Mattress Firm

(Redirected from The Sleep Train)

Mattress Firm, Inc. is an American mattress store chain founded on July 4, 1986. The headquarters of the company is located in Houston, Texas.

Mattress Firm, Inc.
Company typePrivate
Nasdaq: MFRM
IndustryRetailer
FoundedJuly 4, 1986; 38 years ago (1986-07-04)
Founder
  • Harry Roberts
  • Paul Stork
  • Steve Fendrich
Headquarters
Houston, Texas
,
U.S.
Number of locations
2,300 (2021)[1]
Key people
John Eck (CEO)
Steve Stagner former (CEO)[2]
ProductsMattresses, bedding
BrandsTulo, Sleepy's
ServicesMattress retailer
Revenue$4.39 billion (2021)
(-$54.4 million)[3]
Number of employees
10,000 (2018)[4]
Websitemattressfirm.com
Footnotes / references
[5]
Mattress Firm BEDQuarters, the former corporate headquarters in Houston

Business

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Before its bankruptcy in 2018, the company operated over 3,600 locations in 48 U.S. states.[6][7] Mattress Firm has been owned by Steinhoff Holdings since 2016.[8]

On October 5, 2018, Mattress Firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[9] The company planned to break 700 lease contracts by closing 200 unprofitable stores and was considering closing the other 500 stores out of the more than 3,300 it operated at that time.[9][10] In November 2018, Mattress Firm emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[11]

In 2019, Mattress Firm appointed John Eck as CEO.[12]

In March 2020, Mattress Firm was one of several retailers to announce it would not pay some or all of its rent in April due to the effects of COVID-19.[13]

In 2023 the company announced it would move its headquarters to Westchase, Houston as the lease at its current headquarters ends.[14]

In May 2023 Tempur Sealy announced plans to acquire the firm in a reported $4 billion merger deal, however it was blocked by the FTC in July 2024 due to competition concerns over the proposed deal.[15]

Acquisitions

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Mattress Pro

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In 2007, Mattress Firm acquired the mattress retailer Mattress Pro, which operated locations in the Southern United States (Texas & Nevada).[16]

Sleep Train

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The retail bedding manufacturer The Sleep Train Inc operated primarily in California. It was founded by Dale Carlsen in June 1985. The company is based in Rocklin, California.

In June 2000, Sleep Train sold 24 of its stores (mainly in Seattle and Portland), or about 30 percent of its business, to Fenway Partners,[17] a New York private-investment firm which had acquired Sleep Country USA, a competing chain established in 1991, three months earlier.[18][19] At the time, Sleep Train had 44 stores (of which 18 were in Washington) and Sleep Country USA had 28 stores.[18] In 2002, Sleep Train Inc. announced plans to purchase 54 Mattress Discounters' stores in California during that company's bankruptcy—which would double Sleep Train's size.[20]

In 2003, Fenway Partners sold Sleep Country USA to the Atlanta-based Simmons Company,[19] and in August 2006, Sleep Train Inc. purchased the then-55-store mattress chain from Simmons.[21]

In September 2011, Sleep Train acquired Christian's Mattress Xpress, converting three stores into new Sleep Train stores in Visalia, Fresno and Fowler, California.[22] The following month, October 2011, Sleep Train purchased Mattress Outlet, a 14-store company with 13 stores in eastern Washington and one in Idaho, and America's Mattress, a seven-store company in western Washington.[23] In October 2012, Sleep Train acquired Sleep City, an 8-store chain in Eastern Washington and Idaho.[24] In April 2014, Sleep Train acquired America's Mattress in Hawaii. The acquisition included nine local America's Mattress stores: five stores on Oahu, two stores on the Big Island in Kona and Hilo, and one each on the islands of Maui and Kauai.[25]

On September 4, 2014, Mattress Firm Inc. announced it would buy The Sleep Train Inc. for $425 million.[26] In February and March 2017, the Sleep Train stores were renamed as Mattress Firm outlets.[27]

Sleep Country USA

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Sleep Country USA was a Pacific Northwest bedding retailer founded in 1991. It had more than 80 mattress stores in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. The company headquarters were in Kent, Washington.[28]

Sunny Kobe Cook and Robert Cook founded Sleep Country USA in 1991 as a specialty sleep store chain.[28] It started with eight stores and approximately 25 employees in Washington.[29] In March 2000, New York-based Fenway Partners Inc. acquired Sleep Country from Robert Cook and Sunny Kobe Cook.[30] In 2003, Fenway Partners sold Sleep Country USA to the Atlanta-based Simmons Company. In August 2006, The Sleep Train, Inc. purchased the then-55-store Sleep Country USA Pacific Northwest chain from Simmons for $55m.[31] The chain continued to operate as Sleep Country USA. Sleep Country Canada, an unaffiliated company, uses the same jingle.[further explanation needed]

In July 2015, the Kent, Washington-based Sleep Country USA company announced that it would begin rebranding all of its stores with the Sleep Train name, the California-based company that Mattress Firm now owns.[32] Work to change the signage at stores was expected to continue into the fall of 2015, at least.[33]

Mattress Barn

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Mattress Barn was a chain of mattress stores located only in Florida. On August 29, 2014, it was announced that Mattress Firm would acquire all of the remaining Mattress Barn locations.[34] In September 2016, all of the remaining stores converted into Mattress Firm.[35]

Sleepy's

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In 2015, Mattress Firm announced its plans to buy out its competitor Sleepy's for $780 million. With this purchase, Mattress Firm would come to have over 3,500 stores.[36] Mattress Firm continues to use the Sleepy's name for their brand of mattresses.[37]

Sleep America

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Sleep America was an Arizona bedding retailer founded in 1997 by Debbie and Leonard Gaby. By the time of Mattress Firm's acquisition of the company, they had about 30 stores. They were based in Phoenix, Arizona.

On January 6, 2015, Mattress Firm acquired Sleep America for $12.5 million.[38] Over the next four months, all of the Sleep America stores closed and were converted into Mattress Firm stores. A few locations became clearance centers for Mattress Firm.

References

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  1. ^ Takahashi, Paul (November 21, 2018). "Mattress Firm emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  2. ^ Takahashi, Paul (April 9, 2019). "Former CEO". Houston Chronicle. Mattress Firm. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  3. ^ Zumback, Lauren (August 13, 2008). "Amid speculation over Mattress Firm's future, startup mattress seller Casper plans 200 new stores". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  4. ^ "Mattress Firm FAQ". Mattress Firm. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  5. ^ "FORM 10-K".
  6. ^ Zumbach, Lauren (July 15, 2016). "Why are there so many mattress stores?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
  7. ^ "Mattress Firm Completes Acquisition of Mattress Giant" (Press release). Business Wire. May 2, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  8. ^ "Steinhoff buys Mattress Firm in cash, a stock deal worth nearly $4 billion". CNBC. August 7, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Valinsky, Jordan (October 5, 2018). "Mattress Firm files for bankruptcy". CNN. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  10. ^ Valinsky, Jordan (October 9, 2019). "Mattress Firm Files For Bankruptcy And Will Close Up To 700 Stores". KHSL-TV. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  11. ^ "Mattress Firm emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy". Houston Chronicle. November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  12. ^ "John Eck". MattressFirm Newsroom. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  13. ^ Coleman-Lochner, Lauren (March 24, 2020). "U.S. Retailers Plan to Stop Paying Rent to Offset Virus". Bloomberg. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  14. ^ Luck, Marissa (April 7, 2023). "Mattress Firm moving headquarters to Houston's Westchase area". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  15. ^ "Tempur Sealy's $4 billion purchase of Mattress Firm challenged by FTC - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. July 2, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  16. ^ "Mattress Firm takes over Mattress Pro stores". Austin Business Journal.
  17. ^ Johnson, Kelly (June 11, 2000). "Sleep Train sells off 24 stores for cash in Seattle, Portland". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  18. ^ a b Lee, Thomas (March 3, 2000). "N.Y. firm acquires Sleep Country". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  19. ^ a b Levesque, John (August 9, 2009). "Sleep Country jingle has been waking up the Northwest for 18 years". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  20. ^ Johnson, Kelly (October 23, 2002). "Sleep Train agrees to buy 54 stores". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  21. ^ "Sleep Train purchases Sleep Country USA". Sacramento Business Journal. August 30, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  22. ^ Sleep Train announces acquisition, expansion Archived May 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. The Business Journal. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  23. ^ Sleep Train buys two mattress companies. Sacramento Business Journal, October 28, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  24. ^ Sleep Train acquires more stores, expanding Got Sleep format. Sacramento Business Journal, October 26, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  25. ^ Slaughter, Powell (April 10, 2014). "Sleep Train to Acquire America's Mattress in Hawaii". Home Furnishings Business. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  26. ^ "Mattress Firm buying Sleep Train for $425 million". The Seattle Times.
  27. ^ "FAQ — Sleep Train is Now Mattress Firm". Sleep Train. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017. Starting in February, Sleep Train stores are being re-named to Mattress Firm. Customers will see store signs change from Sleep Train to Mattress Firm through March.
  28. ^ a b "Sleep Country USA marks 20 years". Bed Times. July 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  29. ^ Sleep Country Celebrates 20th Year Anniversary Archived 2015-05-18 at the Wayback Machine Sleep Country website. Retrieved May 30, 2012
  30. ^ Goldfield, Robert (September 7, 2003). "Simmons selling region's biggest mattress retailers". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  31. ^ "Simmons selling Sleep Country for $55M". Puget Sound Business Journal. July 6, 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  32. ^ "Sleep Country stores will adopt Sleep Train name". The Columbian. Vancouver, Washington. July 15, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  33. ^ "Business Beat". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. July 25, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.[permanent dead link]
  34. ^ "the Mattress Firm to Acquire the Back to Bed, Bedding Experts, and Mattress Barn Stores". Mattress Firm. August 29, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  35. ^ Symington, Steve (September 11, 2016). "Why Mattress Firm Holding Corp. Stock Plunged More Than 20% on Friday". The Motley Fool. Retrieved July 14, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  36. ^ "Mattress Firm says it will buy Sleepy's for $780M". CBS News. December 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  37. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Mattress Firm. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  38. ^ Brown, Brandon (February 4, 2015). "Sleep America closes, Phoenix mattress queen retires - Phoenix Business Journal". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
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