The FAM Podcast with Mark Kinsley

He's bringing sexy back....financial sexiness that is.  This week, Dos Marcos hosts Vice President of Sales for Koalafi (pronounced like "qualify"), Craig Leffew. A company set on delivering simple financing options that are not only innovating, Koalaif is striving to offer a stress free financing option for both the retailer and the consumer.  In this episode, they discuss the origin of the Koali...

When you walk into a store to buy a mattress or a piece of furniture, who is ultimately the one in charge?  Is it the store owner? The consumer? Would it shock you to know it could be the manufacturer?  As the supply chain issues continue to cause disruption in the pipeline, and as we see spending start to slow down as the world shifts from a pandemic to an endemic state, the roles of consumerism...

ISPA is over, and now the real work begins. Manufacturers are busy fulfilling orders, retailers are busy finalizing their spring and fall offerings and people are eagerly looking ahead to what the seasons bring. As we close out this year's #ISPAEXPO, we wanted to bring you a "sounds of ISPA" episode. If you weren't able to attend, we're bringing the ISPA to you. It's an abbreviated combination of...

What happened at ISPA Expo? Ask the Marks! It's been four years since mattress industry nerds and execs alike convened together in person and they made the most of it. Quinn and Kinsley went live from Orlando, Florida and covered everything you are curious about. From foot traffic and exceptional products to trends in foam, fabric and technology, they covered it all in real time on today's recap!...

Do you know your chronotype ? Do you even know what a chronotype is? On today's episode, we chat with The Retail Doctor himself, Dr. Michael Breus. We connect on: What are chronotypes and how they work (hint: they're genetic and cannot be changed);  How to be transformative as an RSA; Answer the question on whether melatonin is good for you and your kids; and Discuss the benefits of CBD and addres...

If we were making recommendation for must see booths are ISPA, Culp's showroom is at the top of our list. On today's episode, we sat down with Holly Fulton, Brand Awareness Manager, and Christina Pennant, Creative Director for Culp Industries --the largest fabric mill in North America--and discussed their strategy for brand awareness and their cutting edge customer experience. Starting with their...

How do we fix the great resignation? It's the question major corporations everywhere are frantically trying to answer. One company at the top of their HR game is Tempur-Sealy International (TSI). In this episode, we chat with the Vice President of Human Resources, Drew Millar, about the mind shift in the workforce, what companies should be doing differently (hint: it's not always compensation!) an...

Is retail your passion or was it an accidental career you fell into? Whether you set out on your career path to be in retail or it was something you did as a filler and it has consumed a decade of your life, Amazon best-selling author Ron Thurston is setting out on a roadshow across America to tell the stories of those of you in the trenches. With a background that spans more than two decades in r...

When Bradley Siepp launched Lifeloom, people thought his sheets were a beauty product, not a medical device.  On his debut podcast, Lifeloom's CEO and Co-Founder of Lifeloom joins Dos Marcos to get "between the sheets" and discuss the FDA-approved product. They cover the backstory of Lifeloom; who they are (a former boy band dancer and sandwich connoisseur) and what Lifeloom is (a dermatherapy com...

"Problems own sleep." If you can diagnose and address your customer's sleep issues, you can solve their sleep problems.  Enter events such as the Vegas Market which exist to put on full display every retailer and manufacturer's products to help you meet your customer's sleep needs. In today's episode, we discuss foot traffic at market and address who seemed to fair well. In assessing those who did...

Imagine if your trash only got picked up monthly, instead of weekly. How differently would you view how you contribute to the world's overall waste? In today's episode, we chat with ISPA President Ryan Trainer and CEO of Pleasant Mattress Rion Morgenstern about their predictions for the industry, shifts in the sustainability mentality, legislation, and implementation for the Sleep Product Sustaina...

You've heard of Build-A-Bear, but have you heard of the Fill Station ? If you haven't, we liken it to the build-a-bear experience, but for mattress stores. Founder and CEO of Fill Station, Arthur Watkins has created an in-store attraction wherein you can customize your pillow from start to finish. Select your foam, your density, and any other material to pillow perfection.  On today's episode, we...

Physical retail space is coming back, and it’s coming back with a vengeance. It is no secret that digital upended how brick-and-mortar retailers conduct business. Yet, as time goes on, retail is beginning to uncover that to maximize your business—to grow and expand profitably—there has to be a space for both the physical and digital in your long-term strategy. In this week’s episode, we chat with...

Robert George Culp Jr.'s nickname was “Bullet,” but he wasn’t a gun slinger. He earned his nickname after helping establish Culp Inc. as the best in the business for providing top shelf upholstery fabric with the shortest turnaround time. Speed was his goal, and quality and service was his game. In this episode, we sat down with current Culp CEO Robert George Culp IV, also known as "Iv" to the res...

What a year, what a year.  We finish off the best of Dos Marcos for 2021 in this second episode of the two-part series. We recap Dr. V of Miskelly furniture's infamous, " training as a reward " approach and how he got employees to come in on their day off. We also went back to our interview with Jevon McCormick (who you may remember as the son of a pimp and a orphan) and his life-changing story on...

The last two weeks of 2021 have arrived and there is no better way to end the year than to pay homage to some of the amazing industry leaders and professionals who joined us on the Dos Marcos Show. In the debut episode of the best of Dos Marcos, we bring back six nuggets of wisdom we felt were worth repeating as we ponder the lessons learned from the past year. We discussed how to action plan duri...

Shipping delays are nothing new in 2021 and unfortunately, the supply chain issues are likely to bleed over into 2022.  With the world trying to return to normal, some may ask why? What is causing the back-up?  The short answer is there isn't just one answer. Multiple, individual issues compound upon one another to affect the supply chain. Take for example a little known law known as The Jones Act...

Perhaps the biggest industry news hitting mattress newsstands this past week was  Casper being acquired  by a private company for a fraction of their IPO price. Weighing this move against other shifts in companies such as Purple and Nectar, it got us to thinking—are these digital disruptors of the industry missing the mark? The value of a fresh set of eyes and diversity in any industry cannot be u...

Empower local leaders. Empower families. Those two key concepts are the driving force behind Help One Now , a non-profit organization working in developing countries to help end extreme poverty. The mission is simple: if you empower families through education and entrepreneurship, you can change the world. So how does this apply to your retail business? In this episode, we chat with Chris Marlow,...

The price of wood, steel and other raw materials skyrocketed in the midst of the pandemic. And while some prices are returning to a normal range, many predict we will never see pre-pandemic pricing. Yet, what about shortages of raw materials? Will foam and other mattress assembly pieces ever return and be consistently in stock? We chat with Michael Faus, Senior Vice President at the Carpenter Comp...

The FAM is growing in a big way. The legend, Ray Allegrezza, is joining The FAM to lead our coverage of the furniture category! Say hello to our new Editor at Large.  This also means the FAM's name is evolving to: F urniture A nd M attress For more than 20 years Ray was the Editor-in-Chief for Furniture Today. While he joins The FAM as Editor at Large, Ray will continue in his role as the Executiv...

“Don’t get lost in what it is that you sell, as opposed to the solution that you have to offer.” These are the words from Tom Murray, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Tempur Sealy, Inc. (TSI). In this show, Murray discusses how to grow your retail mattress businesses and what distinguishes the bedding category from so many other industries. Murray started out in technology...

Supply shortages are not the biggest issue facing retail sales associates. Yes, supply chain problems are affecting RSAs. But a big issue that leaders are only whispering about is the inner-conflict RSAs face. They’re not confident pushing a $799 mattress that now needs to sell for $999 due to price increases. In this episode, we discuss 5 strategies you can use to help RSAs adjust to the new real...

If we asked you the top three things consumers want out of their retailer, what would your answer be? We're betting engagement, trust and advocacy aren't what immediately came to mind, but they should be.  In this episode, we're joined by Jesse Kostuhoski, Vice President of Retail Development for the Furniture and Appliance Mart in Stephens Point, Wisconsin. He is a 25 year + industry veteran, inc...

Understanding the heart of your consumer seems like an easy task, yet, truly connecting with the hearts and minds of your customers can be a mental game. Right now people in all walks and seasons of life are exhausted. They are frustrated by the ongoing pandemic and the constant political barrages associated therewith. People are aching for a sense of normalcy and anxious by the thought that "norm...