HIGH POINT – HiEnd Accents has built a business around transforming how furniture retailers think about bedding, not to mention how shoppers experience a bedroom.
From crisp liners to luxury sheets, decorative pillows, duvets and quilts, the company specializes in creating products that complete the bedroom look.
Jonathan He, who succeeded his mother as president of the company, said the brand has continued to thrive as more and more retailers recognize the value of selling complete bedroom assembles – including the “top of the bed” – rather than just the furniture itself.
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“For years, furniture stores sold bedframes and mattresses and let customers go elsewhere for cozy layers that make a bedroom feel complete,” said He. “Retailers are now realizing they can increase sells and enhance their displays by offering everything that makes a bed feel finished.”
According to the bedding research by Furniture Today’s Strategic insights earlier this year, 81% of consumers who responded said they bought top of the bed items such as pillows, duvets and sheet sets from bedding furniture retail stores, and 71% of respondents bought the same items from online bedding retailers.
He spoke to sister publication Furniture Today at the fall High Point Market and said over the past few years, his brand has seen more and more furniture companies starting to realize that the top of bed is a great cross-sell opportunity.
“Not only does it allow them to sell more products because they capture the sell that could have gone to a different company, but also dressing the bed up nicely helps them sell their core product, which is the bedroom set,” He said.
Focus on new product line
HiEnd Accents was established 20 years ago by Cynthia Zheng, who was motivated by a passion for interior design. Identifying a market gap in high quality rustic bedding, the business began in Dallas with a small bedding line serving retailers looking for distinctive Western and rustic designs.
While it continues its Western bedding through its Paseo Road product line, the company says it offers more aesthetics and price tiers: Paseo Road for authentic Western, HiEnd Accents for updated classics and contemporary style, Indigo Hill for entry‑level value and Saturday Linens for hospitality essentials.
“Ten years ago, we started expanding into contemporary bedding and casual bedding styles,” said He.
He said the company’s strategy is to continue producing quality bedding, expand its product line and carefully manage price points to stay competitive.
“We really want to be a one-stop shop for our customers, so irrespective of what style and what price point they need to purchase, we can provide them a beautiful solution that they feel very happy to buy,” He continued.
“We consider ourselves bridge bedding. It is not quite supper luxury bedding, but it is also not mass bedding. For instance, a duvet cover set you can expect that to retail between $250 to $350, but wholesale customers will be paying half that.”
Staying competitive with global sourcing
For He, keeping prices steady is not just a business tactic, it’s part of a larger commitment to how HiEnd Accents designs and sources its products. The brand selects fabrics and materials from a collective of weavers and multiple suppliers, sourcing globally from China, India, Guatemala, and a few other countries. “China is one of our biggest sources,” said He.
“We use linen, cotton, eucalyptus … we have some quilts that are made of eucalyptus. For some of our designs we use blends because they can hold together better and have certain performance attributes that are really nice. We use everything but bamboo,” He said.
Once the material’s are sourced, HiEnd Accents in-house designers take over.
“We start with what customers are asking for next season, curating prints, patterns and material trends that layer naturally onto our evergreen core assortment. Our Dallas team sketches, builds swatches and tests for hand, feel and durability,” He said, adding, “We engineer costs to protect the retail because everyday luxury only works when the value holds. We finish by styling the bed so partners can lift a complete look from line sheet to floor.”
Tariff challenges
HiEnd Accents maintains a warehouse in Dallas and maintains showrooms in High Point, Las Vegas and Dallas, but despite the company’s expanded warehouses and showroom operations, the company’s president said tariffs on imported materials continue to weigh on costs.
“We have been hit by the tariffs, but what can we do? It is what it is, and we are hopeful there is some sort of resolution in the next few months,” said He. “Until then, we try to serve our customers and have absorbed most of the price increase, but that does make our margin very thin.”
Even with tariffs tightening profit margins, HiEnd Accent continues to grow its footprint with its retail partners as well as with designers. The company supplies bedding and home textiles to a range of national and regional furniture brands including department stores like Dillards, Ashley, and Nebraska Furniture Mart.
