Simmons Announces Beautyrest Black® Partnership with Dempsey Racing

ATLANTA, Jan. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Simmons Bedding Company ("Simmons") announces today a multi-year partnership between its Beautyrest Black line and Dempsey Racing. Simmons' luxury mattress line joins the sports car racing team as an official supplier and sponsor of the No. 27 Dempsey Racing Porsche GT America driven by actor and professional race car driver Patrick Dempsey and his full-season teammate Andrew Davis.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140127/CL52718 )

Patrick Dempsey and Dempsey Racing will join Simmons to officially unveil the new partnership tonight during a private Beautyrest Black dealer event at Las Vegas Market.

"Simmons is excited to be partnering with Dempsey Racing to introduce Beautyrest Black to consumers," said Rolf Sannes, Simmons' Vice President Beautyrest® Brand. "We have found a partner that not only shares our passion for but personifies powerful performance and modern luxury, and we look forward to supporting the Dempsey Racing team for years to come. In today's busy world where sleep has become the ultimate luxury, Beautyrest Black delivers the quality sleep needed for optimal focus and performance – both on the track and when facing the everyday grind."

The Dempsey team debuted the newly Beautyrest Black-branded GT Daytona (GTD) Porsche at the Rolex 24 inaugural race on January 23, solidifying a partnership that will see Dempsey Racing's continued promotion of Simmons' premium mattress line, fittingly billed as the premium paring of technological performance and luxury. The Dempsey Racing drivers and crew will also sleep on Beautyrest Black mattresses during upcoming IMSA TUDOR endurance races, beginning with 12 Hours of Sebring in March.

"We were very fortunate to enter into a multi-year relationship with Porsche at the end of last season and Beautyrest Black® is an ideal and perfectly complementary partner to now also welcome to our racing team," says Patrick Dempsey, owner and founder of Dempsey Racing.  "As sports car endurance racing drivers, we know the importance of quality sleep for not only top performance on the track but also for getting anyone through life's day-to-day routine.  We are looking forward to racing, resting and sleeping with Beautyrest Black."

In addition to the Beautyrest Black branding on the No. 27 Porsche, Patrick Dempsey and Dempsey Racing will also be featured in upcoming nationally televised ad spots for Beautyrest Black.

"Beautyrest Black is a premium mattress that warrants a premium partner. In Patrick and the Dempsey Racing team, we've found a partner that perfectly represents the elegance, style and performance of Beautyrest Black. This relationship is an advertising game changer and one we know can elevate our brand to reach a wider range of luxury consumers," says Jeff Willard, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Simmons.

Simmons' new "techno-luxe" Beautyrest Black line offers consumers a mattress designed with modern luxury in mind, pairing signature, high-quality luxury fabrics with state-of-the-art technology. This twelve-model line will debut at Las Vegas Market January 26 and will be supported by a wide-scale, multimedia advertising campaign inviting consumers to "Dream in Black" by focusing on the brand's unique marriage of luxury and technology, beginning in the Spring. 

The new partnership unites two Atlanta-based organizations. Simmons and Dempsey Racing are both headquartered in the greater Atlanta area where Dempsey Racing teammates Joe Foster, Davis and the team's technical and commercial operations are also based.

This partnership was first announced on the eve of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, January 23-26, one of the racing world's premier, internationally recognized daylong endurance races at Daytona International Speedway. This year, this event serves as the inaugural event of the debuting IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season.

About Dempsey Racing
Dempsey Racing is a year-round professional motorsports business based in the greater Atlanta area. The organization has fielded multiple teams in several different racing series throughout North America for nearly a decade and was the organizational and management entity behind the team's successful campaign at Le Mans with Porsche in 2013. Owned by Patrick Dempsey and operated on a daily basis by Joe Foster and Team Manager Greg Cates, Dempsey Racing also employs year-round team of administrative and technical personnel that includes several motorsports career professionals. For more information, visit www.DempseyRacing.net.

About Simmons Bedding Company
Atlanta-based Simmons Bedding Company ("Simmons") is one of the world's largest mattress producers and the maker of Beautyrest^®. Simmons manufactures and markets a broad range of products including Beautyrest^®, Beautyrest TruEnergy^®, Beautyrest Black^®, ComforPedic^® from Beautyrest^®, and BeautySleep^®. Simmons operates 19 conventional bedding manufacturing facilities across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Simmons also serves as a key supplier of beds to many of the world's leading hotel groups and resort properties. Simmons is committed to developing superior mattresses and promoting a higher-quality sleep, helping ensure consumers around the world are LIVING LIFE FULLY CHARGED^®. For more information, visit www.Beautyrest.com, or follow Beautyrest on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements that reflect our current views about future events. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release and are expressed in good faith. However, these forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Simmons's expectations, including, but not limited to, operational pressures, including our ability to launch new products on a timely basis, the success of our new products and costs related thereto; our product liability, intellectual property and other litigation claims; and strategic decisions, including potential acquisitions and personnel realignments. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, either to reflect new developments or for any other reason.

For more information:
Christina Schrempp
[email protected]
404.835.4521

SOURCE Simmons Bedding Company