Amerigon Signs 3-Year Agreement Providing Mattress Firm, Inc. Rights to Market Luxury Heated/Cooled Mattress Line

NORTHVILLE, Mich., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that it has signed a three-year, exclusive agreement with Mattress Firm, Inc. providing Mattress Firm the rights to market throughout the continental U.S. a new suite of actively heated and cooled luxury mattresses using Amerigon's advanced TE technology.  The mattress, which will provide individual controls to actively heat and cool each side of the mattress independently, is expected to be introduced this fall.  

According to the International Sleep Products Association, 16.3 million mattresses were sold in the U.S. in 2009.  Sales of mattresses, which sagged as the economy slumped, are expected to increase 4.5 percent this year and 6.3 percent in 2011.  

Houston-based Mattress Firm, one of the nation's leading specialty mattress retailers with more than 580 locations across 22 states, carries a variety of brands and specializes in luxury bedding products.  Its broad product selection and distribution, knowledgeable sales associates and customer-centric focus, has allowed Mattress Firm to successfully navigate the economy and prepare for growth.

"Teaming with Mattress Firm will provide Amerigon a direct marketing distribution partner with a well-established, reputable national leader in the bedding and mattress industry," said Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker.  "We look forward to working closely with Mattress Firm on this new venture, which we believe will demonstrate that our proprietary thermoelectric technology has broad potential applications for a variety of consumer products."

"This is an unprecedented retail partnership that marries proven technology from very different industries.  Combining expertise from automotive technology with luxury bedding materials gives consumers personalized control over what may be keeping them up at night – support, comfort and temperature," said Steve Stagner, CEO of Mattress Firm.

Coker added that the suite of bedding products is the result of extensive research performed over the past couple of years and that actively heated and cooled bedding is a natural extension of the Company's TE technology.  Currently, Amerigon's principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort.

"This is truly a revolutionary product never before seen in the bedding industry.  The ability to use ambient air to efficiently heat and cool the surface of a mattress is the solution many sleepers have been dreaming of.  Finally, there is a holistic solution for many sleep needs.  By providing customers with personalized climate control options, Mattress Firm has taken another step forward in ensuring our customers' happiness," said Stagner.

Thermoelectric Technology and Amerigon's Heating and Cooling Application

Thermoelectric technology relates to the direct conversion of electrical current to thermal energy (Peltier effect) or the direct conversion of heat differentials to electric current (Seebeck effect).  

Amerigon's highly-efficient, solid-state thermoelectric device acts as a heat pump in heating and cooling applications.  In those applications, ambient air is forced through the heat pump and thermally conditioned in response to temperature settings in the electronic control units.  The conditioned air is then circulated through small ducts or channels just below the surface material by a specially designed, quiet fan so that the surface temperature can be heated or cooled.  

About Mattress Firm, Inc.

Houston-based Mattress Firm (www.mattressfirm.com) is one of the nation's premier specialty bedding retailers, offering a broad selection of both traditional and specialty mattresses from leading manufacturers, including Tempur-Pedic, Sealy, Simmons, Stearns & Foster, and Sleep to Live. Founded in 1986, Mattress Firm's purpose is to improve lives one night at a time. With more than 580 stores across 22 states, Mattress Firm offers consumers the benefit of highly trained, knowledgeable sales professionals, a broad product offering, and competitive prices in an attractive and comfortable store environment.

About Amerigon

Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea.  For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.

Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different.  Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results.  The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors.  Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.

SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated