When you talk buzzwords, “globalization” is king!

1,000 unique visits per day
Futonlife.com welcomes about 1,000 unique visits per day. This number is an all time high for our seven years online. The highly focused site boasts the most comprehensive and thorough presentation of all things futon anywhere on the internet, and the search engines prove it. Plus, notable improvements are in the works for the third quarter of 2006. If you sell futon sofa sleepers, let our 1,000 daily visitors know about it. For more information, contact us at shoppers@futonlife.com.

Analysis 1: What's today's cliché quotient?
My Spring High Point market experience added more evidence to the validity of the proverb that the only constant is change. With the growing impact of the Las Vegas market and the abundance of great real estate at High Point, several companies I’ve monitored are expanding their showrooms in HP. Conventional wisdom says buy low and sell high, and the companies who can are making statements about their success by expanding their showroom spaces and their lines. It also seems that this summer’s Las Vegas market will be a new benchmark for the entire furniture industry (and the futon category as well) as globalization becomes the river of influence whose flow will determine our collective futures.

Globalization may be the strongest of several major forces influencing markets and marketing today. Another significant factor, at least here in the United States, is the continuing shift to “mega” in retailing and its effect on trade shows. Mom & Pop stores remain in the game but have to compete even harder than they did five or 10 years ago. The advent of mega players who dominate markets with global buying power and who feature hot products at almost wholesale prices means fewer buyers and therefore lower attendance at trade shows (that’s lower attendance not lower sales). These factors make it increasingly difficult for smaller supply-side players to compete. Innovation and creativity tend to diminish, and consumers are left with imitative choices and homogenized products.

This is a significant opportunity for innovators since creativity is never a commodity. As the cumulative impact of these and other market forces play themselves out over time, the inevitable shakeout will occur. Let’s talk again in October.

Analysis 2: Where is the futon sofa sleeper today?
There are now about 25 real players in the futon category. United Sleep Products of Denver, Penn., has ended its frame and futon cover program and is sticking to mattress only.

Jim Bodino, new VP of Sales, told us that the company is committed to the futon mattress business and will continue to make futon mattresses but will not be carrying any furniture. Jim Martin of Cottonworks told us at market that they have decided to keep working with several of their major customers but that they will not be marketing or manufacturing any longer in the US.

With new accounts on the endangered species list, several other important companies have expanded into other products (Lifestyle Solutions is spreading out into bedroom and living room furniture) while others have gone back to their roots in the mattress business (Gold Bond is seeing renewed growth with its traditional premium mattress line).

Going forward, Futon Association International President Brian Donohoo said they have rented about 5,900 square feet of space at the Las Vegas Convention Center for their show at the Summer 2006 World Market. The Association will also be republishing their new Member Directory later in July as well.

“We are presently in the midst of a membership drive and have over 1,600 trial members,” Donohoo said. The Association’s current membership includes 109 retailers, 101 manufacturers and 15 associate members for a total of 224. Donohoo acknowledged that business was off this year but that his hopes were for a rebound in the third and fourth quarters of 2006 and continued progress into 2007. We also asked him about the prospect of another standalone show for the category in the near future. “We are looking into that possibility, but not in the immediate future, at least not in the next couple of years,” he said.

With a number of futon only specialty retailers withdrawing and no specialty show for the category, the futon furniture amplifier is turned down and unable to sustain its once booming voice. Without a unified mandate for marketing, PR or a specialty trade show to call its own, the future remains uncertain.

In This Issue
In this issue, we are taking a closer look at China and the continuing and growing impact of imports from Asia. Becky Miller spoke to a number of companies who are manufacturing product overseas, and they let us into the world as they see it.

Laurie Converse reports on the continuing expansion of website retailing. If you’re thinking about an online presence for your store, Converse presents the five mistakes to avoid. The internet is no longer a mystery, and it is here to stay.

We have another installment to our Primer series featuring a comprehensive look at the world of soft goods as it pertains to home furnishings, and Dave and Tim round things out with their take on sales rep rap and CPSC regulations, respectively.
See you in Las Vegas.

FLLS