Industry should show FR materials add value
David Perry, Executive Editor -- Furniture Today, November 26, 2007
The recent price increases announced by the industry's two biggest producers, Sealy and Simmons, stemmed in part from a need to recover the costs of complying with the federal fire-resistant mattress standards. Other producers tell me they too will be raising prices.
The ostensible problem: A tough business climate has kept a lid on price increases.
But there's another problem, I submit: Retailers don't value the addition of FR materials, and the new record-keeping and quality control procedures mandated by the federal standard.
Before those of you who are tired of my FR advocacy quit reading, let's consider what the industry has said about the FR standard. That won't take long, because producers, collectively, have said very little about the value of adding FR protection. They are paying a price for not making the case that FR protection can justify higher prices.
I hear that consumers don't care about FR protection, and the FR issue is a non-starter on retail floors. But does it have to be that way? Don't marketers influence consumer attitudes?
It continues to astound me that our industry, collectively, has spent years of work and millions and millions of dollars in developing, testing and refining FR materials, yet doesn't think it should get credit for those investments.
When I made those points to a major producer the other day, the leader of that company asserted the International Sleep Products Assn., and not individual bedding makers, should be taking the lead on telling the FR story. It's a perfect job for the trade association, the leader said.
Those comments took me by surprise. I'd been thinking that producers should make the case that adding FR protection justifies higher retail prices. And I continue to believe that producers have some responsibility for touting the improved benefits of their lines. But I also think there's a lot of wisdom in arguing that ISPA should play a more active role in FR education.
An attitude change will be needed if ISPA is to step up to the FR plate. Many of the same producers who don't want to talk about FR in the trade are leaders in ISPA. And I have firsthand knowledge of the FR caution that characterizes some of those producers.
I also know, all too well, that few in our industry see FR as a marketing opportunity. The bedding industry has some of the top marketers in the entire home furnishings industry. I refuse to believe those marketers can't find creative ways to use the FR issue to sell more beds.
Contact David Perry at dperry@reedbusiness.com
