Maryland’s Futon & Bedroom Factory

Sagacious furniture experience, youthful exuberance, lighthearted whimsy and some straightforward high-level Midwestern advice is a combination bringing Marylanders a futon retailer unlike any other — the Futon & Bedroom Factory.

After all, how many retailers have a “Sage” or an “Old West Historian” on their sales roster?

How many retailers have two decades of manufacturing behind their owner as he veered headlong into the tough retail world?

How many futon retailers have the Bobby Fuller Four 1960’s hit “I Fought The Law (and The Law Won)” on the jukebox?

With over 100 wood and metal frames and vignettes on the 30,000 square feet showroom that looms impossible-to-miss along high-trafficked Route 1 between Baltimore and Washington, DC and a second store just north of Baltimore, this futon retailer is clearly popular with the public.

Sure it is fun and attractive inside. But owner Mike Carpenter credits “the big three” (location, location, etc.) for his company’s instant and ongoing success.

“We were manufacturing flotation mattresses in this location because we were attracted by a lease we could afford, and shoppers kept stopping by to buy bedroom sets. They saw the word ‘Factory’ and assumed we were in retail. We were a factory. So we’d refer this traffic on to area retailers. When we decided to go retail full blast, I was given some dead-on advice by a great friend who also happens to be one of the nation’s best bedroom retailers,” the easy-going 55 year-old says from the comforts of his office.

Located opposite a Car Max mega auto dealer and a regional supermarket and a slew of high volume retail anchors nearby and just a few minutes motoring time from I-95, the East Coast’s main north-south artery, this store meets the location criteria in a big way.

The advice was provided by Wayne Johannsen, a fellow Midwesterner and the owner of Minneapolis - based HOM Furniture, the bedroom retail chain.

“Wayne told me to get the best location I could. He said ‘Get in the Yellow Pages quickly’ so we did that. Then he said, ‘Get the biggest sign on your building the county will permit!’ We took that advice too and tried to run a tight operation inside. Here we are,” Carpenter said.

Exuberant sales competition and friendly rivalries are an ongoing challenge for the sales crew. Sales specialists are under the aegis of Al Casalena - whose business card title says “The Man”. His card may sound whimsical, but he is an on-the-floor manager who tracks sales personnel and product performance with diligence and care.

He and Mike Carpenter recently ran a large promotion with the dominant Classic Rock radio station at a local night club during the Super Bowl game. Just before Denver polished off the Falcons, the Futon & Bedroom Factory gave away a complete futon set — the promotion packed the place. Signs promoted the store and its web site (www.bfo.com). The store presented one lucky winner with an August Lotz frame, Gold Bond futon mattress and SIS cover.

“A big guy won the futon— I mean this was a large person. He stretched out on the 8 inch mattress in front of a club packed with people. So I showed everyone how to operate the futon and they just loved it. Next day, folks from the promotion were in the store, buying. These promotions are costly but generate tons of traffic and new business if your sales staff is on the ball,” Carpenter said.

“We’ve done $10,000 futon (furniture) sets, $5,000 and so on. We are definitely not a $299 futon shop. No way. We are tough competitors in all price points and I think we know our stuff,” he said.

The Old West Historian is Rod Lauer, a Jerry Garcia-looking fellow who had just moseyed in from the annual cowboy poetry round-up out in Elko, Nevada.

Mr. Lauer is a Baltimore native who defies categorization, but he is retail from the big mustache down to his boots. The customer is king in his ledgers; he pioneered flotation in Baltimore for over 20 years before joining up with his former supplier and friend Mike Carpenter. He’s put a lot of Baltimore Orioles and Colts players into some nice sleep systems in his day, too.

Another unique sales person is The Sage, Chris Hallett. Quick witted, his humor is known to be as dry as a desert sandstorm, and his unpretentious style makes him a popular coworker and colleague. Currently, he is raising his first child, so his wisdom at the moment includes how to get enough sleep when you are up half the night.

Having been a manufacturer, Mike Carpenter knows what it is like on the other side of the desk. He says retailing is a much tougher line of work than manufacturing, for any number of reasons. “When I was getting ready to do this, one of my suppliers, Don Mullendore of New Energy in Virginia asked if I really wanted to do this. It is a totally different ball game. Much more difficult.

“Dealing with the public is much harder than dealing with business people and buyers. The hours are very long. Competition is much harder,” he observes.

If you are ever in the Baltimore area visit Futon & Bedroom Factory in person, or at their third location, on the internet at http://www.bfo.com.

Julia Flynn Sleep Specialist and Futon Lady

Pace-setting retail sales performer Julia Flynn routinely sets sales records at retailer Futon & Bedroom Factory. She won her first sales contest in the second grade when she out-sold every other 8 year-old, won a bicycle for her efforts and then saw her first bonus ($50) when it turned out the winning ticket in a church fund raising raffle was sold by the precocious redhead.

In the ensuing 22 years, Julia has been in sales. In grade school, it was Christmas cards, in home cosmetics during her high school years, and during college she started working in the printing and graphics industry.

By age 12 she had been introduced to the sales techniques of Tom Hopkins; at age 18, the methods of Zig Ziglar.

After studying at the University of Maryland, she sold printing/graphics services to Fortune 500 companies and even opened a successful recruiting/job placement business which her Dad manages today.

She most recently won Sales Person of the Month twice and a Gold Bond futon mattress contest earlier this year.

“My secret to selling futon furniture is straightforward. I show its versatility. I show how attractive it can be for an affordable price. I take anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours with my customers, depending on their requirements. I learn everything I possibly can when manufacturers’ reps come through here. I want to know everything.”