Furniture Today held it’s 20th Bedding Conference last week in Orlando, FL. Those of us attending learned, volunteered, networked, laughed and celebrated getting together in a beautiful location.
Volunteering Brings Joy
My favorite part of the Bedding Conference is the King Koil sponsored pre-event for a local Boys and Girls Club. This year we helped squire a group of almost 100 kids at Disney’s Epcot Center. My little group of 10 kids was led by a most impressive young lady – she was the engine and Leggett & Platt’s Julia Rosien and I were the caboose. A good time was had by all!
Some of What We Learned
Business specialist and best-selling author Gene Marks opened the conference with the very timely topics of tariffs, immigration and tax policies (to which he tagged “Tax Armageddon”) – and what to do as we face them.
•Tariffs: He encouraged looking into Free Trade Zones and Bonded Warehouses as we plan for the
tricky times ahead. He suggested going to the World Trade Association to find tariff-friendly
suppliers/customers (wtca.gov).
•Immigration: E-verify employee SSN’s and obtain updated I-9’s for each one.
•Taxes: Keep a close eye on impending changes such as in estate tax, corporate tax and deductions.
Licensed clinical psychologist and sleep expert Dr. Kimberly Lemke led an interactive and informative presentation letting us know that getting a good night’s sleep starts in the morning. Our daily filling of our “sleep balloon” with sunlight, exercise and then comfortable bedding are all integral to our good night’s sleep. She encouraged RSAs to empower their customers with sleep strategies that of course tie into their mattress/bedding purchase and to help customers fit puzzle pieces into their picture of a good night’s sleep.
Goodbed’s Mike Magnuson partnered with the elite testing company DOW to create a mattress testing process with specific quality metrics. He presented data showing that customer reviews for the cheapest mattresses on Amazon displayed both the most and the highest review rankings – using the same language as higher priced mattresses (support, comfort, cooling etc). He recognized the absolute necessity for a way to prove claims and he went to work to create one. Mark Quinn of Shifman Mattress was on hand to share their experience using the program – he gave it rave reviews. Click HERE for more info and mark your calendar for Las Vegas Market Monday when Magnuson will present the program in the SSA showroom.
The last session of the conference was interactive – dividing into 2 groups and brainstorming ideas around what our group dubbed “The Best Bedding Department EVER”. Both groups presented some pretty creative ideas – it was a fun way to end a great event.
The Networking Was Epic
There was a plethora of opportunity to meet and get to know our industry colleagues. Golf, cocktail parties, breakfasts and the Awards Dinner all presented time to learn more about colleagues and their businesses. It was a fantastic place to catch up personally and professionally. Several SSA members attended and I got the skinny on what they are facing right now in the world (I think I even secured a new blog for our newsletter from a returning member.) When I ask “why attend” more often than not the main reason is networking – mission accomplished.
Thank you Furniture Today for another fun Bedding Conference and congratulations on your 20th year!
