Futon Life Online : Magazine

COVER STORY
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by Joe Tatulli

United Sleep Products Searches For Clues -
Solving the Mystery of the Component Puzzle

Paul Sullivan wants to talk about fish tanks, and for good reason. It’s just another industry he’s convinced is making life easier for consumers; a direction he feels the futon industry must continue to move in to be successful.

Ten years ago, if you wanted to buy an aquarium for your house, you had to buy a separate tank, heater and filter from three different companies,” says the Exec. VP and General Manager of United Sleep Products, the exclusive licensee of Simmons Futons. “You still can, but now they’ve got six, ten – even fifteen gallon-kits – with all of the components included. It’s one stop shopping.” He pauses for emphasis. “That’s where we need to go.”

Since United Sleep Products received the Simmons license in May of 1996, they’ve been one of the few manufacturers to offer all three components of the futon. Operating with three facilities – two in Pennsylvania and another in Ft. Wayne, Indiana – the company produces futon covers, frames and mattresses. Now, says Sullivan, they’re spending time and resources to sell the complete Simmons story to what has traditionally been a component-sell industry.

“It’s a one-stop shop,” says Sullivan, gesturing to the busy 100,000 square foot factory, where all three futon components are produced and warehoused daily, “It’s a product line that enables the consumer to have all three components of the futon in a single brand.”

Futon Life had just finished conducting its exclusive feature on Simmons Futons, when the call came in. We thought we knew everything there was about the company, but our mystery caller thought otherwise. Here’s the word for word transcript of that call:

FL: Futon Life, Editor here.

DS: (whispering )Follow the
customers.

FL: What did you say?
Can you stop whispering?

DS: I said – follow the customers.

FL: Who is this?

DS: You can call me, “Deep Sleep”.

FL: All right, Deep Sleep,
what’s on your mind?

DS: Simmons Futons, and the major cover-up going on there.

FL: What sort of cover-up?

DS: These Simmons Futons’ Slipcovers! Don’t you see,
these covers could change the face of the futon industry as
we know it!

FL: What do you mean, Deep Sleep? How can futon covers change an industry? I mean, the cover’s important, but more important than the frame?

DS: Shhhh! That’s just the point, Mr. Editor. Simmons Slip-Covers completely conceal the metal frame! Looking at a Simmons Futon, you can’t even tell that the body is metal! It’s a cover-up.

FL: Deep Sleep, are you telling me that consumers could buy a Simmons Futon, and if they use a slipcover, the customer can’t even see the metal body?

DS: Not just that – these aren’t any ordinary futon covers, Mr. Editor. When Simmons does slip-covers, they bring in every big gun in the fabric business, and demand the best selling fabrics. This
conspiracy goes to the very top.

FL: This sounds major, Deep Sleep.

DS: Mr. Editor, you don’t know the half of it! Simmons Slipcovers come in every size – chair, full, love and queen sizes. With and without skirts. They even come with pillows and bolsters.

FL: And you’re telling me that each piece has the Simmons name
on it?

DS: You’ve got it, bud. It’s a Simmons cover-up, from frame, to mattress, to cover. Not one piece
of the futon gets away without having the Simmons name on it. It’s a scandal.

FL: And what if I want to see this conspiracy – this scandal – with my own two eyes?

DS: (soft chuckle) That’s my point, Mr. Editor – follow the customers. Follow the customers.

The brand, of course, is what makes Simmons stand out in the sea of futon suppliers, and United knows that.

“When we’re talking futons, we are Simmons,” says Marketing Director Marcus Grimm. “We’re not talking about our three plants that have been producing sleepsets since the sixties. We’re talking about Simmons – a name that 85 percent of consumers recognize. We’re talking about the Beautyrest coil. We’re talking about consumer confidence and trust. That, more than anything else, is what we bring to the table; consumer confidence that goes through to all three components.”

And when the conversation falls to components, Vice President of Futon Sales Mitch Gelbard is quick to point out that Simmons Futons has an extremely innovative product line.

Any “genuine” Simmons futon is first topped with an attractive slipcover. The slipcover serves two purposes: it hides all of the metal body, and prevents the mattress from sliding off the frame. It’s the slipcover story, according to the United team, that truly makes the Simmons futon unique. (see sidebar story)

In frames, it’s a similar story, but an even more innovative one. Two years ago, Simmons Futons released the BeautyFlex hinge – a four position hinge that enables the futon to be placed in a variety of positions – something which hadn’t previously been done on metal bodies. Those metal bodies, Sullivan says, give the retailer another unique story.

“For years, we’ve heard people saying that wood bodies are stronger than metal ones, and I just don’t get it,” he says. “I haven’t seen any skyscrapers built from wood, and I haven’t driven a car made out of wood. The reality is that metal is stronger, provided you’re using a good design, and we feel we’ve got one of the superior designs in the market place.”

To ensure quality, all Simmons futons are subjected to independent lab testing, which assures the frame can withstand a sudden load drop of two-hundred pounds. In addition, the BeautyFlex hinge was cycle-tested to ensure it would operate as well on its two thousandth cycle as its first. To provide maximum flexibility, Simmons futon frames are available in full, chair, loveseat, and queen sizes.

“That’s one of the other advantages of working with metal bodies,” stresses Gelbard. “We can inventory fewer sku’s, since all of our bodies are interchangeable with all of our arms.”

“In futon mattresses, we offer fifteen models in four families – Slumbertime, DeepSleep by Beautyrest, BackCare, and Beautyrest,” he says. “All four offer retailers a different story, and three of the four offer the retailer a brand name that consumers recognize. It’s instant credibility that’s backed up by a phenomenal product.”

Sullivan stresses that his team is now “bundling more packages,” offering retailers various programs that make it easier to order complete futons. The program, known as the Combo-Rama, encourages retailers to order different components together, thereby achieving a complete Simmons Futon.

To help spread the word, Simmons also offers the only interactive sales training tool in the industry: “Simply Say, Simmons.” The program is a CD Rom based tool that walks retail salespeople through the advantages of selling a branded name that doesn’t change throughout the sales process. Simply Say Simmons also goes down to the POP level, offering retailers colorful posters delivering the same message.

The internet has been an explosive opportunity for Simmons Futons as well. “Our web site is currently getting over 32,000 hits per month,” says Grimm, “and the number is growing steadily by about 3% monthly.” Though Grimm acknowledges that many of the web site visitors are looking for information about United’s bedding line, “the overwhelming majority of visitors indicate they’re looking for futon information. In addition, consumers are more apt to find the Simmons site, as it’s a brand name that’s easy to remember when they’re bouncing around search engines.”

Despite the massive web activity, United has no plans to sell direct over the internet, and is instead utilizing the cyber community as a way to help their dealers. All Simmons Futon dealers are given a listing on the web site, and are offered free links to their own web site.

“The number one reason people come to our site is to get educated about futons. They’re confused – they don’t understand why they need three components, and why they have to come from three different companies,” says Sullivan. “It’s like buying a car, and learning you have to pick the wheels from one supplier, the engine from another, and the body from a third. It’s not something consumers want to do, and it makes them feel better to know that they can buy one brand name, and be done with it.”

The next most common thing consumers want from the Simmons Futons web site, according to Sullivan, is retailer information.

“It’s a relatively predictable formula,” he says. “The customers come seeking product questions, and as soon as they know they want to buy a Simmons futon, they immediately jump to the Retailer Locator to find out where to get it.”

The Retailer Locator is searchable by state, which is important since Simmons currently has dealers in more than two-thirds of the fifty states. In addition, like the entire web site, United has complete control over the Retail Locator, so dealers can be added and information can be changed immediately upon dealer request.

Left to right: Paul Sullivan, Executive V.P. and General Manager; Marcus Grimm, Marketing Director and Tom Nieman, V.P. Sales.

To service retailers located further from the Pennsylvania facility, United relies on “vac-packing”, which sucks all of the air out of the futon mattress. The vac-packed futon reduces the shipping size of a futon by better than half – allowing most Simmons Futons to be shipped via UPS. The scaled down futon returns to its original size within hours of being opened, and in addition to reducing shipping charges, allows the retailer more warehousing flexibility.

Sullivan admits that walking the tightrope as one of the largest non-branded bedding companies while being the largest branded futon provider is often a precarious perch. Still, it’s a delineation that he says is easier than most people make it.

“The bedding industry is an extremely mature industry with a ton of brand name recognition. Consumers are comfortable enough with the products and the players in the industry that they’re not afraid to educate themselves and branch out. The futon industry is much different. It’s a newer category, and an exciting category to be in from the retailer’s perspective, but it’s also an extremely intimidating category to shop for as a consumer. First, you realize that you need to buy three components. Then, you learn that those components come from companies you’ve likely never heard of. We really feel that brand name trust helps the consumer to feel more comfortable, and helps the retailer to make the sale, and no matter how you slice it, nothing happens until somebody sells something.”