INDUSTRY UPDATES

Rubber Match, Inc. Celebrates 30th Anniversary
Night and Day Furniture Adds Shoefittings ‘Bronze’
Big Tree Expands Reach With New Greensboro Distribution Center
Strata, SIS, & Otis Bed Align At Tupelo
Bourne’ International Introduces Partners In Retail
Premium Futon Mattress Sales Soar
Gold Bond, Adonis, & SIS NOW in High Point IHFC Main Building
Simmons Futons Ignores “Out of the Box” Thinking

Rubber Match, Inc. Celebrates 30th Anniversary

In a proud statement issued from their company headquarters, Rubber Match, Inc. announced that 2003 is the 30th Anniversary of the founding of their business. The company was started back in 1973, the same year Xerox introduced the color copier. The average American income was $12,965, a new car cost $3,950 and a gallon of gas was only 40 cents. The FDA was hard at work requiring national food labels on all food products.

What Else Happened in 1973?

Women triumphed again in “The Battle of the Sexes” as tennis greats King and Riggs battled it out. King took the victory with straight sets. Viewers everywhere anxiously watched the much publicized event.

Favorite television shows this year included: All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Hawaii Five-0, Maude and Bridget Loves Bernie. You didn’t see as many diet pill commercials on TV; the FDA recalled all diet drugs containing amphetamines.

Yes, when you think about it, things have changed a lot in 30 years. But, after all this time there are some things which have remained the same.

One good thing is that Rubber Match, Inc. is still around and thriving after 30 years of hard work and lots of dedication by everyone involved… and most importantly, caring about customers who helped them reach this milestone.

Rubber Match, Inc. is located in New Haven, CT, is owned and operated by George Zito.

You can find out more at: www.rubbermatch.com.

Back To Top

Night and Day Furniture Adds Shoefittings ‘Bronze’

Night and Day Furniture has now added the Snapper (snap-on assembly and front operation) to their standard wood frames as well as to their popular rattan line.

“The great demand for Shoefittings, beyond just our premium line made this an obvious next step for us”, said Mike Gallawa. And to keep the concept simple Mike is calling Snapper (on its own) Shoefittings Bronze. “The full Shoefittings system (with both Snapper and Sea Horse) is Shoefittings Gold,” he said.

Okay, that’s easy but isn’t something missing here?

“You are right! Silver! Stay tuned,” added Gallawa.

For more information on Night & Day Snapper mechanisms and futon sofa sleeper frames contact them at 360-573-3309.

Back To Top

Big Tree Expands Reach With New Greensboro Distribution Center

Big Tree and Big Sleep of Commerce, CA recently opened a new Greensboro, NC distribution facility rounding out a strong presence on the East Coast. “We opened our Lancaster, PA distribution facility last August, and have followed that up with this new warehouse in Greensboro,” said company representative Bob Pecoraro. Big Tree is one of only a few major manufacturers still producing product here in the United States, as well as being a major importer of futon sofa sleepers, mattresses, bedroom furniture, casegoods and accessories.

Big Tree is also about to move into a new corporate office facility, where they will continue to design and produce products for their growing number of specialty, traditional, and club store customers.

“We are also moving into a larger showroom for this fall’s High Point market,” Pecoraro said. The new 3,300 square foot space at #217 Centerpoint is almost double the size of the firm’s former space in the same building. “We are very excited about bringing our brand of products to this new showroom,” he said.

The company has a long history of developing and producing fine wooden futon sofa sleepers and matching chairs and accessories, and is also bringing a full line of softgoods to market as well. “We have always sought to be a full line supplier,” Pecoraro said. “Originality, quality and value being at the core of everything we do.”

For more information contact Big Tree at 800-647-2671.

Back To Top

Strata, SIS, & Otis Bed Align At Tupelo

Strata Furniture, a leading futon sofa sleeper manufacturer, S.I.S. Covers, a major supplier of futon covers, and Otis Bed, a manufacturer of high end futon and traditional mattresses, displayed their products together at the Tupelo Furniture Market in Tupelo, Mississippi during the August 21-24 summer market.

John Christiansen of S.I.S., Karen Day of Otis Bed, and Brian Donohoo and Catherine Serie of Strata Furniture marketed their products there for the first time as a group.

“Our antiqued black painted Adriana, our fully back enclosed frame, was shown with S.I.S. Cover’s “Rainforest” and one of Otis Bed’s “Luxury” mattresses,” said Brian Donohoo of Strata. “The ensemble was extremely well received,” he said. Buyers commented on how the total package looked like a traditional sofa and were amazed that it was a futon sofa sleeper.

“It was great showing with S.I.S. and Otis Bed,” said Donohoo. “Their product, quality and presentation works well with our sofa bed convertibles.”

For more information call Strata Furniture at 763-786-3784.

Back To Top

Bourne’ International Introduces Partners In Retail

“Bourne’ International has initiated a dealer support system called Partners In Retail,” said Bourne’ International president Chet Stoler. “The idea spins off of Chet’s experience in manufacturing and my experience with the Ethan Allen retail system which I was involved with for about 12 years,” added Greg Stinson, Bourne’ International’s Director of Marketing. “Ethan Allen has the most successful system of dealer support I have ever run across. Their philosophy is to supply as much professional support to their dealers in the form of advertising, tagging, display aids, point of purchase signage, pricing, pictures and training information as possible to ensure that the consumers see their products in the very best light. Our intention is to make as many aids as possible available to our dealers. We are building a web-site that will make these aids available to download whenever they are needed. They can also e-mail me their logo and I can create P.O.P. signage and e-mail it back or print it off and send it to them,” he said.

The arm rack was designed to expand the number of units that could be sold out of one floor display. “The idea is to provide a physical experience by sitting, touching and operating the frame. Since every style in the teak or rubber wood lines sits the same, the arm rack allows for the sale of 5 arms in two finishes from one set up,” Stinson said. The light box allows for each arm style to be shown in a room setting. The consumer can see, sit, feel and operate the frame; see, and feel the other arm styles; understand their price differences, and also be able to see it in a room rather than trying to imagine how it will look. “All of the reasons for not buying have been eliminated and you don’t have to drag them all over the store to close the sale. We think it will enhance the quantity of sales dramatically. The nice part is that the bodies are all interchangeable, which allows the dealer to have less inventory on hand,” Stoler said.

“Partners In Retail will grow as our dealers grow. We can share success with our whole dealer team,” added Stinson.

If you are interested in more information on Bourne’ International “Partners in Retail” program please call 1-360-816-1054.

Back To Top

Premium Futon Mattress Sales Soar
“Ultra Helps Sell The Super”

Consumers are buying more super-premium futon mattresses than at any time in history, America’s leading futon retailers report. Super-premiums “are a huge deal for our company,” a retail executive enthuses. Super premium futon mattresses are being snapped up in 60 to 70% of the futon sofa sleepers sold in many leading showrooms today, they say. And it’s clear that the addition of an ultra premium mattress genuinely kick-starts America’s new super premium sales momentum.

Presented with a full selection of premium futon mattresses, consumers are bouncing atop the most expensive ultra-premium visco futon—often opting for a less costly super-premium—and passing entirely on promotional units. Interviews throughout the country reveal the new trend:

Texas

Texas Futon’s Cleatus Abbott: “We doubled our super-premium sales when we put Gold Bond’s ultra premium Visco Opulence (futon mattress) on our five showrooms. I am still surprised. I didn’t think it would make much of a difference, but it did.” He reports his super premium futon, the “SofTouch”, sells for about half of what his company charges for the ultra premium and it is selling better than ever.

“Consumers definitely fall in love with the ($399) Opulence, and yet some folks have a little sticker shock at that price. They’ll ask if we have anything close to it for less dollars. So, we walk them to the ($249) SofTouch. Boom. Sold. They love it.” Texas Futon operates stores in Dallas and Austin. “The ultra-premium Opulence makes everything else seem much more affordable. We upgrade 50 or 60 percent, maybe more, with the lineup we now offer.”

“It’s real easy to step a consumer down,” he notes. “We put Gold Bond’s premiums on our floor six years ago—our sales doubled, so we attribute much of our success to Gold Bond. The time they spend down here with us means a lot to me, as they have really showed me how it is done,” the nine year futon veteran adds.

Midwest

“It’s clear,” reports Tim Sommer of HOM Furniture, “our ultra and super premium futon mattress lineup is a tremendous success here. We’re seeing 50 to 70% increases in our super premium business over the past three months.”

“Since we put in the Visco Opulence, our SofTouch sales grew dramatically. Looking at the numbers...our Coil Wrap business improved, too.” Mr. Sommer, a 12 year futon veteran, says it took HOM’s staff a while to get comfortable offering the upgrades on a regular basis. “It was quite a shift in orientation on our floors,” he notes. “We’d dominated the $599 on down futon business in our markets so this represented a true sea-change for us.”

Now, he says, “It’s a huge deal for us. We placed the Opulence on the floors and immediately it starts to move...and our super premium SofTouch demand really started growing. The Gold Bond premium line has become an absolutely indispensable part of our package. It’s a tremendous success,” he said.

Futon Conforms to Body

The new ‘Visco Opulence’ is a 12 inch profile futon that transcends other cushioned premium sofa-like futons in the seat position, while body-molded weight-sensitive Visco mattress support is experienced when used in the bed position. The futon conforms to the neck, head, spine and trunk of the body. Gold Bond’s densified fibers and high resiliency foam deliver deep support beneath the cover. It is easy to fold, unfold and move.

The new futon retails at $399 full size, $499 queen, and carries a 15 year non-prorated warranty.

The company manufactures 14 futon mattress models, of which seven are in the premium category. Gold Bond dealers are provided with award-winning point of sale sales aids, banners, posters, cutaways, and brochures.

For additional information, call Bob Naboicheck or Andy Freedman, V.P. Sales and Marketing, 800-873-8498.

Back To Top

Gold Bond, Adonis, & SIS NOW in High Point IHFC Main Building

Gold Bond moves to an expanded showroom this fall (IHFC 1318) where the futon innovator will show with futon industry co-leaders SIS Covers and Adonis Furniture. Gold Bond is the nation’s largest volume producer and manufacturer of futon mattresses.

Gold Bond’s expanded premium line is enabling retailers from Florida to Oregon, California to Maine, to present what Gold Bond believes to be, “Our most compelling mattress and comfort presentation to sofa sleeper shoppers, ever.”

Gold Bond will show the ultra-premium “Visco Opulence” ($399 retail, full ), and super premiums “Coil Wrap” ($299), “Wool Wrap” ($269), “Cotton Coil” ($269), “SofTouch” ($249) and “Comfort Coil” ($199) at the new market showroom.

Back To Top

Simmons Futons Ignores “Out of the Box” Thinking

United Sleep Products General Manager Paul Sullivan pulls out a map of the United States. To the East of the Mississippi, everything is shaded green. To the West of the river, it’s a dull tan. He points to the green.

“Yesterday,” he says, “this was our territory.” He picks up the map and symbolically tears it up. “Now, territories are irrelevant. We can affordably ship anywhere.”

Sullivan is referring to Simmons Futons’ new Superbox program, which he says is the most important feature added since United Sleep acquired the Simmons license nearly five years ago.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he says. “We’ve done a lot of great things: Four-position hinges, Beautyrest Futons, brand name slipcovers. But before, everything we did was limited by how far we could ship it and still have the cost make sense to the retailer. That’s all out the window now,” Sullivan said.

Inside each Superbox, Simmons Futons has somehow managed to fit a full sized frame
Vacuum-Packed futon and two pillows. The finished size of the box is smaller than that required for all FedEx shipments. The futon has 8” of foam and fiber and fully recovers in hours after opening.

“Everyone wins,” says Sullivan. “Retailers who’ve been carrying our product already can store it in less space. Retailers who haven’t been able to land our product cost effectively now can. With the Superbox, we are a legitimate national player.”

Retailers choose one of three Superbox programs. The first option, obviously for the largest dealers, is Direct Container. Finished Superboxes ship directly from United Sleep’s overseas facility to the dealer.

For stocking dealers, Simmons Futons ships from their East Coast facility to the customer’s warehouse. Sullivan says, “That’s the way most of our dealers prefer to work. It gives them flexibility with their inventory.”

The third option – and a totally new one for Simmons Futons – is a Direct Fulfillment program, or as Sullivan prefers to call it – the ’Zero Commitment’ program.

“Once we had this program in place and had developed the Superbox so that it could be affordably FedEx’d to someone, we realized that if the retailer wants, he shouldn’t have to stock anything. We can ship the futon directly to the customer’s house.”

Sullivan expects the new Direct Fullfillment program will appeal most to retailers who like to keep minimal inventories or like to do business non-traditionally.

“For the catalog, kiosk or internet retailer, it’s the perfect fit.”

Sullivan says that the Superbox program is a natural extension of the same message that United has been touting for years.

“We’ve been telling dealers to ‘Simply Say, “Simmons,”’ but we weren’t doing enough to make it simple. The Superbox program speaks directly to that need.”

Sullivan feels that the complexity of the futon industry has driven dealers away from the business.

“Your greatest strength over-extended is your greatest weakness, and that’s quite apparent in the futon industry. Our greatest strengths are all the options available to consumers, but those options often frustrate the dealer and the consumer. We wanted the Superbox to eliminate a lot of the difficulty in decision-making.”

That’s obvious upon first glance. The Simmons Superbox is limited to four finished “sofas in a box.” Each frame is paired with an upholstered futon that specifically matches it. Sullivan acknowledges this lack of choice will take a while from some to get used to, however he is quick to point out that the consumer can still add a new slip or zip cover to customize their futon.

“The oldest rule in selling is that 80 percent of your sales are made by 20 percent of your products. Most dealers can’t afford to keep all 100 percent of those options in stock and available to customers, so the Superbox program only includes fabrics and frames that have been proven winners for us.”

Sullivan acknowledges that the program might be increased to include step-up mattress options or additional frames down the road but is committed to keeping the program as minimal as possible, to ensure maximum opportunity without hassle.

“For a long time, we’ve been saying “Simply Say, “Simmons.” Now we’re going to show people how simple this business really can be.”

Back To Top

FL