Press Release - October 13, 2009

National Home Furnishings Association Names Serta as its Official Mattress Sponsor
New sponsorship program will kick off in 2010 with an exclusive national sweepstakes designed to grow members’ bedding business

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL – The National Home Furnishings Association (NHFA) announced today that Serta is its official and exclusive mattress sponsor, making the bedding giant the first member of a new premium level of NHFA sponsorship.

Serta will offer NHFA members exclusive national promotions designed to energize NHFA members and their retail sales associates while encouraging consumers to shop during key selling periods. The sponsorship will kick off in January with an exciting consumer-centered sweepstakes that will run through April of 2010  - in conjunction with the national launch of the NHFA’s new web portal, www.homefurnishings.com.

“This is an exciting time for the NHFA and I am thrilled to have Serta sign on as our official mattress sponsor,” says Steve DeHaan, Executive Vice President for the NHFA.  “Like the NHFA, Serta has invested in innovative and aggressive marketing programs to help their partners grow. This partnership is a natural fit and it will be beneficial to our members.”   

The details of Serta’s exclusive sweepstakes program will be revealed at the upcoming High Point market.  Officials at Serta did reveal that the company will provide a turnkey retail advertising program to help participating retailers successfully promote the event as well as advertise on www.homefurnishings.com.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Serta to partner with a very respected organization,” says Bob Sherman, President of Serta International.  “The NHFA has made a great investment in supporting their members and we are thrilled to be part of this endeavor.  Our sweepstakes program, which we will reveal at High Point, is going to be a blockbuster event.  Plus, it is going to be a lot of fun for NHFA members and consumers.” 

While Serta is offering this program exclusively to NHFA members, company officials do encourage retailers that are not members of the NHFA to visit them at High Point to learn more. Serta is located in 503 of the Commerce Wing in the International Home Furnishings Center.  Retailers may also visit the NHFA Resource Center.  Those retailers not attending High Point can learn more by calling Serta’s dedicated NHFA hotline at 800-327-2782 extension 6014. 
 

About National Home Furnishings Association:
National Home Furnishings Association (NHFA) is the nation's largest non-profit organization devoted specifically to the needs and interests of home furnishings retailers. NHFA's membership comprises 2500 business entities representing over 9,000 stores in all 50 states and several foreign countries.  NHFA's mission and vision encompass the association's commitment to helping home furnishings retailers operate highly profitable businesses that provide an exceptional level of service to the consumers who buy their furniture.  The mission of National Home Furnishings Association is to provide its members with the information, education, products and services they need to remain successful.  NHFA's vision is to excel as the definitive resource for information and leadership for home furnishings retailers.

About Serta:
Serta is a bedding brand leader and the manufacturer of the best selling premium mattress in America, The Serta Perfect Sleeper®, the upscale Perfect Day® collection and the elegant Vera Wang by Serta® Collection.  For more information, visit, www.serta.com.  As the leading provider of mattresses to the hospitality industry, Serta partners with hotel groups such as Hilton Hotels, Marriott, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Bellagio Hotel, Wyndham Hotels, Omni Hotels, Choice Hotels, Accor Hotels and many more.  Serta has 23 U.S. and four Canadian manufacturing plants.  In addition, Serta is distributed internationally in 60 other countries.  With its worldwide network, Serta is able to respond quickly to customers’ needs while still preserving strict control standards to ensure the highest quality products.

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For more information about this article, contact Steve DeHaan (NHFA; Executive Vice President) at (800) 888-9590/ sdehaan@nhfa.org  or Kelly Rampson (Serta; Director, Integrated Marketing) at (847) 747-0460/ krampson@sertanational.com .