New York— Bedding purveyor to the rich and famous.That's one way of describing Long's Bedding & Interiors, which has sold mattresses to literally hundreds of celebrities over the years. But there are others. Such as: Historic New York City bedding retailer. That's appropriate for the longest continuously operating bedding showroom in Manhattan, which is as tough a retail market as you will find anywhere in the world.
Or you could use this label: A family-owned business that has survived some challenging times. Long's is currently in its fourth generation, exalted territory for any family business.
Finally, you could call Long's The Accidental Bedding Retailer. Harry Long, the son of company founder Max Long, didn't plan to get into the retail bedding business. But the stock market crash changed his mind.
Long's, which has been located on West 72nd St. for more than 42 years, has been a bedding landmark in Manhattan for decades.
'Trust is the brand'
"People come to Long's Bedding not to buy an 'S' brand, but to buy our integrity," said Bob Long, Harry Long's son, who is president of the company these days. "I hear that all the time. Consumers trust Long's. Long's is the brand."
That's not to say that Long's doesn't have some strong bedding brands in its stable, an appropriate term for the company. (More on that later.) The lineup includes an S brand — Simmons — with which Long's has a (pardon the pun) long history. The retailer also carries bedding by Aireloom, Therapedic and Englander.
It also has its own bedding line, Long's Landmark, designed by the Long family. And the newest brand is Relyon, a British brand established in 1858. Long's is the first and only U.S. dealer for that brand, which it says is "synonymous with the very highest standards of product design and manufacturing." Long's is interested in talking with other retailers who might want to carry that brand.
But back to the "stable" part of the equation.
Max Long, the founding father of this business, started it all in 1911 when he opened a mattress factory, building new mattresses and reconditioning old ones. He used horsehair and cotton, bedding staples of the day.
Today, Long's still has a horsehair mattress in the store, but it is an oddity these days. The business has changed tremendously over the years, but the Long family is still steering the ship.
Bob Long didn't plan to enter the family business. His goal was to become a dentist, but when that didn't look too promising he joined the business. He started on the delivery truck, earned his father's trust, and ended up waiting on customers.
Judie, Bob's wife, joined the business as a bookkeeper, but "grew tired of the books and numbers," according to a history of the business. She "dropped her pencil, slammed the ledger closed and declared herself a salesperson," a job she still holds.
Their daughter, Terri, worked in the photography business for a while (her mother is a talented photographer), but decided to join the business, too.
Selling celebrities
Given its location on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, as New Yorkers like to call it, Long's is in the middle of a good neighborhood. And, since New York is a magnet for celebrities of all types, Long's has found itself with a healthy roster of celebrity customers.
John Lennon, Mick Jagger and former president John Kennedy all shopped at Long's. When Bob Long took stock of all of Long's famous customers, he came up with almost 400 names.
He's got some interesting bedtime tales to tell.
Legendary Rolling Stones rocker Mick Jagger had a special request for Long's: He wanted a wall-to-wall bed that would cover his entire bedroom floor. Exactly what he wanted to do with a bed of that size he didn't say. Long was smart enough not to ask, but he had the bed manufactured to Jagger's exacting specifications.
One of Long's favorite stories deals with financier and Revlon Chairman Ron Perelman, who, at last count, had 10 homes around the world. Perelman, being a firm leader, wanted custom-made, extra-firm mattresses at each of his homes. But — and this was the catch — he also wanted one in his Los Angeles hotel room right away.
Long found a trucker to drive the mattress to the hotel — thus pleasing the picky Perelman.
Long's has found favor with celebrities by working closely with interior designers throughout the city, many of which have celebrity clients. But Long and his staff also work directly with some of the celebrities themselves — helping their company develop a reputation for exceptional service.
The list of satisfied celebrity clients includes Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Martin, Carly Simon, Matt Lauer, Connie Chung and Diane Sawyer.
