Shortly after Melissa Marik moved into a new apartment in February, a Mattress Firm store moved in a block or two away from Marik — and from another Mattress Firm. "I never even see anyone in the stores," said Marik, 27, who was walking down a mile stretch of Clybourn Avenue in the Lincoln Park neighborhood that boasts five Mattress Firms, two American Mattresses and a Sleep Number.Even the CEO of Mattress Firm, Ken Murphy, agrees Chicago probably has a few too many — but there's a method behind what some may see as the madness of mattress stores seemingly on every corner. In its best markets, Houston-based Mattress Firm aims to have a store for about every 50,000 people. That means Murphy would eventually like to have roughly only 200 in the Chicago area. Today, there are 235.Some duplicative or unprofitable stores will be closing but not right away. Mattress Firm is reviewing its real estate footprint with an eye to trimming stores but hasn't yet decided how many or which stores to shut down, according to the company's first-quarter financial report.
Most closures will come as store leases end, Murphy said.Even 200 is a lot of stores specializing in a product that for many customers is a once-in-a-decade purchase."Car dealers come closest, but there are no other retail chains that focus on big-ticket discretionary products with that many stores," said Wedbush Securities analyst Seth Basham. Roughly 9,000 specialty bed and mattress stores in the U.S. generated about $11.5 billion in revenue in 2015, according to a report last year from market research firm IbisWorld.So why are there so many? In Chicago, the answer has a lot to do with Mattress Firm's push to grow through acquisitions.Mattress Firm, the U.S.'s largest specialty mattress retailer, got into the Chicago mattress market about two years ago when it acquired Back to Bed and Bedding Experts. It bought another competitor, Sleepy's, last year and finished rebranding those stores by July 4."While in many respects it's been a great opportunity to get as populated in the market as quickly as we have, the downside is we have real duplication of stores right on top of one another," Murphy said.
It still has competition from other specialty mattress chains, including Sleep Number and Addison-based American Mattress, in addition to furniture stores and big-box retailers that sell mattresses.Furniture stores and department stores used to be the only places to buy a mattress, said Jerry Epperson, a furniture and mattress industry analyst with Mann, Armistead & Epperson. But manufacturers, which wanted to encourage people to replace their mattresses even if they weren't buying a new set of bedroom furniture, started promoting the idea of dedicated mattress stores, and they've been spreading rapidly since the 1990s, he said.Industry analysts' take on whether the U.S. has too many mattress stores depends on how well they think generalist brick-and-mortar retailers and online mattress startups will fare against traditional mattress specialists.But Murphy said there's "a logic to the apparent madness" of the store-on-every-corner approach.A new mattress — expensive and nonessential — was an easy purchase to delay during the recession, which has likely led to some pent-up demand, said Rice University marketing professor Utpal Dholakia, who got interested in the mattress business when a British student wondered why every American strip mall seems to have its own mattress store.
Industry analysts also say a spate of bedbug infestations may have prompted at least a few extra sales.Mattresses are a relatively high-margin product, and stores don't need that many employees, meaning each location doesn't need to sell a huge number of mattresses to break even, industry analysts said. And every store does double duty as advertising — important for a product most people don't think about until they need it."We want prominent, convenient, high-profile locations our customers will be driving or walking past anyways so that when they do get in the market, we're the natural default option," Murphy said.He thinks there's room for more Mattress Firm stores, albeit not in Chicago. The company had 3,472 as of May 3, and he thinks it could support about 4,500 across the U.S.Mattress Firm is trying to be the first truly national brand in the mattress space in hopes that scale will give it more leverage over vendors, more efficient operations and better name recognition.But analyst Basham said he's on the fence about how big a boost national scale will provide amid growing competition.
Online upstarts are looking increasingly strong in a sector that was once considered internet-proof.The best-known are early entrants like Casper, Tuft & Needle, Saatva and Leesa, but KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brad Thomas estimated there are 50 or more brands trying to get a piece of your bedding and mattress dollars.So far, they account for a tiny but growing share of the overall market — about 4.6 percent this year, up from 1.8 percent last year, according to Thomas' June report.Younger customers are more open to the idea of buying mattresses over the internet without first getting to test them in stores, Epperson said. That's partly because millennials are accustomed to shopping online but also because online companies have done a better job marketing things young customers care about, like ease of purchase."If you think about how mattresses have been marketed, it's all about health issues. If you read the ads, mattresses cure everything but balding," he said.When Wedbush surveyed 1,000 shoppers about buying online, only 10 percent said they were willing to do so without perks like free delivery, 100-night free trials and free returns.
But when those services — all of which many e-commerce mattress companies offer — were included, about 30 percent were open to buying online, Basham said.Most larger bed-in-a-box brands sell for between $500 and $999, depending on size. That is the most popular price range for all mattress sales, accounting for about 41 percent of mattresses sold last year, according to the KeyBanc report, citing data from the International Sleep Products Association. Only 5 percent of mattresses sold were priced above $2,000, though they accounted for 18.5 percent by value.Some traditional companies have responded with their own bed-in-a-box options, including Mattress Firm's Dream Bed at $600 to $999 and Sealy's Cocoon at $549 to $950.Meanwhile, online players are also finding ways to cater to customers who still want to try before they buy, whether through showrooms or partnerships with brick-and-mortar retailers. This medium-firm mattress is slightly thicker, and therefore less firm, than our firmest option (the Americana).
It’s our best mattress for back and stomach sleepers! We blend our proprietary Bio-Pur™ and Bio-Core™ foam layers to provide comfortable but stable cushioning, and the Celliant® cover is made with thermoreactive yarn to safely turn body heat into infrared. You'll love it, guaranteed. Twin, $899.00Twin XL, $999.00Full, $1199.00Queen, $1299.00King, $1599.00California King, $1599.00Split King, $1699.00 Great product would buy again. All featured customer reviews are unaltered and verified by PowerReviews (view disclaimer). Our innovative and proprietary materials let us build the one of most comfortable mattresses ever For Back & Stomach Sleepers For Side & Combo Sleepers Too firm: Pressure Points Too soft: No support Celliant® is an advanced fabric made with 13 thermoreactive minerals that helps improve the performance of the mattress. Our Bio-Pur™ foam is five times more breathable than traditional memory foam, so it wicks away heat while you sleep and can help keep you cool and comfortable.
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Remember, you have 100 nights to try it for yourself - if you don't love it, give us a call and we'll pick up the mattress and refund you completely! On top of that, our foam is also the most environmentally friendly. Our patented foam-making process uses plants to replace some petroleum, and is the only manufacturing method that exceeds the standards of the Clean Air Act. Our foam is also better than traditional memory foam because it recovers its shape faster. With a typical foam mattress, you often wind up “stuck” when you change positions but the mattress is still holding your previous shape. That’s because it takes around 60 seconds for the foam to bounce back. Ours bounces back in just four seconds, so as you move at night your mattress keeps up with you, providing superior comfort. Like sleeping on air No furniture, no problem. You can put your Amerisleep mattress directly on the floor. If you want to use your existing box spring, place a piece of 3/4” moisture resistant plywood directly on top.
A flat platform will work perfectly, so long as the gaps between the slats are no more than three inches apart. Adding an adjustable base can elevate your comfort, allowing you to read or watch tv in bed. Imagine waking up each morning with no pain and increased energy. How would that change the way you approach your day? Would you finally be able exercise regularly? Would you be able to perform better at work instead of constantly feeling groggy and needing another cup of coffee? Sleep quality is so important because we spend about a third of our lives in bed! That means, besides our jobs and our families, our sleep probably has the biggest impact in our quality of life. The number of daily problems that go away with a good night’s sleep is astounding — but that only happens if you actually do something to improve your sleep. If you just keep things the same, you’ll keep getting the same disappointing results. And don’t you deseve better? Order today for the best sleep ever.
Backed by our 100-night trial with free returns. From zero to hero A showroom doesn’t know you like your bedroom. Try your bed for 100 nights and if you don’t love it, we’ll help you donate your bed and give you a full refund. Trying a mattress in a showroom has been proven† to not help in the final satisfaction of the purchase. We’ve solved this problem by giving you 100 nights to truly test your bed. Within those 100 nights, if you’re unsatisfied with your rest, call us and we’ll work with you to donate your mattress and give you a full refund.Our 100 night sleep trial is not available for our foundations, adjustable beds or accessories. Read our Sleep Trial page for more information.Every mattress is protected by a 20 year warranty so you can rest easily. We offer full repair or replacement for the first 10 years and a pro-rated warranty for the last 10 years of your mattress’ life if it is judged to be defective due to workmanship or structural defects.
This does not cover a normal increase in softness or decrease in the slow recovery of the mattress as these don’t affect the pressure-relieving qualities of the mattress. Learn more about how our warranty protects you on our Warranty Information page. Amerisleep is one of the most eco-friendly mattress companies. From the way we make our foam all the way through how it arrives at your door, we work hard to use processes that are sustainable — literally from start to finish. First, our patented Variable Pressure Foaming (VPF) process allows us to use plant-based materials to replace some petroleum, so it's better for the environment. It also reclaims and recycles any waste, so there is no air pollution. It's the only process for making foam that meets the Clean Air Act's standards. Once we've made your mattress, we pack it up in a box made from post-consumer materials before shipping it to your door. Being more eco-friendly is just one more thing that makes our mattresses different than our competitors.