Tempur-Pedic Shares Rise on First Store Opening

Following the likes of Apple

, Tempur-Pedic International

announced Tuesday that it opened its first retail store. The store is intended to "immerse consumers in the brand experience," according to the mattress producer. "We're excited to bring our products to life in a retail environment designed to provide product education, build consumer awareness and enhance brand loyalty," said Patrice Varni, Vice President of direct-to-consumer sales and marketing, in a statement. The 3,500 square-foot Massachusetts store opening will be the first of many over the next year, announced Tempur-Pedic. The company said it will open a second store late this year in Ohio. Tempur-Pedic's venture into retail may be its latest effort to fight falling revenues and margins from the most recently reported quarter. Last week, the company unveiled TEMPUR-Weightless and TEMPUR-Breeze mattresses to provide improved responsiveness and climate control, respectively. "The specialty mattress market in the U.S. has experienced ongoing and dramatic change in recent months, characterized by a crowded, complicated and competitive retail environment," wrote Oppenheimer in an August 1 research note. Tuesday's news comes in the wake of a more than 40 percent year-to-date decline in Tempur-Pedic shares. Much of this decline occurred in early June, when the company released full-year earnings per share and revenue projections below Wall Street analysts' expectations. Late July, however, the company reported second-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts' lowered expectations by a margin of more than 15 percent. Competitor Sealy Corporation

traded around 5.8 percent higher year-to-date. The company beat or met analyst earnings per share estimates for the first two quarters of 2012, following a marked earnings miss in fourth-quarter 2011. Tempur-Pedic was trading approximately 4.1 percent higher for the day, while Sealy Corporation traded higher by around 0.6 percent.