Industry Updates part 2
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 futon 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 futon 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.
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 futon 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 futon 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 futon frame; see, and feel the other futon 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.