Serta is following up the success of its iComfort gel memory foam line and its iSeries gel memory foam and innerspring line with a move to unify the brands with common features, benefits, step-up stories and aesthetics.
It is introducing iComfort and iComfort Directions lines at this week's Las Vegas Market, as well as iSeries and iSeries Profiles lines. They are merchandised at parallel price points, beginning at $1,299 for the starting iComfort and iSeries lines and moving up to starting retails at $1,999 for the step-up lines.
The iSeries lines carry the tag line: "Hybrid sleep system by Serta."
The goal is to help luxury bedding consumers make an easy choice between foam and hybrid lines by offering an easy merchandising story, said Andrew Gross, senior vice president of marketing at Serta.
He said Serta's research discovered that a seemingly endless cycle of research and confusion was cited by consumers as delaying their mattress purchase, especially among higher-end shoppers. More than half of the consumers said the fact that they were still researching mattresses was a reason they had not yet bought a bed.
Serta aims to cut through that confusion by making it easier for consumers to shop for both memory foam and hybrid beds, Gross said. The four Serta lines each offer five unique feels and come with common components and step-up stories.
Serta iComfort Directions line features new gel designs.The common components include Cool Action Dual Effects gel memory foam, first introduced last year in the iComfort Directions line. It features two gels: One for cooling and one for extra support. The upgraded version of that foam being introduced in the new lines offers 25% more gel than the original formula, Serta said.
Another common component in some of the lines is EverFeel technology, a temperature-neutral foam with a memory effect that does not change in feel regardless of temperature or humidity, Serta said.
That is "a difference you can feel the moment you lie down," Gross said, and that will be a line used by Serta to market the line.
The EverFeel technology reduces the stiffness that can be caused by memory foam that has to adapt to body temperature, Serta said.
The new iComfort and iSeries lines have patent-pending cover designs and come with complementary borders and box springs. New details include prominent iComfort identification, and suspended badges that identify the iSeries models.
The lines are tied to two new adjustable bases. The Motion Perfect II base, retailing at $1,699, is offered in a neutral, contrasting color that complements all iComfort and iSeries mattresses, as is the new Motion Signature base, retailing at $1,999, and offering a number of additional features.
The new lines will be backed by a 52-week media presence for 2014 that will see a consistent national advertising investment. The advertising will include dedicated national advertising targeting the hybrid bedding category, and iSeries will be coupled with iComfort in all promotional events, Serta said.
