Down Lite Explains: Why Buy Down?

Cincinnati — Why buy down? Down Lite is happy to tell you in one of two websites it produces specifically to promote the virtues of down products to both consumers and retail buyers.

Down Lite marketing director Stephan Hunter said the www.WhyBuyDown.com site was launched in time for the 2006 holiday season, in order to set the record straight about down products and educate the public about the comfort and energy saving properties of down. The company plans a larger “official” launch in the fall of 2008 with a press campaign to go with it.

“The site was developed to help the consumer understand this sometimes very confusing industry and provide an educational and reliable resource,” Hunter explained.

“This is a limited version, very new,” he said. “This site shows the 'ins and outs' of the down industry and educates the consumers as to why to buy — and how to buy — down.”

The new site also provides information about Down Lite's preferred-partner down alternative product, PrimaLoft, as well as a direct link to the International Down and Feather Laboratory and Institute, for those seeking more information on “the world's best insulation.”

The site is the company's second on the topic, as its predecessor, www.DownBuyingGuide.com, was launched three years ago and specifically targeted to retail buyers.

“A more educated buyer is a better buyer,” noted Hunter. The retailer site's educational components range from “Down & Feather 101” to more technical aspects of fill power, duck vs. goose, manufacturing processes and testing systems. The information is geared toward new industry buyers, assistants, planners, and junior level people. “We have also had good luck with this site, using it for our small accounts, such as high-end linen stores, to educate their new store personnel,” he said.

Both websites were created in-house and were launched within a few months of the initial idea. The company updates each site every few months when new, relevant information and news becomes available. As a manufacturer mainly of private-label bedding, Down Lite will continue to use the sites as educational resources, with no buying or transactional component planned for either site.

The company plans to install consumer polls, research and feedback tools on the www.whybuydown.com site. “Without a doubt, consumers that use online avenues to shop are dramatically on an upswing. Our mission is to educate the consumer to help their buying decision,” said Hunter.