It was just a couple of years ago (V8N2 Summer 96) that we covered Big Tree and their upstart sister company, Big Sleep, a new futon mattress and softgoods cover group. Today, with several seasons of twenty to thirty percent growth under their belts, the Big Tree/Big Sleep combination is proving to be a stable fixture in a typically volatile market. Bringing together a team of innovative and creative marketing professionals has proved to be a great move for Big Tree, and is in large measure the reason for the success of Big Sleep.

With its beginnings as a manufacturer of traditional oak furnishings, Big Tree embraced the futon furniture industry after a customer asked them to build some futon frames. The customer, PACE (later Sam’s Club), came to Big Tree because of their furniture manufacturing experience. As futon furniture made the scene, with its opportunity to open new markets, Bob Pecoraro and Bob Glade (later joined by Bruce Sheppard) saw an opportunity to be part of an industry which has yet to bury its roots deep in the soil of the collective consciousness of the American consumer.

“When we started Big Sleep, two years ago,” said Bob Pecoraro, “You had to drive fifteen minutes to get over there. Now, since we’ve moved into the building next door, it’s only a few steps away. In fact both companies share the same loading dock.” Big Sleep’s volume is now about a third of the overall picture and with the proximity issue solved it is much easier for this innovative team to coordinate their separate but closely related companies.

The other two-thirds of the Big Tree/Big Sleep pie is the futon frame business. “We have always been well connected to the mass merchants, due to our relationships with Sam’s, BJ’s and several other large retail operations,” said Pecoraro. These relationships have allowed the Big Tree/Big Sleep team to place both imports and domestic made product in these wide, but sometimes difficult to navigate channels.

“You have to remember,” says Pecoraro, “our backgrounds are all in the furniture business, as opposed to the futon (furniture) business.” This background has helped the Big Tree/Big Sleep team to arrive at a clear understanding of what it takes to “sell through” futon furniture products in traditional furniture stores. With this knowledge in hand they are leading the way and have created several new lines that have all the benefits associated with futon furniture, but have a look clearly designed to appeal to a more traditional sofa-bed consumer.

“What we have tried to do is creatively address the issues raised during our dialogues with furniture dealers,” said Pecoraro. It was only after these dialogues that the creative juices flowed resulting in several new products like the Gatsby Series™, the Dynasty Leather Series™, and the new QuickSlip™, a full frame futon slip cover system that allows any futon and frame to look and feel a lot like a typical traditional sofa or love seat, and still deliver all the features and benefits of a futon sofa sleeper.

“Our intention is to offer more upscale, creative and innovative products that belong in our marketplace. And our customers are telling us that we are right because they are buying it, and it’s selling through at retail,” Pecoraro said. “We are trying to help drive the futon industry into the furniture stores. We are letting them (the dealers and other futon manufacturers) know that we can all get out of our so-called “niche” market and move to the much broader appeal and customer base of the “complete” furniture market,” he said. Pecoraro and company aren’t alone in their pursuit to reach the broader base of furniture dealers out there. In fact many futon furniture manufacturers have planted themselves at the High Point market, which is the world’s premier market for home furnishings.

All this being said the Big Tree/Big Sleep team have developed several new and innovative softgoods products that have allowed them to successfully penetrate these typically reluctant dealers. “The key concept here is attaining the ‘sofa futon look',” said Bruce Sheppard, a key member of the Big Sleep team. They achieve the “look” by using separate yet married cushions and some creative stitching, stuffing, and piping techniques that give a simple, single piece futon mattress a sofa like appearance. Leather and faux leather futon covers are also a part of the picture, along with fabric selections from Covington, Culp, and Chris Stone.

“What we are also trying to do is be “on-time” with the styles and current trends in the furniture industry on the upholstery side with all our futon covers, across the board,” Pecoraro said.
 

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