Sealy®, Inc., announced the promotion of Stephen Stickler, director of national accounts, to vice president of product merchandising.
Stephen has been a key player within the industry and a Sealy employee for nearly 12 years. In his most recent role, Stickler was responsible for working with two major bedding retailers on product design and merchandise lineups for more than 1,000 stores. In his new role, Stickler will oversee the product development activities for all brands in the portfolio including Sealy, Sealy Posturepedic®, Stearns & Foster®, Embody™ by Sealy, Bassett®, and Private Label lines with a value exceeding $1 billion in annual revenue.
“My experience working directly with retailers has given me the insight to contribute to overall product development for the portfolio of Sealy brands,” said Stickler. “I’m eager to continue my work with Sealy to establish distinct strategies, product and program offerings to meet the myriad of both consumer and retailer needs.”
In addition to product development, Stickler will also be responsible for product merchandising and project leadership. A replacement for the director of national accounts role has not yet been announced.
Prior to his work with Sealy, Stickler served in a variety of manager positions with Milliken and Company, one of the largest privately held textile and chemical manufacturers in the world.
He holds a Master of Business Administration from Wake Forest University and Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Clemson University.
About Sealy: Sealy is the bedding industry's largest global manufacturer with sales of $1.2 billion in fiscal 2010. The Company manufactures and markets a broad range of mattresses and foundations under the Sealy®, Sealy Posturepedic®, Sealy Embody, Stearns & Foster®, and Bassett® brands. Sealy operates 25 plants in North America, and has the largest market share and highest consumer awareness of any bedding brand on the continent. In the United States, Sealy sells its products to approximately 3,000 customers with more than 7,000 retail outlets. Sealy is also a leading supplier to the hospitality industry. For more information, please visit www.sealy.com.