On this episode of the Independent Thinking Podcast, NMG’s VP of Furniture, Bedding & Outdoor, Jeff Rose, sits down with King Koil’s Christina Espinoza to learn more about the brand’s latest products and innovations — including the Intimate Collection and much anticipated Smart Life program.
This episode was recorded at PrimeTime in San Antonio, TX on March 17, 2025.
Listen to the full conversation below or read the transcript.
Jeff Rose (JR): Well, hey Nationwide family, this is Jeff Rose and I am here in San Antonio. It’s St. Paddy’s Day and we are wrapping up day one of primetime.
And look who I have here in her lovely St. Paddy’s Day dress. Christina Espinoza with King Koil. King Koil has been a major, major buzz here at PrimeTime. We’ve had their CEO, David Binke on stage and he just did an absolutely wonderful job. But we wanted to bring Christina in. How are you?
Christina Espinoza (CE): I’m awesome.
JR: So talk to me.
CE: Yes.
JR: How’s it been?
CE: It’s phenomenal. We are seeing so much traffic. We’re seeing a ton of dealers’ faces we’ve never met before. So it’s been great coming in and laying on the product and going through the whole run and lots of people signing up. So it’s been great.
JR: Well, that is awesome. So Christina, she’s been with King Koil for a little while now, but she’s really diving into Nationwide. And it’s been pretty fun. It’s been getting fun to know her, teaching her the Nationwide business. It’s been paying off over the past couple of months and we’re seeing it in your booth. We all know that.
CE: So, yeah, we feel really blessed to have this relationship with you guys and the refresh that we’re doing. So it’s been phenomenal all the way around.
JR: Oh, thank you for just being here. All the support. And so Mr. Binke did a wonderful job yesterday on stage. I mean, he loves the stage.
CE: Oh, my gosh.
JR: And he had a bunch of slides and he got to one slide and he just started. He just started talking just about all the great product and everything. But yeah, I bet he did. I mean, he and then he did some special offer like out of the blue. “Just come on and talk to me and I’m going to add on to the CashBack.” So it was really great.
CE: He’s CEO. He can do whatever he wants.
JR: And he did do. He did. You know, he was definitely talking about product.
CE: Yes.
JR: All right. And like just how and I’ve been when you and I first kind of started talking, we were talking about I truly feel King Koil is one of the biggest secrets that’s out there. Just incredible luxury look, feel, touch, just great price points. But I know the Intimate, you know, that that series is something that y’all are really, really proud about.
CE: Yeah.
JR: And I definitely wanted to highlight it here. So, I’d love if you could just talk about that for a second.
CE: So we’re really proud of the Intimate collection, Tali latex, micro coils. The biggest thing, the biggest change that we’ve seen is that it’s now available in a split head option or dual flex option, which a hand-tufted products of that quality available in that split head option is something you don’t see out there. So we’re extremely proud to have it. Everybody who’s come over just has fallen in love with it and raves about it. But we’re so proud of this product. And rightfully so.
JR: I mean, that you definitely, definitely should should be. And, you know, that’s been a real big buzz around primetime is the dual flex option. And, you know, just the manufacturers that have that available and we ought to have it available in that luxury look and feel that y’all are known for. It’s pretty special. And that’s why your boost been pretty full.
CE: Yeah. Yeah. The thing that we really love about it is that not only are we selling an amazing mattress, but the retailer is going to benefit from that because they’re able to put somebody on a in a whole sleep system and that builds ticket. And so they’re selling that sleep system that benefits the customer.
But they’re also getting that motion base. They’re getting the protector. They’re getting sheets. So all of those ancillary products that come along with that and then it benefits customer and benefits the retailer.
JR: Yeah. So I love it. I love it.
Well, speaking of sleep systems and that’s the one thing I definitely wanted to talk about is Smart Life, and I’d love for you to talk about, you know, what are the benefits of Smart Life? What is Smart Life? And there’s a big there is a big chain or retail manufacturer out there that there’s really not been a lot of answers, I guess you could say, to compete.
CE: Yeah.
JR: But now with this Smart Life program, it’s definitely something that can get them in the game. So I love to hear about that.
CE: There’s a retailer out there that’s selling six billion dollars’ worth of business a year and there’s not been an answer to it until recent. So that’s another thing. We’re so proud of this. I mean, and we have every right to brag about this product.
JR: Yeah.
CE: So rather than two individual, basically airbags, you’ve got 40 individual smart cells on each side. And this is just, we’re pioneering the market with this. I mean, it’s just absolutely phenomenal.
So two reasons why people shop for mattresses are support and comfort. And we’re answering both of those. So the customer is getting amazing support. And then they also get to choose their comfort and the bed automatically does this throughout the night. So if you flip from your back to your side, it’s still going to put you in that perfect alignment no matter what. So we’ve answered all questions with that.
I say it’s perfect for everybody and that is no joke. So husband and wife want different feels. We’ve got the answer. Somebody who has back issues and needs different support. We’ve got the answer so we can answer all sleep issues with this bed.
JR: I love it. I love it. It is a home run.
CE: It is.
JR: It really, really, really is. And it is something that the membership, they’ve been yearning for. They’ve been coming to me, “Jeff, we need we need an answer for that.” That Sleep Number, I guess, that small little Sleep Number, you know, and y’all really found a solution for that. So kudos to you and your team. And I’m excited to see where we can take it.
CE: Yeah. Thank you.
JR: So I know you got to get back because there is there’s people over there.
CE: People fill out credit apps right now.
JR: We’ve got St. Paddy’s Day tonight. We got a big party. We got it. So what’s on your agenda? You’re going to drink some green beer? San Antonio’s painting the river green. I mean, so what’s going on?
CE: We’ll see what happens out there. No, I’m definitely going to go out and have a good time and enjoy some libations with some of my people. So, yeah. Well, it’ll be fun.
JR: Always appreciate you, your team, your support. And for all of you out there, if you have not looked at King Koil, please give Miss Christina a call. She’s a rock star and, you know, just appreciates your support. And I hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful day.
And with that, we’re out. Talk to you later.
