It’s Been Fifteen Years. Can you believe it?

It was fifteen years ago that this fine publication hit the streets. At the time, invigorated by a recent firing, I decided to bring my vision to the masses. My sin back then was the belief that futon sofa sleepers would revolutionize the world of dual-purpose comfort and should be found by eager consumers in every furniture store in America. It’s fifteen years later, and I am still hammering away. Cards, letters and checks of congratulations should be sent to the Friends of Joe Futon at 301 Friendship Street, Providence. Do we have another fifteen? Absolutely!

West Elm, Breuners and The Rising Tide

Could this be the second wave? The meteoric rise in popularity of the futon sofa sleeper during the late eighties through the mid nineties is history. The past five years have been years of growth with little fanfare. Though many in the business have done well others have fallen away or dissolved into the panoply of generic sleep specialty shops that just happen to carry futon sofa sleepers. As ubiquitous as “No Payments Until 2006,” in the advertising of even the finest furniture dealers in America are the “FUTONS $99” signs. Our name has been turned to dirt by the cheapening of the futon concept to the point that there is no point.

Sickening as this is from a marketing perspective several bright rays of sunlight are shining through. The recent West Elm catalog (a part of the Williams-Sonoma/Pottery Barn group) features several futon sofa sleepers (frame, mattress and cover) in the $499 to $699 range, and that in a catalog that has “main stream urban chic” written all over it. Breuners Home Furnishings via Klaussner Furniture (see story on page 14) is helping legitimize the Lifestyle Solutions’ “sofa bed convertible” as a true main stream alternative to the traditional model. Remember, the mean average for the traditional sofa sleeper was $600 in the F/T consumer buying habits survey of last February (V27N25 February 24, 2003). BJ’s and Sam’s Club have tinkered with a cheap wanna-be from Sealy/Dorel but have found much greater success with a Big Tree unit that retails at close to five hundred bucks.

Consumers have always loved this product. In the final analysis the cheapening by the commodity brokers has done some damage to the word “futon” but the ultimate utility of this comfort based product just seems to ring true when people get it home. Whether they have a seat or lie down for a nap there is so much more comfort bang for the buck. And since it’s all about comfort and versatility: we win.

Couple this with the many fine manufacturers who continue to advertise in these pages, and my guess is a second wave is upon us. The next two years will tell the story.

World Market Update

I want to believe it’s going to happen. I want to believe that Santa Claus will be stopping by my house this Christmas. I want to believe that hundreds of manufacturers who are patiently waiting for thousands of dealers to pay their bills are ready to fork out millions to build the furniture industry’s new Mecca. I want to believe

that every company that has gone bankrupt owing me money will pay me off in full. I want to believe that this August (2003) construction will begin in earnest, and exhibitors will begin to move in to their permanent showrooms some time in October of 2004 for a January 2005 inaugural show. I want to believe that all the marketing hype ever created since the beginning of time is pure truth. I want to believe that all the companies that are listed on the www.lasvegasmarket.com web site have sent large down payment checks to the developers. I want to believe that Elvis is alive somewhere in the building. I want to believe.

Okay, I guess it will eventually happen. Hey I want it to happen. The good folks at WMC want us to come there with our people for that first show. When the economy comes back (and it will), and when terrorist fears subside (and they will) all the hype will become a new complex with over one million square feet of furniture showrooms. I want to believe.

Futon Association Update

Being on the Board of the Association is an opportunity to work closely with some great, hard working people. This is my third term as a Board Member and we have our work cut out for us. Membership is down (as it is in many associations nationwide), and though a plan was implemented a couple of years ago to get more people to participate in the voting and nomination process there was no election this year. The two appointees to the current Board are long time futoneer Japhy Ryder of Crane & Turtle and Mike Schweiger of Verlo. Both will add a lot to our group as we all seek to better define a mission and vision for the future, and help guide FAI and its member companies into our next twenty years. We are standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before us, and with our 20 year anniversary coming up this Spring it looks like the foundation they have built is strong.

FYI—The new 2003-04 Board took over at meetings in Providence, RI in June. Congratulations to Pattie MacMillen the new FAI President. My personal agenda for the next year includes more visibility for FAI, an industry-wide survey to set some benchmarks for our growing category, and a continuing effort to bring more retail buyers to the Philadelphia EXPO in 2004. Also on tap for this year is a major decision regarding the 2005 show in Las Vegas. As always, I will be striving to put our best foot forward.

Connie Post Webified

There is a certain air of confidence that comes across when you work with Connie Post. A confidence that is grounded on the fact that she has achieved a level of success in the home furnishings industry based upon her ability to deliver a product that captures both the marketing eye of the dealer and the fashion and passion eye of the female consumer. A consumer, in fact, that is the dominant shopper demographic in our industry. So when RTP Advertising (my marketing company) got the call to create the Connie Post Companies web site we were very excited.

The site is now up and running and showcases the many success stories Connie and her team have created. It also features images and background information on the firm’s many product offerings including: Design and Build Out Services, Movables, Decorative Accessories, and Marketing Support, (Connie’s gallery concept) which offers dealers a full service merchandising and marketing plan for their retail environment. You can visit the site at:
http://www.conniepost.com

Now for something completely different: Steve Laffey — A True Champion of the People

Steve teaches an advanced finance course at the University of Rhode Island. If you want to find out more about Steve Laffey and the Laffey campaign visit: www.electlaffey.com —Editor

This story is meant to be an encouragement to anyone out there who loves statesmanship and courage. It’s not about futons but it is about life, so here we go. About a year and a half ago I met this guy at my church. He was new and I said hello. We got to talking and became friends. We exchanged the typical guy info about what we did to make a living. “I’m in publishing,” I said. “I was in the investment banking business,” he said. “I just moved back from Memphis. I was the President of Morgan Keegan.” I went home and there he was on the Morgan Keegan web site. “Cool,” I said to myself. We got together for lunch a few weeks later and he told me his story about growing up in Edgewood (a waterfront neighborhood in Cranston, RI), and how he wanted to run for Mayor and how he wanted my firm to work on the campaign. I said I would be honored and we got started in March of 2002. I got to work with Steve, Tom Marcelle (an attorney and college friend of Steve’s), Paul Zisserson (a former teacher of Steve’s), Jim Hackett (a childhood friend) and several other political scientists and good friends on the campaign.

I have never seen anyone work harder in my life (except maybe me). Every day Laffey was up at dawn shaking hands, waving to voters at intersections, visiting neighborhoods door to door, debating his opponent ( a well entrenched career politician), and kissing babies. We won.

Cranston, RI had a $10 million surplus four years ago. On election day Cranston, RI had a $17 million deficit and a $250 million unfunded pension liability. Cranston, RI had the lowest bond rating of any city in the country. The Mayor and City Council of Cranston, RI had made major spending decisions without a timely State required annual audit. The State Auditor General wanted to have the state take over the city because it was about to go bankrupt. And this was just a few of the problems Laffey would face if he won. We won.

In his first five months in office Laffey has managed to lower the interest rate the city was paying to roll over its short term debt to less than 3% from the previous 9% for a savings of about $600,000. He has opted out of a bogus land deal for a new police station squeezed in at the last minute by the outgoing Mayor, saving another $500,000. He closed down an existing city dog pound characterized by the SPCA as “deplorable.” He has cut waste and submitted and had passed a balanced budget for the first time in several years without any gimmicks (like using monies from the police and fireman’s pension fund to balance the budget, a criminal action in the private sector). He has challenged and won the elimination of a crossing guard program that pays 39 part time crossing guards the equivalent of $100 per hour in wages and benefits. He has challenged established city employee bargaining units by passing a city ordinance repealing a 1995-96 ordinance gifting both working and retired police and fire fighters with extra benefits, that are not part of any collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Their repeal will save the city a possible $100 million in pension liability. I could go on but I think you get the picture.

Steve Laffey is a good man. He is smart, determined, and hard working. He comes from a blue collar family in a blue collar neighborhood. The schools of Cranston, RI produced him. He came back because he loves his city. He ran for public office because he saw incompetence destroying the city that raised him. He said he would fight to save the city. We won, and he has just begun to fight.

Why am I telling you this? I’m telling you so when you hear about Laffey on Rush Limbaugh, NBC Nightly News or 60 Minutes you’ll remember that I told you first. It’s a publishing thing. It’s called a scoop.

Spring High Point Update

Here are a few of my favorites from the show. (Top) Simmons Good, Better, Best cushion merchandising plan; Innovations “Puzzle” frame; and the Fu-Chest from Arason Ent.

FL