David Perry — Furniture Today,
NEW YORK — An Italian mattress producer is bringing its golden touch to the trendy SoHo district here.


Anyone interested in a bed covered with 22-carat gold ticking?

Magniflex, which says it is Italy’s largest bedding maker, will open a 2,000-square-foot store here, its first in the United States, in early May. Stores will follow in another city or two, company officials said.

Magniflex has tested the U.S. market with showings at furniture markets in High Point and Las Vegas.

“For many years, we have looked at entering the U.S. market and felt that with consumers’ increased interest in health and quality sleep, now was the right time to enter this important consumer market,” said Marco Magni, global sales director at Magniflex.

He said that in addition to establishing a retail presence in New York “and one or two other cities,” the company will reach U.S. consumers through a dealer network.

The company’s flagship model is a $24,000 mattress made with ticking woven from 22-carat gold threads. A matching pillow with a 22-carat gold cover retails for $1,000.

The products are more than just flashy: Gold has anti-inflammatory, anti-stress and anti-dust mite properties, the company says. Cushioned with Magniflex’s memory foam mattress, the gold bed offers “a rest of unsurpassed comfort and luxury.”

If that product is too pricey, consumers might want to try the Argento sterling silver mattress, a Merino wool-topped mattress, or a soy-based organic mattress just introduced by the company. With the exception of the gold line, the Magniflex mattresses generally sell from $1,299 to $3,999 in queen.

Magniflex’s U.S. operations are headed by Henry Burney, who brought the line to High Point a few years ago.

“Italian products are made with the finest craftsmanship and quality, and interest in the Magniflex brand, both from consumers and the bedding industry, is quite brisk,” he said.

Burney credits said the line’s patented vacuum packing system also is a plus. It shrinks and rolls the bed to one-tenth its size, making it easy for one person to deliver and set up the bed. When the packaging is opened, the mattress returns to its original size within minutes, the company said.

That delivery feature should be of special benefit to consumers in New York. “Particularly in Manhattan, our mattress easily fits into an elevator or can be carried up staircases and through narrow doors,” Burney said.