The cost of getting a good night’s sleep could be going up as mattress manufacturers deal with spiking foam prices.
Mattress-makers and other furniture manufacturers are being warned to expect price hikes and material shortages over the next few months as a result of a a shortage in the chemicals used to make polyurethane foam. Manufacturers attribute the problems to hurricane damage to petrochemical facilities in the Gulf Coast.
“We’re probably going to have to raise our prices – everyone is going to have to do it,” said Matt Roberts, sales manager at Boulder Comfort, a mattress manufacturer and retailer.
Boulder Comfort recently was warned by one of its foam suppliers that prices would increase 28 percent beginning Nov. 1.
“That’s just unheard of,” Roberts said.
Even large national companies face the problem. Furniture manufacturer La-Z-Boy Inc. said it was told by one supplier its allocation of foam would be cut 50 percent. That, the company said, may negatively affect quarterly earnings. Select Comfort Corp. and Sealy Inc. said the shortage could cause delays in manufacturing and delivery.
Sealy, Spring Air Co. and Simmons Bedding Co. operate plants in metro Denver.
“The price increases are tearing us apart,” said Greg James, purchasing manager at the Spring Air facility. James has been told to expect an 11 percent price increase in the next few days followed by an additional 28 percent price increase by Nov. 1.
Two of the metro area’s largest mattress dealers, Denver Mattress and American Furniture Warehouse, said they’re monitoring the situation.
“We are keeping a watchful eye on current events as they pertain to the supply of key raw materials for our mattresses,” Bill McKendry, marketing director for Denver Mattress operator Furniture Row Cos., said in an e-mail. “If raw materials increase in price, the entire bedding industry will be impacted. But as a factory-direct retailer, Denver Mattress is committed to remaining the best value in mattresses anywhere.”
Andrew Zuppa, corporate general manager for American Furniture Warehouse, said the company does not anticipate having to raise its prices.
“Because of the volume that American Furniture Warehouse does in the mattress department, we were proactive about going out to our mattress manufacturers to immediately address the issue and figure out a solution,” Zuppa said. “By taking these steps, and again, because we do such high volume, our manufacturers have assured us that they have secured enough foam to ensure that American Furniture Warehouse will not be impacted by price increases.”
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
