The futon industry is plagued just like the town of Hamlin, and because of the pragmatic approach many manufacturers, distributors, and retailers took during the past few years, the $39 metal frame (sometimes even $29) and other such trash, have left our category foraging in the “promotional only” identity crisis we find ourselves in today.

Now what? How do we reposition ourselves in a trade marketplace that views our category as a bottom feeder? How do we get our children back? It’s time to pay the piper.

The leaders in our industry (the ones who agree that promo/price only marketing is a wasteland) must find a way to put down the sword and take up the plow, and begin working together to present our category to the trade (the reps, the dealers, even new players in manufacturing) as a product category with a much higher perceived value than it currently has.

Bottom Line: the best marketers are those who sell higher end goods, at higher than average margins, and who work just as hard at positioning themselves in the market as they do executing the more “nuts and bolts” aspects of their business. It has been the dream of many marketers in our category to sell into the traditional furniture stores, but if we don’t clean up our act, i.e. change the perception of our category from low price, low margin furniture, to furniture that delivers benefits with value, it will never happen.

The results of the survey clearly demonstrated that the futon mattress is perceived to be the most important part of the equation regarding long term customer satisfaction and general importance. Responses to both question one (Which part do you think is most important?), and question two (Which part do you think is most important to long term customer satisfaction?), gave the mattress 82% of the vote.

Responses to question three ( Which part do you think is most important when selling the “futon sofa-bed concept”?), were fairly evenly distributed among the three components.

Overall, respondents seemed to think that the comfort and durability of the mattress afforded both dealer and consumer fewer problems and greater value.

My favorite comment went something like this: “If a mattress is thin, then so is the customer’s patience.”

Last year New West was dumping product to the dismay of many of the industry’s top distributors. This year it seems that the Asian crisis has left some of the same distributors short of product. Maybe things will level out in 1999.

I recently received an envelope from Bob Naboicheck of Gold Bond Futon with a copy of Condé Nast’s House & Garden enclosed. There, amidst the ads for ‘exquisite handmade kitchens’ and pictures of those incredibly pretentious New York apartments, with all those priceless antiques... yes, right there on pages 90 and 91 were Bob’s futon mattresses, eight high, in a fairytale shot titled “The Princess and the Pea.”

After looking at these great images I ask myself that classic rhetorical question, “Why are people selling the ‘Futon in a Box’ for $99?” I think the answer lies somewhere within the context of the following concepts: low self esteem; basic human nature; a lack of confidence; a fear of failure or rejection; stupidity; greed; and an attitude that says, “Hey if I don’t sell those guys that junk, somebody else will.”

Okay, I can understand the pragmatism. It’s the American way. When you think about it it’s the exact same thing Bill Clinton must have said to himself right after his first encounter with ML.

My question is, how do you draw the line between good judgement and bad judgement? And, after you find yourself in a difficult situation because of a bad decision, how do you get back to solid ground? Is it all relative or are there some absolutes that always (ultimately) over rule what seems to be good, but what in reality, is bad.

In the futon industry, which started out selling beautiful, hand crafted, solid cherry and maple frames starting at $500 to $600 (retail), some near-sighted pioneers decided to settle for the short run profits of lower end volume rather than the longer term profits based in higher end, higher margin goods. In some cases the intention wasn’t bad. They didn’t want to mass merchandise futons, but rather they wanted to simplify, by design, and perhaps make a minimalist statement. The zen thing. That being said, because of the great value inherent in even the most basic representations of the futon concept, sales skyrocketed. People bought what dealers sold, nothing more, nothing less. College towns ruled, and everyone was making money.

But after a while people wanted more. The traditional furniture stores would be our cumulative future. There were thousands of these outlets ready to be picked like so many ripe cherries on the tree. Sadly, many of these savvy dealers didn’t like what they saw, and they asked questions most futon people were unable to answer. Questions like, “Can you deliver this many units, at this price, to all our outlets? And do you have the production schedules, lumber purchase orders, and historical data to prove it? And , by the way, we pay in 120 days (if you’re lucky)... is it a deal?” Ouch!

Once again even the biggest players in the futon frame business couldn’t pass the muster. So once again low margin, high volume ruled. You can read about how this kind of thinking ultimately destroyed New West, on the web at http://futonlife.com/archive/FLspr98/futonlife.html.

Here’s the punch line. While all this was going on futon specialty retailers began to sell other stuff right next to their futon furniture. They discovered bedding, occasional chairs, curtains and drapes, dinning room furniture, traditional sofas, accessories, stuff like that. And by golly, it sold just like futon furniture. Homogenization is good for retail.

Lets go over this again. While manufacturers and distributors were out looking for new business their core retailers were doing the same. The retailers discovered other products would sell very well in their stores, and broadened their horizons considerably. The manufacturers and distributors discovered it’s probably easier (and cheaper) to sell to customers you already have than it is to find new customers.

Bottom Line: make principle based decisions, do what you do best, sell value not price, and always pay the piper.