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52-558: In 1870, Zalmon G. Simmons opened his first factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin . He started out by manufacturing wooden telegraph insulators and cheese boxes. He branched into making bedsprings after receiving a patent for a woven-wire bedspring in payment of a debt. In 1876, Simmons became the first manufacturer to mass-produce woven wire mattresses. By 1889, with the introduction of spiral coil springs into woven mattresses, Simmons' mattress prices dropped from $ 12 to 95 cents. The business

104-455: A Chapter 11 restructuring plan and signed a purchase agreement with an investor group led by Ares Management and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan . The bankruptcy court approved the deal, reducing the company's total debt from about $ 1 billion to $ 450 million. The bankruptcy did not include subsidiaries in Canada and Puerto Rico, but those units were included in the deal with Ares Management and

156-409: A Beautyrest mattress sold for $ 39.50, three to four times more than the typical price for a standard wire mattress. Simmons promoted its products aggressively with ads that included testimonials from famous people such as Eleanor Roosevelt in 1927 and Henry Ford , H. G. Wells , Thomas Edison , Guglielmo Marconi and George Bernard Shaw in 1929. Eleanor Roosevelt continued to promote the brand into

208-452: A company, or can be out-sourced to a contract research organization, universities , or state agencies. In the context of commerce , "research and development" normally refers to future-oriented, longer-term activities in science or technology , using similar techniques to scientific research but directed toward desired outcomes and with broad forecasts of commercial yield. Statistics on organizations devoted to "R&D" may express

260-562: A majority interest in Simmons in 1991, and sold to Investcorp in about 1996. Fenway Partners bought the company about two years later, then sold to Thomas H. Lee Partners in 2003. In the 1990s, a commercial for the Simmons Beautyrest featured a bowling ball being dropped on a Beautyrest mattress and a standard open-coil mattress to illustrate the company's claim that a person's nighttime movements are less likely to disturb

312-715: A member of the National Union Party . He later served as mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin , from 1884 to 1886, during which time he refunded its debt of $ 1.75 million (equivalent to $ 59,344,444 in 2023). Simmons married Emma E. Robeson from Lake County, Illinois on April 20, 1850, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Emma was the daughter of Captain Morris Robeson. Their children were Minnie, Emma, Gilbert, Zalmon and two sons who died during their childhood, Nelson who died at three years of age and Ezra who died when he

364-585: A merger with online retailer Tuft & Needle to increase their online presence. By November 2020, the parent company had established a website to promote its renaming to Serta Simmons Bedding LLC, while still retaining the separate brands it owns (Serta, Simmons, Tuft & Needle and Beautyrest, now spun off from Simmons into a separate brand) and individual websites for them. On January 23, 2023, Serta Simmons Bedding filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy . Zalmon G. Simmons Zalmon Gilbert Simmons Sr. (September 10, 1828 – February 11, 1910)

416-517: A new home, the Simmons Institute for Technology and Education (SITE). Simmons underwent the first in a series of corporate mergers and acquisitions in 1979, when the company was acquired by Gulf and Western Industries . Six years later, Gulf and Western sold Simmons to Wickes Companies . Wesray Capital bought the business in 1986, and sold it to the Simmons employee stock ownership plan in 1989. Merrill Lynch Capital Partners obtained

468-517: A sleep partner if their mattress is a Beautyrest. The bowling ball demonstration, which was popular with Simmons dealers, consumers, and industry experts, was revived in 2006. In 2003, Fenway Partners made the Sleep Country USA chain of retail stores a part of Simmons; in 2006, Simmons sold the chain to The Sleep Train of Citrus Heights, California . The following year, the company added memory foam products to its offerings by acquiring

520-764: A teacher between 18 and 21 years of age. Among his pursuits, Simmons was the president of the First National Bank of Kenosha, Northwest Telegraphy Company, and the Rock Island Railway Company. In 1859, he was the president of the Kenosha and Rockford Railway Company, while also working at the Wisconsin State Telegraph Company. Beginning at the age of 21, Simmons worked as a general store clerk for pioneer Seth Doan for $ 200 (equivalent to $ 7,325 in 2023) per year. Due to Mr. Doan's ill health, Simmons ran

572-445: A way of amortizing the high overhead. They often reuse advanced manufacturing processes, expensive safety certifications, specialized embedded software, computer-aided design software, electronic designs and mechanical subsystems. Research from 2000 has shown that firms with a persistent R&D strategy outperform those with an irregular or no R&D investment program. Research and development are very difficult to manage, since

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624-660: Is appealing to bidders because they could gain technologies from acquisition targets. Therefore, firms may gain R&;D profit that co-moves with takeover waves, causing risks to the company which engages in R&D activity. Global R&D management is the discipline of designing and leading R&D processes globally, across cultural and lingual settings, and the transfer of knowledge across international corporate networks. Former President Barack Obama requested $ 147.696 billion for research and development in FY 2012, 21% of which

676-810: Is called " R&D intensity ". A high technology company, such as a computer manufacturer, might spend 7% or a pharmaceutical companies such as Merck & Co. 14.1% or Novartis 15.1%. Anything over 15% is remarkable, and usually gains a reputation for being a high technology company such as engineering company Ericsson 24.9%, or biotech company Allergan , which tops the spending table with 43.4% investment. Such companies are often seen as credit risks because their spending ratios are so unusual. Generally such firms prosper only in markets whose customers have extreme high technology needs, like certain prescription drugs or special chemicals, scientific instruments , and safety-critical systems in medicine, aeronautics or military weapons . The extreme needs justify

728-483: Is followed by textiles (19%), digital (18%), and aerospace (15%). Other sectors allocate less than 10% of their total investment to R&D. While 17% of the world’s top R&D investors are based in the European Union, they accounted for only 1% of acquisitions involving EU-based companies between 2013 and 2023. In 2015, research and development constituted an average 2.2% of the global GDP according to

780-641: Is lower than the EU average of 18%. In 2022, 67% of enterprises in the same region deployed at least one sophisticated digital technology, and 69% EU firms did the same. As of 2023, European enterprises account for 18% of the world's top 2 500 R&D corporations, but just 10% of new entrants, compared to 45% in the United States and 32% in China. As of 2024, the electronics sector leads in R&D investment, with 28% of its total investment dedicated to it. This

832-447: Is often a crucial factor in the survival of a company. In a global industrial landscape that is changing fast, firms must continually revise their design and range of products. This is necessary as well due to the fierce competition and the evolving preferences of consumers. Without an R&D program, a firm must rely on strategic alliances , acquisitions , and networks to tap into the innovations of others. A system driven by marketing

884-435: Is one that puts the customer needs first, and produces goods that are known to sell. Market research is carried out, which establishes the needs of consumers and the potential niche market of a new product. If the development is technology driven, R&D is directed toward developing products to meet the unmet needs. In general, research and development activities are conducted by specialized units or centers belonging to

936-451: The Europe 2020 strategy which will run from 2014 to 2020, a multidisciplinary effort to provide safe, economically feasible, environmentally sound and socially acceptable solutions along the entire value chain of human activities. Firms that have embraced advanced digital technology devote a greater proportion of their investment efforts to R&D. Firms who engaged in digitisation during

988-628: The Office of Chief Scientist In the 1980s to 1992, the Chief scientist of Israel significantly expanded R&D subsidies in the Israeli industrial sector. Israel invested in the creation of clusters of startups in the high-tech sector as well as venture capital investments. In 1993, Israel initiated the Yozma program , which led to the doubling of value of Israel's 10 new venture capital funds in 3 years. In

1040-626: The UNESCO Institute for Statistics . By 2018, research and development constituted an average 1.79% of the global GDP according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics . Countries agreed in 2015 to monitor their progress in raising research intensity (SDG 9.5.1), as well as researcher density (SDG 9.5.2), as part of their commitment to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. However, this undertaking has not spurred an increase in reporting of data. On

1092-561: The 1930s, through her radio show. Cole Porter mentioned the Simmons brand in the lyrics of his 1934 song " Anything Goes ". In 1940, Simmons introduced the Hide-A-Bed , a sofa that incorporates a fold-out spring and mattress that pull out to form a bed. This became one of the company's best known products and was manufactured until the 1980s. During World War II , Simmons' facilities were diverted to military production, making cots , parachutes , bazooka rockets and other products. By

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1144-594: The Beautyrest mattress, for which the company is best known. It was sold at three to four times the cost of wire mattresses at the time for $ 39.50 (equivalent to $ 686 in 2023) and four years later had sold more than $ 9 million (equivalent to $ 159,697,674 in 2023) of the mattresses. The company introduced the pull-out bed, Hide-a-Bed, in 1940. By 1941, the company made springs, mattresses, steel beds and furniture and employed about 2,500 men. During World War II , it produced 2,700 different products needed to support

1196-491: The Comfor–Pedic line of memory foam mattresses and pillows from Comfor Products of Kent, Washington . The company suffered financially under the successive ownership of multiple private equity firms and other private investors. The private equity owners extracted $ 750 million in profits out of Simmons, while the company's debt increased from $ 164 million in 1991 to $ 1.3 billion in 2009. On September 25, 2009, Simmons announced

1248-635: The Minnesota State Telegraph Company in 1865. Simmons was elected president of the new company. He remained president until 1881, when the company leased its lines to the Western Union Telegraph Company. At the time that Simmons invested in the company, it was almost worthless and had service only between Milwaukee and Madison. Simmons extended service into remote areas, with lines established through nearly impenetrable swamps and forests. Simmons

1300-625: The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. Ares and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan were also the owners of the Serta brand name under National Bedding Company LLC. They operated Serta and Simmons Bedding as independent entities that continued to compete with one another. On October 2, 2012, private equity firm Advent International acquired a majority interest in AOT Bedding Super Holdings (now Serta Simmons Holdings, LLC),

1352-490: The Simmons Manufacturing Company. Research and development Research and development ( R&D or R+D ) is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage of development of a potential new service or the production process. Although R&D activities may differ across businesses,

1404-440: The company became the first U.S. mattress maker to produce mattresses in king and queen sizes, an innovation that was promoted as solving the "space battle in the bedroom". In 1975, the Simmons corporate headquarters moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Shortly thereafter, the company research and development team also relocated to Georgia, to a building in what is today Peachtree Corners . In 1995, the company's R&D division moved into

1456-411: The defining feature of research is that the researchers do not know in advance exactly how to accomplish the desired result. As a result, "higher R&D spending does not guarantee more creativity, higher profit or a greater market share". Research is the most risky financing area because both the development of an invention and its successful realization carries uncertainty including the profitability of

1508-445: The high risk of failure and consequently high gross margins from 60% to 90% of revenues. That is, gross profits will be as much as 90% of the sales cost, with manufacturing costing only 10% of the product price, because so many individual projects yield no exploitable product. Most industrial companies get 40% revenues only. On a technical level, high tech organizations explore ways to re-purpose and repackage advanced technologies as

1560-541: The ideas from the patent and found a way to make the cost of manufacturing affordable. In 1870, Simmons founded what would become the Simmons Bedding Company , but the market had not yet developed for spring beds. Instead, Simmons manufactured brass beds that were sold domestically and internationally. The Northwestern Wire Mattress Company was incorporated in 1884 and in 1889 the name was changed to Simmons Manufacturing Company. In 1925, Simmons produced

1612-782: The invention. One way entrepreneurs can reduce these uncertainties is to buy the licence for a franchise, so that the know-how is already incorporated in the licence. In general, it has been found that there is a positive correlation between the research and development and firm productivity across all sectors, but that this positive correlation is much stronger in high-tech firms than in low-tech firms. In research done by Francesco Crespi and Cristiano Antonelli, high-tech firms were found to have "virtuous" Matthew effects while low-tech firms experienced "vicious" Matthew effects, meaning that high-tech firms were awarded subsidies on merit while low-tech firms most often were given subsidies based on name recognition, even if not put to good use. While

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1664-555: The late 1990s, Israel was second only to the US in private equity as a share of the general economy. The high tech sector in Israel, known as Silicon Wadi , which earned Israel the nickname - Start-up Nation , was ranked the 4th leading startup ecosystem in the world by Startup genome with a value of $ 253billion in 2023. Europe is lagging behind in R&D investments from the past two decades. The target of 3% of gross domestic product (GDP)

1716-478: The pandemic report spending a big portion of their expenditure in 2020 on software, data, IT infrastructure, and website operations. A 2021/2022 survey found that one in every seven enterprises in the Central, Eastern and South Eastern regions (14%) may be classed as active innovators — that is, firms that spent heavily in research and development and developed a new product, process, or service — however this figure

1768-557: The parent company of Simmons and Serta. Ares Management and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan continued to own a "significant" share of company equity. At the time of the Advent acquisition, Simmons and Serta together held a 34 percent share of the U.S. mattress market. Simmons and Serta retained separate sales, marketing, research and development, and merchandising departments, and continue to remain separate. In August 2018, Simmons Bedding's parent company Serta Simmons Holdings LLC announced

1820-518: The post-war year of 1947, the company was back in the mattress business and started using advertising to associate its products with the Hollywood glamor of actresses including Dorothy Lamour and Maureen O'Hara . A research and development facility was established in Munster, Indiana , in 1957, building upon pioneering studies on human sleep behavior that Simmons had sponsored in the 1930s. In 1958,

1872-457: The primary goal of an R&D department is to develop new products and services. R&D differs from the vast majority of corporate activities in that it is not intended to yield immediate profit, and generally carries greater risk and an uncertain return on investment . R&D is crucial for acquiring larger shares of the market through new products. R&D&I represents R&D with innovation. New product design and development

1924-422: The process of coiling wire and inserting it into fabric sleeves, called encasements. This allowed mass production of pocketed coils , a type of coil that had been available only in very high-priced luxury mattresses. The pocketed coil is the basis for the Simmons Beautyrest mattress brand, which was introduced in 1925. Although the new manufacturing technology greatly reduced its cost, at the time of its introduction

1976-416: The retail floor, customers could test the product on in-store samples, order a mattress through the retailer, and receive direct delivery within the next 24 hours from one of Simmons' 64 warehouses . This arrangement reduced the need for retailers to own and store their own product inventories. In 1923, Simmons moved its corporate headquarters to New York City. Equipment developed by Simmons in 1925 automated

2028-433: The state of an industry , the degree of competition or the lure of progress . Some common measures include: budgets , numbers of patents or on rates of peer-reviewed publications . Bank ratios are one of the best measures, because they are continuously maintained, public and reflect risk. In the United States, a typical ratio of research and development for an industrial company is about 3.5% of revenues; this measure

2080-569: The store after six months employment. He bought the store after working there 16 or 18 months. He ran the store successfully for 12 years, until he sought other interests. Simmons acquired half interest in the Wisconsin State Telegraph Company in 1856, became a director, and in December 1858 became its secretary and treasurer. In 1864, he was made president. The company became the North-West Telegraphy company when it merged with

2132-490: The strength of the correlation between R&D spending and productivity in low-tech industries is less than in high-tech industries, studies have been done showing non-trivial carryover effects to other parts of the marketplace by low-tech R&D. Business R&D is risky for at least two reasons. The first source of risks comes from R&D nature, where R&D project could fail without residual values. The second source of risks comes from takeover risks, which means R&D

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2184-530: The trip. He got the idea of a train from the owner of a hotel where he was staying. Simmons then financed the building of the Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway in 1889. The railway itself was built by Italian laborers and was operational by 1891. It can still be ridden to the top. In 1865, Simmons served as the representative of Kenosha County in the Wisconsin State Assembly , serving as

2236-522: The war effort. Simmons surveyed the Englemann Canyon for telegraph lines to Pikes Peak in Colorado. He was instrumental in stringing telegraph lines alongside railroads and had earlier purchased a fifty percent interest in a telegraph company. After a miserable two-day trip to the top of the mountain on a mule, he thought that there should be a more comfortable and "civilized" way to make

2288-556: The winter months. On June 12, 1843, the family moved to Southport (now Kenosha), Wisconsin. Simmons came to Kenosha with US$ 3 (equivalent to $ 110 in 2023) when he was 15 or 21 years of age. His brother was Rouse Simmons who also served in the Wisconsin State Assembly for Kenosha. Rouse was a member of the Republican party and served in 1875. Simmons completed his schooling in Kenosha and then worked as

2340-526: Was 13. Emma and Zalmon were Unitarians . He built the Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library and donated it to the city of Kenosha in memory of his son who had died in 1890. The building, dedicated on May 30, 1900, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Emma died on October 11, 1899. Simmons died on February 11, 1910, in Kenosha, and his son, Zalmon Simmons, Jr. took over

2392-474: Was a businessman, manufacturer, Wisconsin legislator, and mayor of Kenosha , Wisconsin . Born September 10, 1828, to Ezra and Mary Gilbert Simmons in Euphrates, Montgomery County, New York , Soon after Zalmon was born, the family moved to Oneida County, New York , and established a farm. After 1839, the family moved to Benton Township, Lake County, Illinois , where Zalmon attended common schools during

2444-477: Was destined to fund basic research. According to National Science Foundation in U.S., in 2015, R&D expenditures performed by federal government and local governments are 54 and 0.6 billions of dollars. The federal research and development budget for fiscal year 2020 was $ 156 billion, 41.4% of which was for the Department of Defense ( DOD ). DOD's total research, development, test, and evaluation budget

2496-466: Was fast. In response, Simmons acquired manufacturing plants in San Francisco , California ; Los Angeles , California; Montreal , Quebec ; Toronto , Ontario ; Winnipeg , Manitoba ; Vancouver , British Columbia ; Elizabeth , New Jersey ; Seattle , Washington ; and Atlanta, Georgia. The following year, Simmons started a new sales arrangement. Instead of purchasing a mattress directly off

2548-578: Was incorporated in 1884 as the Northwestern Wire Mattress Company, adopting Simmons Manufacturing Company as its name in 1889. Zalmon Simmons Jr., who took charge of the business after his father's death in 1910, oversaw additional growth. In 1916, Simmons began advertising nationally, initiating its first national advertising campaign with a double-spread ad in the Saturday Evening Post . By 1919, growth

2600-528: Was meant to be reached by 2020, but the current amount is below this target. This also causes a digital divide among countries since only a few EU Member States have R&D spending. Research and innovation in Europe are financially supported by the programme Horizon 2020 , which is open to participation worldwide. A notable example is the European environmental research and innovation policy , based on

2652-506: Was on the board of directors of the Western Union Telegraph Company. Simmons designed a wooden telegraph insulator and on April 16, 1871, purchased a cheesebox factory that became the Simmons Manufacturing Company to manufacture the insulators. One of his general store customers paid for merchandise with a patent for a woven wire bedspring. At that time, mattresses were made of cotton or horsehair. Simmons took

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2704-508: Was roughly $ 108.5 billion. Israel is the world leader in spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP as of 2022, spending 6.02%. According to CSIS, During the 1970s and 1980s Israel initially built up Israel's research infrastructure through various programs, often in the defence industry. In 1984, a law for Encouragement of Research and Development in Industry encouraged the commercial sector to invest in R&D in Israel as well as empowered

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