Playing The Name Game

Futon: (foo-ton) noun. A thin mattress of tufted cotton batting or similar material, placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame. A direct borrowing from Japanese, traditionally refers to a bed-quilt or thin cotton mattress which is laid on a mat on the floor overnight, and may be rolled up and put away during the day. From the Japanese words ‘phu’ (bed quilt) and ‘ton’ (round).¹

Once upon a time, “futon” was a Japanese word that referred to a thin cotton mattress. But this name now refers to a home furnishing product that bears little resemblance to its ancestor. A futon is still a mattress, still rests on a frame and can still be “put away” during the day. But here is where the similarities end.

Once thin and able to be rolled, futon mattresses today are available in a wide range of materials and price points, including premium visco and latex, cushioned with silk and cashmere. These lusciously comfortable mattresses aren’t placed on the floor or even on thin foldable frames. Instead, they are placed on finely finished hardwood frames bedecked in sophisticated and contemporary designs. And something this handsome would never be put away during the day, but instead is covered with today’s best microfiber fabrics.

The futon has undergone a radical transformation. Like a butterfly that bears little resemblance to the caterpillar it once was, today’s futon furniture is merely a distant cousin to the original Japanese sleeping bag. But while the newly hatched butterfly may be renamed a monarch, a futon is still called a futon. Is it time for a name change?
It’s not uncommon for product names to be nudged in a particular direction. Consider the nomenclature of another piece of living room furniture: the sofa. Once upon a time, this upholstered armchair accommodating two or more people was also known as a couch. Like the name “futon,” the term “couch” has come upon hard times, no doubt due to its nuanced coupling with the word “potato.” The furniture world has promptly favored the term “sofa” at every opportunity. Should “futon” follow this example?

Does the name fit?

“Futon” is a tricky word. Say it to a handful of people and it will mean something different to each one. Consumers’ ideas of a futon have been informed predominantly by large discount stores. At this type of venue, “futon” most frequently refers to the complete ensemble of covered mattress and frame. It is frequently promotionally priced well under $200 and is thought of as disposable furniture.

The loud presence of this type of product confuses futon terminology in the marketplace. What is a futon, anyway? Is it a bed-in-a-box? Is it a component purchase? Is it a mattress? How could it ever be comfortable?

These questions have pressed upon manufacturers and distributors of futon furniture as they feel the pinch between the style-driven product available at specialty stores and the price-driven product available at discount stores. They question whether the growth of the futon category is being constrained by a name that it has plainly outgrown.

Some futon furniture companies have made a clear, conscious decision. Others have responded gradually to a maturing market. But many are moving ahead by rebranding, repositioning and renaming futon furniture. They continue to undergo their own metamorphosis, determined to leave the cocoon with a new name.

Rename, Rebrand, Reposition

Lifestyle Solutions is, in many ways, leading the most visible revolt against the word “futon.” JC Gholston, Corporate Sales and Marketing Manager, recalls that three or four years ago, Lifestyle Solutions noticed a distinct separation in the marketplace, with more and more mass merchants introducing low end futons. They were adding exposure, advertising, flooring and marketing this promotional futon product.

The result, as Gholston sees it, has been a whole new tide of negative connotations for futon furniture and a plunge in product perception. At the same time, Lifestyle Solutions is aiming to raise consumer perceptions by selling a higher end, more refined product.

“We knew that down the road, price wasn’t going to cut it,” Gholston said. Rather than compete on price, Lifestyle Solutions has set out to steer away from low-end product and build a reputation for high-end futon furniture and room groupings. A key to this strategy has been their choice to refer to their futon furniture as “sofa-bed convertibles.” Their mission statement wraps their new hybrid terminology with their target market, aiming to “develop, manufacture and market the highest quality convertible sofa beds available in the marketplace.”

We don’t want to be bottom-feeders

August Lotz’s national sales manager, Kevin Whatley, has also noticed that mass merchants are driving a perception of futons inconsistent with his product line. And August Lotz has also consciously tried to steer away from the futon name in order to appeal to a more upscale customer by referring to their futon product as “convertible sofa sleepers.”

Whatley notes that when the name “futon” is used, consumers automatically categorize the furniture as low quality and associate it with low price points. “A $500 futon appears over-priced,” said Whatley. “A sofa bed at $500, however, looks like a bargain.”

“The futon market has become mostly price-driven,” Whatley reasons. “But it is style-driven and comfort-driven in the sleep sofa market. We want to identify with the sleep sofa customers. We don’t want to be a bottom-feeder.” Look for August Lotz to steer even further from traditional futon terminology with its new promotional materials to be introduced early this year.

Elite Products is also using nomenclature that differentiates their product from mass-marketing futons. They began avoiding the futon name about a year ago with some new branding and logos. “Elite Convertibles” is now the brand for all of their futon products. “Convertible” is the word of choice for Elite because “when people think of convertible, they know it’s going to do something,” explains Mike McCarthy, Marketing Director.
Elite is hoping that the “convertible” label will help customers identify futon furniture more closely with the styles, quality and price points of other motion furniture. “We feel that this branding is more descriptive [of the product],” McCarthy reports.

The Only Name We Need

But when you are already a huge presence among Top 100 furniture stores, when you’re selling to BJ’s and HOM, and when 75 percent of your mattress sales are innerspring, discussion of product naming seems like small talk. So thinks Bob Percoraro at Big Tree/Big Sleep. "We build a decent product, and put in quality that speaks for itself. Within our customer base we are fine [with the futon name].”

"You need to call a spade a spade," maintains Tracy Hamlin of Hickory Springs. "You can call it whatever you want, but it’s still a futon." Other companies have "tried to stay away from the ‘f’ word,” Hamlin said, “but what we need is to change people’s perceptions of what that means."

To Hamlin and others who are convinced that “futon” is the only name needed for this kind of sleeper, education is the key. Pattie MacMillen of Harvey Bigelow Designs agrees. "The visibility of big box stores and the disposable mindset that people have toward futons is a problem, but it’s really an educational issue.

"Futons are a component purchase. This is the biggest stumbling block," MacMillen said. Big box stores don’t differentiate between the frame, mattress and cover components and they routinely display futon sofas with a single price. When shoppers come into specialty stores, however, they "don’t understand the product and have to be educated," MacMillen said.

"We have been selling futons since 1986 and have seen them change from little ‘crate-y’ things to something you can be proud to put in your living room. It has taken 20 years." And she believes that this progress in product perception should not be abandoned.
Matt Sansoe at Adonis Furniture also acknowledges that the market has evolved, and in response, they have tweaked their branding to help differentiate their product from promotional futon furniture. But the company has also chosen to keep the futon name, creating the hybrid name “sofabed futon.”

“We have kept ‘futon’ in our product name because it describes its unique features, but we also wanted ‘sofabed’ to highlight its appropriate use for living room and really every room in the home,” Sansoe said.

To Each His Own

So we’ve got “sofa bed futons,” “futon convertibles,” “sofa bed convertibles” and “convertible sofa sleepers,” not to mention “sofa beds,” “futons” and “casual sleepers.” What’s a customer to do? Should the category make it easier for customers by moving toward a single name for futon furniture?

"I think it is product dependent," maintains Tony Wolf, whose Wolf Corporation rolls out mattresses at a wide range of price points and comfort levels. He services a wide spectrum of customers from big box to specialty stores and is "very comfortable with the futon name. I don’t see any negative connotation in using it, although we do use ‘sofa sleeper’ and ‘sofa’ from time to time."

Perhaps Wolf speaks for the entire category when he says, "My customers are very sophisticated. They know who their customer is and what they are looking for. I think they are in a better position [to decide which terminology to use]. They know best how to attack their market segments where they live."

So here, once again, futon versatility shines. At promotional price points, it can compete as a futon. At higher price points, it can compete as a sofa bed or motion furniture. The versatile futon that is comfortable in a college dorm, log cabin or formal living room is also comfortable with the name “futon,” “convertible” or “sofa bed.” Or with any other name chosen by its sophisticated and savvy marketers. FL

¹ The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition, 2000.