Industry Updates part 1

Futon Expo & Specialty Sleep Show® Agrees to Lease at WMC

The Futon Association recently agreed to lease a 20,000 square foot temporary space at the World Market Center’s inaugural show in July of 2005. FAI is currently one of the show’s largest exhibitors.

“We have been working on this deal for two years and our persistence has finally paid off,” said Association President Brian Donohoo. Many FAI member manufacturers have already locked into permanent and temporary space at the show. But with a couple of hundred thousand feet being scooped up fast, many smaller exhibitors, and those who want to tie into the marketing and large footprint of the Association, will now have a great place to show their goods.

Working out the details for the temporary space and getting the city of Las Vegas to sign off on the plan happened recently and opened the door for the allotment of space to FAI. “We feel very fortunate to have this much space for our show,” said Board Member Tom Conard. “The management of the World Market Center has been very helpful and has given us the green light with plenty of time to get the word out to our members. Our show has been the cornerstone of our efforts for the membership, and this partnership with the WMC should keep that going for a long time to come,” he said.

The Board met recently on a conference call and voted unanimously to co-locate the Futon Expo & Specialty Sleep Show® within the temporary space at WMC. “We will be located in the main tent just beyond the show registration area,” Donohoo said. “This deal will allow us to maintain our visibility in the home furnishings industry and help keep our manufacturing membership in a position to see the significant number of buyers who will attend this new show. It will also give our futon retail members a single destination where they can see new products [in the futon sofa sleeper category] and enjoy the community of friends and colleagues just like we always have. The timing couldn’t be better.”

The Association will be sending out contracts to exhibitors soon. The payment plan requires a deposit and then two additional installments due January 31, 2005, and April 30, 2005, mirroring the WMC payment plan. For up-to-date information about the Futon Expo & Specialty Sleep Show® at the World Market Center in Las Vegas, July 18-22, 2005, contact the Association at their web site: www.futon.org.

King Koil Northeast Premium Line Takes Off

The Premium end of the futon mattress business continues to explode throughout the 2004 summer season. King Koil Northeast’s top end models – Visco Memory Foam Pillow Top, Comfort Plush Innerspring “Turn-Free”, Pocketed Koil Supreme, Super Foam, Luxury Box Pillow Top, Latex “Sit Firm, Sleep Soft” and Scandia Visco Turn-Free – are in hot demand.

Premium materials like five-pound density visco memory foam, high density surface modified anatomically zoned polyurethane foam, latex foam rubber and encased coils offer the futon buyer a comfort choice that is great for sitting and rivals conventional bedding for sleep. King Koil is currently in the planning stage for a 15,000 square foot addition to its futon production facility. Overall, this addition would bring King Koil Northeast’s facilities in Windsor, Conn., to well over 100,000 square feet for futon and conventional bedding manufacturing facilities.

King Koil Northeast continues to be the company to provide its customers with a full futon program: both one-sided and two-sided futon mattresses, a great selection of imported hardwood and domestic frames and a line of futon slip covers.

Lodge Pole Futons from Night & Day Furniture

Night & Day Furniture’s latest addition is their Lodge Pole futon group.

Yes, yes, yes, you now have options. Your mountain home no longer needs to endure that quasi-sophisticated, euro-urban, metrosexual look! “Rustic, strong and handsome futons," explains Mike Gallawa. “The Lodge Pole is that great cabin home look made from solid pine-log cores. It is really a great addition to our futon line.”

The Lodge Pole features a full five-inch diameter leg post and hand-hewn detailing. The line comes in all sizes. Lodge Pole is in stock and ready to roll.

“And of course the Lodge Pole comes complete with the Shoe Fittings™ system, our ever-popular and totally reliable Futon Operating System,” said Gallawa.

Pick one up and take it with you to the lake.

Adonis, Gold Bond & SIS Futon Covers Move To Prime Showrooms In High Point And Las Vegas

Futon manufacturers Adonis Furniture, Gold Bond and SIS Futon Covers will open two new showrooms in prime High Point space this fall and in the new Las Vegas World Market Center next summer.

Both showrooms share ease of accessibility and spaciousness. Each was selected for its location – with some of the nation’s best-known brand name suppliers. “It is time to show futons right alongside other leading home furnishings products,” said Bob Naboicheck, Gold Bond President.

The three companies will show in space 615, IHFC building, in High Point, October 12 through 20, 2004, and in Las Vegas’s World Market Center, space 1038, at the Grand Opening in July, 2005. “We are creating new and modern environments in both spaces. Our futon showrooms will be exciting places to visit,” said SIS Futon Covers President Shari Hammer.

Futon frame manufacturing leader Adonis Furniture is based in Oakland, Calif. Gold Bond is the country’s leading futon mattress manufacturer and is based in Hartford, Conn. SIS, based in Columbia Heights, Minn., is a futon cover pioneer and the nation’s leading futon cover and pillow designer and manufacturer.

Wolf Corporation Attracting Buyers With Premium Futon Line

Wolf Corporation is presenting two Ultra Premium futon models at the upcoming Market. These models were also displayed at the recent Futon Show and the reception was terrific.

The “Legacy” has the ultimate in natural cushioning for comfort that includes silk/cashmere blend, memory foam and latex finger foam as well as the company’s heralded Aerolife cotton blend. This combination results in a unique product that can neither be found nor equaled on the market today. The comfort must be felt to be understood and the crisp tailored look is beautiful and befitting of the quality within. This is truly an ultra premium product with the comfort characteristics of beds and sofas costing thousands more.

The “Platinum” utilizes a high density memory foam core laminated to a high density polyurethane foam core that is specifically engineered for a bi-fold futon frame and provides luxurious, visco-elastic comfort. A true premium product for both seating and sleeping, the Platinum lives up to its name, providing nothing short of the finest comfort on the market. For those in search of the molded body-conforming fit of the latest technology, Wolf has brought this product to market to meet that need.

Wolf continues to expand comfort options through our research and development center. These are but the latest products that fulfill futon buyers comfort desires and at the same time enhance quality and durability. Our vertical integration and focus on proven quality gives Wolf the value edge that our brand is known for in the marketplace.