Let me give you a little behind the scenes look at what we do here at the best little magazine for the best little niche in the entire home furnishings universe. When I started doing this, some ten years ago, I was alone. I mean that figuratively and literally. I wrote or got permission to reprint all the articles. I would call up all my advertisers and write their PR because most of them, although they knew what PR was, had no idea they actually had a “futon story” to tell. Many of the early ads were done over the phone with the advertiser telling me what they wanted to say, and me putting it together for them - all part of the service. The only thing I didn’t do was run the presses. Today things are a little different for us all.

I still do some of the layouts, but now I get a little help. Jeff Flynn, one of our art directors, puts together the page templates for me after we sit down and decide which story is going where. Jeff typically puts some silly headline where the final headline will go. This time, when I read the “silly” headline I sat back for a moment and decided to use it

What can I say? - Business is good.

No matter who I talk to lately, small retailer, larger retailer, distributor, manufacturer or importer - everyone is busy. The Asian crisis (both in the realm of global economics and in the little futon furniture world) isn’t over nor is its impact fully understood, but as far as I or anyone else can tell it is having little or no impact on retail sales. Wall Street is currently in flux due to its many and difficult-to-pinpoint factors, but even this recent instability hasn’t significantly dampened the flow of consumers into futon furniture stores. As I look at the leading home furniture indicators in F/T and other periodicals there just doesn’t appear to be anything in the cards that will cause any real changes in the current shape of the growth curve.

What can I say? - The Chicken came first.

“The futon cover sells the futon frame,” or so says the conventional wisdom of the day. I have always believed that this mantra was true, and I still think it is as far as merchandising goes. But after a recent conversation with Dennis Bramwell, a sales rep for Lifestyle Solutions by Elite, I came to the conclusion that all is not as simple as it seems.

Bramwell contends that the key element or the most critical element of the triune component nature of the typical futon sofa bed is the futon mattress.
“You need to sell the futon mattress first,” says Bramwell. “Comfort is what people are really buying and the mattress is what provides the comfort.”

Logic would dictate that Bramwell is correct. The futon mattress part of the equation is where the tush test really happens. He did make it clear that a superior futon frame and futon cover add a great deal to the overall value of the product, but if a consumer is on a budget it is key to the future of the category that store owners sell the best mattress first. They can pick up the other dollars with a frame and slipcover or cover within the consumer’s budget.

“I am not saying we should sell people inferior futon frames and futon covers. What I am saying is the mattress is the most critical part when it comes to long term customer satisfaction,” Bramwell said.
I called a few people around the country and proposed this question. “Of the three component parts of a typical futon-sofa sleeper; the frame, the mattress, and the futon cover, which one do you key on when selling to a consumer? Which one is the most important to the sale?

The answers detailed reasons to support two of the three components, and there was, therefore, substantial support for Bramwell’s theory. As far as futon covers go most dealers see the covers as a given and therefore not a “critical” component to “the sale”.

There is a mail-in survey card (postage paid) on page 32 of this issue that will allow you to voice your own opinion.
Next issue we will give you the results of the survey and some, hopefully, intelligent commentary.

continued on next page