Leading global fabric and home fashions manufacturer Home Furnishing International (HFI) is opening a major new 6,000-square-foot permanent showroom at Las Vegas Market, debuting at this month’s winter market running Jan. 26-30, 2020. The new showroom, located in Building B, Room #980, gives HFI a substantial presence in the nation’s largest bedding market and heightens the profile of its new line of conventional foam and memory foam mattresses, toppers, foundations, adjustable bases and accessories.
The new showroom will feature more than 20 full bed displays, and also spotlight the complete assortment of bed-in-a-box styles from GhostBed, a major online bedding retailer. Additionally, HFI will unveil an extensive new line of conventional foam and memory foam bed pillows, foam pet beds and bed steps, and a representative assortment of the company’s home decor products, including indoor/outdoor decorative pillows and cushions.
“We believe that having a major presence at Las Vegas Market is an important next step in our evolution as a significant player in the U.S. bedding and mattress market,” explains David Li, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Home Furnishing International, a privately held vertical fabric and home fashions supplier with annual sales estimated in excess of $200 million. “We are focusing on bringing truly innovative technologies in foam and fabric manufacturing to U.S. retailers and consumers.”
One of the innovations to be unveiled at Las Vegas Market is the sustainable Performatex fabric, which is being used for HFI mattress ticking, pillow covers and topper covers.
“We are placing a major emphasis on sustainability, and this will be the first introduction of the proprietary Performatex fabric in the bedding market,” points out HFI President Jane McCormac-Raab, who joined HFI last year from retailer Bed Bath & Beyond. “Previously, Performatex has been used in indoor/outdoor fabrics, decorative pillows and cushions, but this will be the first time it will be available to the bedding industry.”
The proprietary Performatex fabric boasts environmentally-friendly credentials: the fabric is 100 percent recyclable, uses 90 percent fewer chemicals and 80 percent less water than conventional fabrics, and uses 30 percent to 40 percent less energy in the manufacturing process, which translates to 30 percent less of a carbon footprint. The consumer benefits to this innovative fabric are equally impressive: the fabric is extremely durable, UV-safe, fade-resistant, stain-resistant, mold- and mildew-resistant, water-washable and bleach safe. “The fabrics are weatherproof, kid-proof and pet-proof,” notes McCormac-Raab.
Li explains that the development of the Performatex fabric grew out of Home Furnishing International’s leadership position in the decorative fabrics market, where the company is well known for technological innovation and developing proprietary yarns that offer superior performance characteristics as well as being environmentally friendly.
“No other supplier has the vertical capacity that HFI has in the fabric market, and HFI is recognized as a world leader in the fabric industry, producing more than 300 million yards of fabric every year,” Li says. “We have been focusing on sustainability in our research and development, because we care about the environment as much as our customers and consumers. Studies have shown that 20 percent of the world’s pollution is caused by traditional textile dyeing processes. Our innovative solution-dyeing process eliminates virtually all of the chemicals and all of the water used in traditional dyeing, and uses substantially less energy, which makes it a much better product for the environment. Plus, the fabrics are 100 percent recyclable!”
The company’s new mattresses will be offered under several collections, including the Nature’s Sleep, Calm Sense and Total Sleep brands, all featuring the Performatex fabric. The mattresses will incorporate various desirable features, including gel-infused foam for its cooling properties; copper-infused bedding, which has natural anti-microbial and rejuvenating properties; and charcoal-infused bedding, which provides natural odor control.
HFI is adding another proprietary process to selected mattresses, toppers and bed pillows, a cooling effect utilizing an all-natural mineral. “Cooling properties are very important to consumers right now, because people like to sleep cool and comfortable,” points out Michael King, who joined HFI as Executive Vice President of Marketing and Merchandising last year after 26 years as a bedding buyer with Macy’s. “The other benefit is that we are using an eco-friendly product, which is very important to environmentally-conscious consumers, many of whom seek out products that are environmentally responsible.
“Home Furnishings International is taking a truly ground-breaking approach to the bedding market by offering superior performance and product benefits at no additional cost,” King continues. “Traditionally in the mattress industry, environmentally friendly features and enhanced product benefits have come with a higher price tag and sometimes inferior performance. Now, because of HFI’s extensive manufacturing facilities, along with the company’s research and development expertise, we can offer our customers and the ultimate consumer a truly better product at an attractive price point.”
