The Ledger, every show
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks, across all 44 shows. Pick shows below, then mix any filter with any other.
shows 
every show 44 of 44
Trussell leveraged Sharper Image rivalry to force Brookstone to sell mattresses
“I started selling to Sharper Image, their arch rival. Brookstone had an absolute cow about that, and they called me, Mike Anthony called me, and he said, Bob, we want you to not to sell to Sharper Image. It's going to hurt our business. And I said, okay, I'll …”
Private equity investors made 10x in under a year on Tempur-Pedic
“It turned out to be one of the all-time great private equity deals for them, and then they took us public three months later, so it was like they didn't even have their money up for a year, And they made like, 10 X.”
Bobby Trussell: National Ads Cost Much Less Per Capita Than Local
“National ads are much cheaper per capita than local ads”
Dan-Foam swapped a $75,000 container debt for 10% equity in Tempur-Pedic
“We will swap that container for 10% interest in your company.”
Sealy, Simmons, Serta, and Spring Air sold undifferentiated commodity mattresses
“It was dominated by the four S's. Seeley, Simmons, Serta, and Spring Air at the time, and they all were Innersprings, and they didn't even try to differentiate as a product. It was a commodity, and they sold on price and terms.”
Private equity sponsors made a 10x return taking Tempur-Pedic public quickly
“It turned out to be one of the all-time great private equity deals for them, and then they took us public three months later, so it was like they didn't even have their money up for a year, Wow. And they made, like, 10 X.”
Tempur-Pedic foam was originally invented by NASA for astronauts
“Yeah, it was originally invented by NASA. For the space program to cushion the astronauts from G-forces, and since it was a public thing.”
Trussell secured North American distribution rights for Tempur-Pedic in 1991
“Late 91, and we met him in Milwaukee, and he and I negotiated that he would give me exclusive North American distribution rights for his products.”
Direct mail to chiropractors drove $300,000 in first-year Tempur-Pedic sales
“So, we got 25% of them to buy four pillows, and that was the major breakthrough that turned us out of the nosedive And so all of a sudden from that 500 chiropractors, we had a 125 of them who were buying four pills a month, and we were selling it to the chirop…”
Tempur-Pedic grew revenue from $300K in 1992 to $45M
“We did 300,000 in 92, then 2.6 million, then six and a half, then 13, then 28, then 45.”
Adding an 800-number dropped New Yorker ad costs from $25K to $6K
“And then one day I got a phone call from the New Yorker, our first magazine, and he said, you know you guys have an 800 number. That means you, you're eligible for direct response rates. I said, oh, okay. How much is that? He said, 6000. I said, I've been payi…”
Trussell: Mailing 500 chiropractors secured Tempur-Pedic 125 initial distributors
“We mailed the 500 chiropractors and 125 of them. Took up our offer of which our, which was, this pillow is yours free if you order four, so now we have a 125 distributors.”
Bobby Trussell: Tempur-Pedic Became Brookstone's Number One Product
“When we were selling to Brookstone that was one of our big breakthroughs. They were a major retailer, and we were, became their number one product”
Trussell was approximately $1 million in debt before founding Tempur-Pedic
“I was probably a million dollars in debt.”
Tempur-Pedic's memory foam was originally unpatented public domain NASA technology
“Yeah, it was originally invented by NASA. For the space program to cushion the astronauts from G-forces. And since it was a public thing... U.S. Government. There wasn't a patent on it. It was freely alienable. And my Swedish friends bought a company in Denmar…”
DanFoam tested memory foam in football helmets before discovering mattress applications
“They had this squishy, squishy foam with slow comeback, and they had originally been interested in it for football helmets. But they made some three-inch overlays, and they put them in a nursing home in Copenhagen, and they were thinking maybe it would be good…”
Trussell: DanFoam required selling 10,000 mattresses in year one for exclusivity
“The other condition was we had to sell 10,000 mattresses to The first year in order to maintain exclusivity.”
Tempur-Pedic missed its 10,000-mattress first-year sales goal by 9,930
“We were supposed to sell 10,000 mattresses the first year, and we sold 70. So we missed the goal by 9930.”
Trussell: Tempur-Pedic mailed 500 free pillows to chiropractors to spur initial sales
“So we mailed 500 pillows to 500 unsuspecting chiropractors.”
Trussell: 25% of sampled chiropractors converted to buying four Tempur-Pedic pillows
“So, we got 25% of them to buy four pillows, and that was the major breakthrough that turned us out of the nosedive”
Tempur-Pedic became Brookstone's hottest-selling new product within two weeks
“Within two weeks, we were the hottest selling new product in Brookstone.”
Trussell: Tempur-Pedic grew revenue from $300k in 1992 to $45M
“We did 300,000 in 92, then 2.6 million, then six and a half, then 13, then 28, then 45.”
Tempur-Pedic had 25,000 chiropractors selling its products in the US and Europe
“We had 10,000 chiropractors selling it, and of course they had another 15,000 chiropractors selling it all over Europe.”
Trussell: US distributor drove 60% to 65% of Swedish manufacturer's global sales
“We were 60 to 65% of their world sales. So their company was only valuable pretty much because of that contract.”
Trussell: Tempur-Pedic's $350M buyout funded Swedish exit, not company operations
“So anyway, that's what the three hundred fifty million was. The purpose of the transaction was to take the Swedes out. Not a ton of it went into the company, actually.”
Trussell: Tempur-Pedic held 5%–6% of the US mattress market at IPO
“We were probably then about you know, five, six percent of the U.S. Mattress market, but we were A much larger percentage of the 2000 dollar and up price point.”
Gainesway Farm bought Kentucky Derby favorites for $10M pre-race
“We were buying Kentucky Derby favors for ten million dollars a month before the race.”
Tempur-Pedic distribution deal required selling 10,000 mattresses in year one
“The other condition was we had to sell 10,000 mattresses the first year in order to maintain exclusivity.”
Tempur-Pedic sold 70 mattresses in year one against a 10,000 quota
“We were supposed to sell 10,000 mattresses the first year, and we sold 70. So we missed the goal by 9930.”
Trussell traded 10% of Tempur-Pedic for a $75,000 product shipment
“So next day he calls back and says, ok, here's what we'll do. We will swap that container for 10% interest in your company. . Tempur-Pedic. And I said, ok.”
Tempur-Pedic became Brookstone's hottest selling new product within two weeks
“Within two weeks, we were the hottest selling new product in Brookstone.”
Suppliers acquired 45% of Tempur-Pedic North America via inventory swaps
“Well, that 10% interest that they swapped for that container of pillows, we had to do that four more times. So they ended up owning 45% of my company. So me and my U.S. Investors, we owned 55.”
U.S. distribution drove over 60% of Tempur's worldwide sales before merger
“We were 60 to 65% of their world sales. So their company was only valuable pretty much because of that contract.”
Tempur-Pedic's $350M PE deal primarily bought out the original Swedish owners
“So anyway, that's what the three hundred fifty million was. The purpose of the transaction was to take the Swedes out. Not a ton of it went into the company, actually.”
Tempur-Pedic held 5% of US mattress market at IPO
“We were probably then about you know, five, six percent of the U.S. Mattress market, but we were A much larger percentage of the 2000 dollar and up price point.”
Trussell: Imported Swedish horse ionizers were priced tenfold above competing US products
“And then the retail price was 500 dollars for these, and there were products on the market that were similar that were 49 95 who could make the exact same claims.”
Trussell got two jobs after writing to top ten horse trainers
“So I wrote letters to the top 10 horse trainers in the country. And nine of them didn't answer, and one of them was John Nerud, N-E-R-U-D, who offered me two jobs, one at his farm in Ocala, and the other one at the racetrack at Belmont Park.”
$10M Kentucky Derby favorite finished last after Trussell's syndicate bought him
“That horse, his name was Proud of Peel, and he eventually ran last in the Derby”
Late 1980s thoroughbred horse industry crash bankrupted the sector
“This is in the late eighties, yeah. Prices started going down. And essentially, everybody went broke.”
Trussell went $1 million into debt after thoroughbred business collapsed
“I was probably a million dollars in debt.”
Trussell's imported Swedish air purifier cost $500 against $50 competitors
“And then the retail price was 500 dollars for these, and there were products on the market that were similar that were 49 95 who could make the exact same claims.”
Only one top horse trainer replied to Trussell's post-college job letters
“So I wrote letters to the top 10 horse trainers in the country. And nine of them didn't answer, and one of them was John Nerud, N-E-R-U-D, who offered me two jobs, one at his farm in Ocala, and the other one at the racetrack at Belmont Park.”