Hudson hopes for sales spike with full pillow

Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 1/28/2002 12:00:00 AM

RICHMOND, VA —

Hoping to provide a product that bridges the best of two worlds, Hudson Industries unveiled its latest product, the Forever Full, Never-Ever Flat Pillow.

According to the company, the pillow features a patented mixture of medical-grade polyurethane foam and slickened polyester fiber. The foam is designed to provide support and shape retention, while the polyester offers comfort and softness.

"The genesis of this came from a lot of folks who are not comfortable sleeping on a solid-core foam pillow," said Lonnie Scheps, vp, sales and marketing. "You get the softness but with that foam support."

In addition, according to Hudson, the mixture also prevents "bottoming out" and improves sleeping posture and weight distribution.

"You can really put your arms around it and squish it," Scheps said about the product.

A 65/35 polyester/cotton damask-look cover with a white-on-white floral is also part of the pillow, as is a lifetime warranty.

Scheps said the new pillows, which "are shipping as we speak," were in development for over a year and will join roughly 20 other products under Hudson's top-tier brand, Science of Sleep. Following the top-tier strategy, Scheps added that the company will not offer the pillow at the discount store level. Only "better specialty stores, top-drawer mail-order catalogs and department stores" will be able to add the Forever Full pillow to their assortments. "We are not going low end," Scheps said.

Retail price points will begin at $19.95 for a standard size and range up to $27.95 for a jumbo. In response to some retailers' suggestions, Hudson will also offer the pillow in a soft-medium-firm three-tier strategy, but with no price increase.

"If you want a firmer or softer pillow, you shouldn't have to pay a penalty for that," Scheps said.