John Merwin’s “a-ha” moment came in a box. Ordered online. Sight unseen. It was a mattress, tightly rolled up and conveniently delivered to his home.
At the time, Merwin and his brother Rob were veterans in the mattress business, manufacturing their own mattresses and selling “scratch and dents” under the name R & S Liquidators, with traditional brick and mortar stores. But when Merwin’s wife, an early adopter of online shopping, noticed a mattress for sale online, they were intrigued.
“I opened that mattress up and knew that was something we could do in our factory,” Merwin says. “We saw the future of the industry.”
After a few tough years trying to make of a go of selling online, the brothers found success. The next iteration of the business, Brooklyn Bedding, would go on to become one of the big names in the online mattress industry.
Today, customers find Brooklyn Bedding both online and at multiple retail locations. Regardless of their shopping habits, customers often share a similar story of aching backs or poor sleep.
But the right mattress leads to everything from sound sleep to reducing stress and improving your mood, to strengthening immunity, he says. Combined with the right bedding, which the company also sells, customers can create an entirely new sleep experience.
“I’m a huge, huge believer in the whole package,” he says. “You have to pair the mattress with the right pillow and then you have to pair it with the right sheets. We are working to educate people that the whole package will make a difference.”
Brooklyn Bedding is one of a few national companies that manufactures its own mattresses. It’s also a company inspired to meet the needs of our healthcare community in light of COVID-19 pandemic.
Brooklyn Bedding is now repurposing its proprietary technology to produce beds for hospitals and government agencies that need them the most. Inspired by their work with the trucking industry in using mattresses to soak up diesel fuel spills in crisis situations, the hospital mattresses are made with vinyl construction and materials, and provide extreme waterproofing features.
Health and government officials can procure mattresses and get more information by visiting the Brooklyn Bedding website.
By Juilia De Simone
Photos: Mark Lipczynski