Industry Updates: 1

Symbol Mattress Taps Sullivan for VP Post

Symbol Mattress has announced the appointment of industry veteran Paul Sullivan to the newly created position of Eastern VP of Sales and Marketing. Symbol executive Todd Nieting will assume the position of Western Vice President Sales and Marketing. Sullivan and Nieting will work together in directing the company’s merchandising and sales efforts through the seven (7) company factories.

In announcing the Sullivan appointment, Nieting said, “We are happy to have Paul join us. Symbol has experienced tremendous growth in sales and facilities requiring additional management expertise. Paul is a seasoned executive with the experience and talents to positively impact Symbol’s future.”

Sullivan added, “I am very happy to be with Symbol. They are committed to a national strategy and are supporting it with the factories to accomplish that. I look forward to helping the Symbol Team achieve that goal.”

Night And Day Futon Frames and Bedroom Furniture’s Scooter™ is Now Shipping

The Scooter™, the floor-hugging, free-wheeling, heart-warming new rolling sensation, with its modern-something fresh look, is ready to roll-on home. The Scooter™ is now in stock.
Designed by Pete Dodge for Night and Day Futon Furniture, The Scooter™ is a stylish, useful and fun piece of futon furniture.

“Converting the Scooter™ to a bed, this baby not only rolls away from the wall, but you can roll it around the room and set it up where you want it. Very sweet and very cute,” says Mike Gallawa about his latest. “And the Scooter™ does get people’s attention. It’s very cool.”

“It’s no surprise that the Scooter™ also uses Night and Day Futon Furniture’s patented Shoe Fittings™ operating system, for easy operation and assembly. Check it out.” Gallawa said.
 

Burlington Futon Company Adds Private Label Futons To Wholesale Line

Burlington, VT – Mark Binkhorst, President of Burlington Futon Company, announces the rollout of a new line of futons. These futons were exhibited at the Futon and Specialty Sleep Expo in Philadelphia in March of this year and are now available to retailers nationwide.

The Burlington Futon Company is offering futons that provide a special niche in the marketplace. Having made futons for nearly 20 years, Binkhorst and retail manager Christine Kelsey had a clear idea of the new style of futons they wanted to create. He offered this explanation, “While the trend today with many futons is ‘more is better’, our approach was to develop a line of futons that provide comfort, longevity, ease of handling, and uniform thickness. All of our futons offer a no–flip design and a lean profile that will accommodate a standard futon cover. Our futons are not so thick that your customers have difficulty touching their feet to the floor, nor will they need to be a superhero and fight the futon in opening and closing the frame or changing the cover. Our futons are designed to bend easily and sit better on the frame than a thick futon. We believe there is a large segment of futon customers that will prefer the appearance of a ’lean profile’ futon without any sacrifice in comfort.”

“We turned to Otis Bed for the manufacturing because of their reputation for quality, knowledge of foam and fiber and their ability to vacuum-pack and ship anywhere,” said Binkhorst enthusiastically. Ordered directly from Burlington Futon Company, these futons are drop shipped from the manufacturer directly to your customer or to your store. As a vacuum-packed futon, it can fit in the back seat of your customers’ cars, eliminating the need to schedule a delivery.

In a related move, Burlington Futon Company will now represent the full line of Otis Bed Manufacturing futons throughout New England and is looking forward to working with the customers in that area.

Futon Life Survey Web Site Winner Announced

Futon Life recently announced the winner of its second annual retail survey respondent contest, Quality Furniture, Inc. 2117 S. Stoughton Rd. Madison, WI. Randomly drawn from 137 responding companies, Quality Furniture’s Doug and Patricia Chase Atwater opted to pick free links on the high traffic Futon Life web site directing consumers to their site at http://www.explorewisconsin.com/qualityfurniture.

This year’s survey is included in this issue of Futon Life and we solicit all your responses as we continue to quantify the futon sofa sleeper market and collect the data needed for business and market planning.

The way we all work and do business is changing. Futon Life continues to supply the industry with the statistics and analysis needed to navigate the shifting retail and manufacturing landscape. Special thanks to Doug and Patricia Atwater of Quality Furniture and all the other respondents for taking the time to complete the survey instrument and mailing it in.

Dream On Introduces “Feet on the Floor” Futon Wedge

Dream On Futon announces the introduction of a simple, functional new product, the Futon Wedge. This foam wedge levels the slanted seat inherent in all futon frames, making it flat. When using the Futon Wedge, you also eliminate the need for a futon 'gripper'.

This is a perfect product for a shorter person whose feet don't touch the floor, and for those who want it to be easier to get up out of the futon frame. It also is appealing to people who want their futon set to have the 'flat-seated' look of their other upholstered furniture.

The Futon Wedge comes in 3 sizes: full, queen, loveseat, and 28" chair. The full, queen is $15, with a suggested retail (msrp) of $32.

Two New Sales Reps Named at Gold Bond

HARTFORD (CT) _ Independent sleep product futon manufacturer Gold Bond announced the addition of two new representatives to its sales force effective immediately, Gold Bond President Robert J. Naboicheck announced. The two are expected to complement the company’s ongoing expansion and to bring new product introductions to leading retail establishments.

Timothy J. O’Flaherty of North Providence, R.I., will represent Gold Bond in Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Mr. O’Flaherty was previously in retail sales at Cardi’s Furniture of Rhode Island.

Bruce L. Gelbard of Freehold, N.J. will represent Gold Bond in Central and Southern New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Gelbard formerly represented King Koil and United Sleep Products.

Omni Website Attracting Attention

Omni’s user friendly website has been attracting a lot of attention during the past 6 months. General Manager Marcia Nachreiner says, “Our retail customers, and consumers alike find our website invaluable. Design ideas, new styles, current information and up to the minute news can all be found by simply logging on to www.omnisoftgoods.com.”

The website showcases the entire line of Omni futon cover fabrics, the Omni Recipe Book, the latest news and many other pieces of information that keep the customers informed and up to date. “Consumers have access to the basic information on the main site and distributors have access, via password, to an additional second tier that contains more business related information and news,” Nachreiner said.