Businessweek

Select Comfort Corporation provides sleep solutions and services. The company designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes the proprietary SLEEP NUMBER bed and bedding, an adjustable-firmness mattress, and other sleep-related products. The company sells through two distribution channels, such as company-controlled, which includes retail, direct, and e-commerce; and wholesale. It offers further individualization through a solutions-focused line of Sleep Number pillows, sheets, and other bedding products. As of December 29, 2012, the company had 410 retail stores in the U.S. The bedding includes mattresses, box springs, and foundations and does not include bedding accessories, such as sheets, pillows, headboards, frames, mattress pads, and related products. Products Sleep Number Bed The company offers Sleep Number beds, such as the Classic series, including the Sleep Number c2, c3, and c4 beds; the Performance series, including the Sleep Number p5 and p6 beds; the Innovation series, including the Sleep Number i8 and i10 beds; and the Sleep Number Memory Foam Series, such as the Sleep Number m7 bed and the Sleep Number m9 bed. The Sleep Number bed series are available through the company’s U.S. company-controlled and wholesale distribution channels. Sleep Number Bedding Collection The company’s Sleep Number Bedding Collection offers a proprietary line of products to meet each individual's needs. It also offers various products that allow for individualization, including Create your Perfect Pillow and Create your Perfect Comforter. Its AirFit Pillow adjusts to an individual's size, shape, and sleeping position for comfortable sleep. The pillow is available in its CoolFit Foam, memory fiber or white goose down. Adjustable Bases/FlexFit The company completed the roll-out of its Precision Comfort adjustable base to all of its retail stores. The adjustable base enables customers to raise the head or foot of the bed, and to experience the comfort of massage, using a handheld remote control. It updated the Precision Comfort name to FlexFit Plus and introduced a value option – FlexFit. The company’s FlexFit adjustable bases provide customers with an ideal upgrade for their Sleep Number bed. Research and Development The company’s research and development expenses were $6.2 million in 2012. Intellectual Property The company has 23 issued U.S. patents, expiring at various dates between July 2014 and September 2028, and 6 U.S. patent applications pending. It also holds 33 foreign patents and has 6 foreign patent applications pending. Select Comfort, Sleep Number, Comfort Club, Sleep Better on Air, Select Comfort (logo with double arrow design), Firmness Control System, Precision Comfort, Corner Lock, Intralux, You can only find your Sleep Number setting on a Sleep Number Bed by Select Comfort, Select Comfort Creator of the Sleep Number Bed, What’s Your Sleep Number?, Grand King, Personalized Warmth Collection, GridZone, It’s the Bed that Counts, Luxlayer, Pillow[ology], Take Control of Your Sleep, Changing the way you sleep could change your life, ComfortFit, IndividualFit, PillowFit, Sleep Number Inner Circle, AirFit, DualAir Technology Inside (logo with double arrow design), Dual Loft, Personal Preference, Personal Renewal, and the company’s stylized logos are trademarks and/or service marks of the company. History Select Comfort Corporation was founded in 1987.