by HIGH POINT — Last year at High Point Market, Heritage Sleep Concepts drove a Sprinter van around the city and picked up familiar buyers to show them what the company was doing with its revamped brand. The near-guerilla marketing tactic helped them successfully introduce the recently refreshed, 103-year-old company to the industry.
But when COO Jordan Beck and Andrew Burt, vice president of sales, went back to the drawing board, they knew there had to be a better and more efficient way that didn’t require the large financial investment of a showroom.
Heritage is now showing its products in FD Home’s showroom in Centerpoint Centennial 113.
“They are a great case goods company with nice nightstands and bedroom groups that we’re going to show our product on,” Burt says. “Where we’re located in Rome, Georgia, we’re seeing that High Point is becoming a more important market for our dealers, especially with all of the tariffs that may go into place. We feel that it’s critical to jump into High Point now, and we are doing so with products we’ve developed over the last six months.”
The company aims to take advantage of its location and U.S. production to give retailers a tariff-free product, as Burt says 95% of Heritage’s products are made in the country.
Beck adds that the company is excited to launch this brand to the masses and go beyond just regional players.
“We have several solid relationships that are starting to blossom,” he said. “Around 80%-85% of our business comes from the surrounding areas of High Point, but we’ve been celebrating a lot of firsts. We shipped our first West Coast franchise. We’ve hired reps in Houston, Boston and parts of California, and it’s exciting to see our reach grow.”
This market, the company is highlighting three collections — Essentials, Autograph and Silhouette.
Essentials is the starting line and what Beck calls value price point, covering $999 and below. He developed the line to specifically cater to the next generation of buyers who are looking for a sharper price point.
Autograph Collection will be the most present collection in High Point, according to Beck, because it offers retailers the best value in terms of margins and profitability. It features cooling graphite memory foam and latex and a three-zone pocketed coil that he says offers 25% more support in the inner third of the mattress. The collection includes seven beds ranging from extra firm to ultra plush.
The high-end Silhouette collection features three beds made with natural materials like latex, New Zealand wool and natural cotton. It also has graphite-infused latex and a three-zone pocketed coil.
The Essentials program comes in at $999 and below, Autograph goes from about $1,299 to $2,499, and Silhouette ranges from $2,199 to $2,999.
Burt says he believes meetings are going to become more regionally placed, which will also apply to products and markets. But more granularly, he says the assortments will look different from region to region.
“High Point will be meaningful to us, because we see it as regional show, and about 75% of our business is going to come from buyers who could drive to High Point,” he said.
The History
In 1973, Terry Spears started Spears Mattress, which grew rapidly and became one of the largest independent mattress manufacturers in the country. By the early 2000s, the company had a 350,000-square-foot facility, over 50 retail stores and produced 1,400 to 1,800 mattresses per day, servicing 13 states.
Spears sold the company in 2006 and retired in 2011. However, after watching the company struggle, he returned to the business in 2015 with his grandson, Jordan Beck. They named their new company Heritage Sleep Concepts, honoring their long family history in the mattress industry.
Today, Heritage Sleep Concepts is run by the fourth and fifth generations of the Sanford/Spears family, Kristi Spears Beck and Frankie Beck. The company operates a 120,000-square-foot facility with nearly 100 employees.
