First, before I get started today my apologies for not posting the past few weeks. My family and I have been on the road visiting other family members at a big reunion in Missouri and in the beautiful mountains of Montana and it has been pretty busy. Family first right?

Second, please note at the top of the blog is direct access to the Dos Marcos Podcast so don’t miss an episode; we will be recording a few more this week. Hear about Mark Kinsley and his new job as a baby sherpa, my trip with my son Nick to Jordan’s Furniture, and a detailed discussion about what is in this blog today.

We just finished another Vegas Market that seemed to be a big success for the people that I spoke to. Traffic was okay but the good thing about July is that most of the folks attending are there to conduct business. There was a lot of BUZZ in the halls about things going on in the industry so if you missed it let me recap the hottest topics for you.

• Who is coming out of the divorce better, Mattress Firm or Tempur-Pedic? Who has the best strategy and who is executing their plan? Will the new Tempur-Pedic replacement products and marketing approach be able to replace the Tempur-Pedic volume? Will Tempur-Pedic be able to regain all of that lost business going after current dealers, expanding with key partners into other territories and placing more focus on their direct to consumer channel?
• There are some large retailers upset with Serta/Simons Bedding for getting so close to Mattress Firm with big investments for advertising and giving them product exclusives. Will they lose more of their loyal dealer base than it was worth? Simmons now features Mattress Firm exclusives on their website so what is the impact of that if any?
• Tempur/Sealy has given Costco Wholesale, Tempur-Pedic and Stearns and Foster. Is this a good move when it comes to protecting those brands?
• Is Steve Fendrich and team really going to take over the world opening 500 stores with strong backing from Tempur/Sealy? I had a chance to catch up with Steve and I would suggest talking to him before buying into all of the rumors around this. But make no mistake, they are on the move.

For me, it is always great to talk directly to the grapevine and see what it is dishing out. As you might guess there was no shortage of opinion when it came to these topics and I’ve heard several theories that I had not considered. The bottom line here is that we all have to sit back and watch things evolve, pay attention to what people DO vs. what they SAY, and then align ourselves with companies that share our values and align with our goals. If you are having trouble finding a company that can help you get the results your after then you might want to look in new places. More on that next week!