of their customers. The company is able to deliver from coast to coast, with eight domestic manufacturing facilities supporting a diverse roster of retail partners that ranges from independent brick- and-mortar stores to nationwide e-retailers. “The consolidation of retailers and roll-ups of manufacturers have caused a major shift in how business is practiced today,” Spring Air president Rick Robinson explains. “It means that the cost-of-entry into certain segments has shot up, prohibiting many smaller compa- nies from even playing that game. What we’ve done is work closer together in order to lever- age our knowledge and expertise.” Rather than simply jump on the latest band- wagon, the company takes the time to “do it right,” Robinson says, choosing to ask its part- ners what they need. The company prides itself on not following every trend, a decision that Robinson says helps them better support the independent retailers that are looking to stand out in the increasingly homogenized market. Over the last few years, the company has fo- cused on differentiation—trimming its product
portfolio and thoughtfully rolling out key col- lection updates and introductions. Spring Air equips regional retailers with powerful selling stories across four major market segments—in- nerspring, specialty, all-foam and luxury—each of which boasts proprietary or patented tech- nologies that set them apart on retail floors. “There are no ‘silver bullets’ in bedding,” Robinson explains. “You have to focus instead on hard work, on servicing your retailers and their needs.” This idea of hard work and pragmatic solutions has become the main philosophy of the Spring Air strategy, as the company has worked to incorporate its licensees more directly
into the development process. By working with their partners from the begin- ning, Spring Air is able to better identify and solve regional needs and determine the best ways to implement and market new ideas. “Three years ago, we decided to stop run- ning this company the old-fashioned way,” Robinson explains. “We’ve done away with the ‘top-down’ mentality. Today, it’s the spir- it of licensee collaboration that is making Spring Air successful.” This new approach has led to two of Spring Air’s biggest collection launches yet: the rein-
troduction of the Chattam & Wells brand and the debut of its 90th Anniversary Collection. Launched at the winter Las Vegas Mar- ket, the 90th Anniversary Collection has had a strong performance right out of the gate—with every Spring Air factory signing on to participate and placements already be- ing made at retail. As Robinson explains, the concepts behind this new collection came directly out of a Spring Air licensee meeting. By brainstorming with its partners, the com- pany was able to develop a logical theme that each factory could tailor to its own individual needs. Beyond simply commemorating this major company milestone, this eye-catching line was designed to quantify the brand’s long
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