Nordstrom selling Westin bedding

Seattle— Nordstrom department stores have begun selling Heavenly Bed at Home, the Westin Hotels & Resorts' signature bed and bedding collection.

Nordstrom is the exclusive retailer for Heavenly Bed, which represents an expansion of the store's the home furnishings business. The Seattle-based company, with 95 stores coast to coast, has 61 stores with At Home departments, whose products include upholstered furniture by Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams and accent furniture pieces that Gold + Williams imports.

Westin's program began five years ago, said Sue Brush, senior vice president of the lodging company, as a result of hotel guests' request to purchase the mattresses and top-of-bed products they used during their stays.

At the launch of the Nordstrom program in New York this month, Brush said Westin sold $8.5 million worth of the goods last year via in-room catalogs and a Web site.

The all-white collection, from the mattress and upholstered bed to decorative pillows, is featured in specially designed sections of many of the Nordstrom At Home departments. All of the 61 current At Home departments carry decorative accessories, gifts, accent furniture and some textiles, while 48 will carry Heavenly Bed bedding and 24 will offer the full program, including upholstered beds and mattresses, said Paul Begich, national merchandise manager, At Home.

The mattress is a specially designed Beautyrest from Simmons and the upholstered bed is from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams. The mattress set priced is from $1,250 to $1,450.

Nordstrom will feature the Heavenly Bed products on its Web site but won't sell the goods online. "We want to enhance the one-on-one relationship with the customers," Begich said, so shoppers will be referred to in-store staff. He said salespeople at participating At Home stores have received special training in the past few months.

He said results from the first few days of the program have been very good, and that the company is "absolutely looking at line extensions" in home furnishings.