Mattress Firm

[Lutherf]

I don't know if anyone else has this chain in their area but they have gone nuts in Tucson. In the past year of so they have popped up in this town like Walgreens. Hell, some intersections have a store on all four corners!

These aren't like convenience stores or anything. They sell mattresses. How many mattresses do people generally buy? It can't possibly be enough to warrant 12 stores on five miles of one road.

Anyway, nothing earth shaking in this but it sure is a weird phenomena.

 

[mbig]

I don't know if anyone else has this chain in their area but they have gone nuts in Tucson. In the past year of so they have popped up in this town like Walgreens. Hell, some intersections have a store on all four corners!

These aren't like convenience stores or anything. They sell mattresses. How many mattresses do people generally buy? It can't possibly be enough to warrant 12 stores on five miles of one road.

Anyway, nothing earth shaking in this but it sure is a weird phenomena.

I just bought a place in SE Florida and they are a virtual Monopoly here too.
They do NOT want to own just one store and 'compete'.
They come in a Tsunami to take over an Area.

Of course, in NYC, my other place, "Sleepys" is the same.
They own many stores, the ones nearest me, literally across the street from one another.
Another 4 blocks away from those two.

Then there's the Manufacture end in which Tempurpedic, Sealy, and Simmons are all the same company.

And that Monopolistic behavior in Both mfg and retail help them charge outrageous prices for Mattresses.

 

[Gardener]

I don't know if anyone else has this chain in their area but they have gone nuts in Tucson. In the past year of so they have popped up in this town like Walgreens. Hell, some intersections have a store on all four corners!

These aren't like convenience stores or anything. They sell mattresses. How many mattresses do people generally buy? It can't possibly be enough to warrant 12 stores on five miles of one road.

Anyway, nothing earth shaking in this but it sure is a weird phenomena.

Do you have an unusually high concentration of brothels in your neighborhood?


There's GOTTA be a cause and effect here, somewhere!

 

[ttwtt78640]

I don't know if anyone else has this chain in their area but they have gone nuts in Tucson. In the past year of so they have popped up in this town like Walgreens. Hell, some intersections have a store on all four corners!

These aren't like convenience stores or anything. They sell mattresses. How many mattresses do people generally buy? It can't possibly be enough to warrant 12 stores on five miles of one road.

Anyway, nothing earth shaking in this but it sure is a weird phenomena.

Hmmm... High profits or money laundering would be my guesses.

I have seen several stores that seem to lack sufficient customer activity to remain viable. Perhaps their official books show otherwise.

I knew of a "bar" in VA that bought 50# bags of potatoes and just threw them into the dumpster. Amazingly the price of a pitcher of beer was exactly the same as an order of French fries ($7 at that time) but the VA law required over 50% food sales to sell alcohol for on site consumption. Do you think that, just maybe, some beer sales were "accidentally" recorded as French fry sales?

 

[Lutherf]

Do you have an unusually high concentration of brothels in your neighborhood?


There's GOTTA be a cause and effect here, somewhere!

Interesting you mention brothels. Last year we had one get busted and it was big news for a couple of weeks but then it turned out that several cops were clients and a city councilman's name was on the phone list. We didn't hear much after that.:lol:

 

[Carjosse]

I just bought a place in SE Florida and they are a virtual Monopoly here too.
They do NOT want to own just one store and 'compete'.
They come in a Tsunami to take over an Area.

Of course, in NYC, my other place, "Sleepys" is the same.
They own many stores, the ones nearest me, literally across the street from one another.
Another 4 blocks away from those two.

Then there's the Manufacture end in which Tempurpedic, Sealy, and Simmons are all the same company.

And that Monopolistic behavior in Both mfg and retail help them charge outrageous prices for Mattresses.

It is called the Starbucks approach. Though it makes a lot more sense for overpriced coffee than mattresses.

 

[Lutherf]

Hmmm... High profits or money laundering would be my guesses.

I have seen several stores that seem to lack sufficient customer activity to remain viable. Perhaps their official books show otherwise.

I knew of a "bar" in VA that bought 50# bags of potatoes and just threw them into the dumpster. Amazingly the price of a pitcher of beer was exactly the same as an order of French fries ($7 at that time) but the VA law required over 50% food sales to sell alcohol for on site consumption. Do you think that, just maybe, some beer sales were "accidentally" recorded as French fry sales?

If it's money laundering they're going about it in a really strange way. My understanding of money laundering is that you want to keep most of your money and I sure don't see how that's happening with this outfit.

 

[mbig]

It is called the Starbucks approach. Though it makes a lot more sense for overpriced coffee than mattresses.

No, it's different.
Starbucks stores don't really obliterate everyone else and each other.
They take stategic corners in different neigborhoods. Mattress Firm just comes in and rents an area.
Franchises know the right distance so that one store owner isn't poaching another, and the company isn't renting unneceassry real estate.
And mattreses aren't cofee, you don't need one every day. But they can be closer together anyway.

 

[ttwtt78640]

If it's money laundering they're going about it in a really strange way. My understanding of money laundering is that you want to keep most of your money and I sure don't see how that's happening with this outfit.

If you don't see many mattresses moving then it may be that they are moving only accounting records and money.

Cash deposits from a mattress retailer don't raise many eyebrows in a town full of them. A mattress can also hold a fair volume of other stuff too.

 

[soot]

Kind of peripherally related, and I assume anyone with a keen interest in mattresses will find themselves here so I hope it's not that much of a stretch, if you're looking for a mattress consider the Sleep Master iCoil line available from Amazon.com:

Amazon.com - Sleep Master iCoil 13 Inch Euro Top Spring Mattress and BiFold Box Spring Set, Full - Queen Mattress And Box Spring Set

We needed a mattress and box spring for the guest bedroom so we ordered these and I'm really pleasantly surprised with how firm, comfortable, and apparently sturdy it is.

For $475 ($531 if you need a frame too, we didn't so I can't comment on that end of things) shipped to your door for free you really can't go wrong.

I was initially astonished that they were able to fit a queen size mattress in a 3'x3'x4' box (aprox.), but it comes jam packed into a woven plastic bag and when you cut it out of the bag thing expands in an amazing fashion.

It went from a rolled up "something" to a queen size mattress before my eyes in under a minute.

It was funny because I didn't know what to expect so I didn't really "clear the area" before unpacking and when I cut the bag and this thing started growing I was rushing like hell to clear breakables off the dresser, shoo the dog out of the room, chase the kids out of the way, and try to "guide" the thing in to the general area where I wanted it. And it has all the weight and heft of a queen size mattress behind it so, basically, look the **** out.

I haven't slept on it for any length of time (I took a nap on it one afternoon over the holidays) and it was incredibly comfortable.

I sleep, ordinarily, on a $3000 mattress and this thing gives it a run for it's money.

My in-laws (in their 80s, so a comfortable mattress is important to them) are spending some time with us and they love the thing.

It also comes in a king size (for $499) which might be just the ticket for someone who lives in tight quarters (like a four story walk up with narrow stairwells) and can't get a normal queen or king size mattress and box spring up the steps.

The box spring is a two-piece so that's pretty easy to navigate around too.

Really a great product for the money, and even if it doesn't stand up to nightly use for a long period of time for $450 you can afford to replace it every couple of years without hurting too badly.

 

[Bob N]

I don't know if anyone else has this chain in their area but they have gone nuts in Tucson. In the past year of so they have popped up in this town like Walgreens. Hell, some intersections have a store on all four corners!

These aren't like convenience stores or anything. They sell mattresses. How many mattresses do people generally buy? It can't possibly be enough to warrant 12 stores on five miles of one road.

Anyway, nothing earth shaking in this but it sure is a weird phenomena.

Well in my area, Luther, it's Dollar General and Family Dollar stores. :lol:

We have only one Mattress Firm in the area, but I never went in to it yet. Do you like their products?

 

[Lutherf]

Well in my area, Luther, it's Dollar General and Family Dollar stores. :lol:

We have only one Mattress Firm in the area, but I never went in to it yet. Do you like their products?

I haven't been to the store. Frankly, I haven't needed a new mattress in quite a while.

 

[Beaudreaux]

We have a "mattress outlet store" in an old run down gas station that no one goes into during the day, but at night... especially Tuesday and Thursday and Saturday nights. You can drive by there on those nights and the parking area as well as the grassed area are slam full of cars. One night we went by there and the lot was full of police cars and they had a box truck backed up to the front door hauling something out that wasn't mattresses. They were back to normal the next week though.

As for actual mattress stores, we have had an explosion of different stores (not necessarily the same company) getting built like people just discovered what a mattress was and they can't get enough of them.

 

[Threegoofs]

I don't know if anyone else has this chain in their area but they have gone nuts in Tucson. In the past year of so they have popped up in this town like Walgreens. Hell, some intersections have a store on all four corners!

These aren't like convenience stores or anything. They sell mattresses. How many mattresses do people generally buy? It can't possibly be enough to warrant 12 stores on five miles of one road.

Anyway, nothing earth shaking in this but it sure is a weird phenomena.

Where I live, I was wondering about this because there are two basically across the street from each other.

I found this:

They Have Us Surrounded: The Marketing Mantra of Mattress Stores | The Newsletter Pro


Mattress sales are basically a giant scam and ridiculously profitable. I buy mine from a local store that actually manufactures the mattress nearby. Its not really cheaper, but its nice to know that I'm getting ripped off by a local.

 

[Crovax]

I don't know if anyone else has this chain in their area but they have gone nuts in Tucson. In the past year of so they have popped up in this town like Walgreens. Hell, some intersections have a store on all four corners!

These aren't like convenience stores or anything. They sell mattresses. How many mattresses do people generally buy? It can't possibly be enough to warrant 12 stores on five miles of one road.

Anyway, nothing earth shaking in this but it sure is a weird phenomena.

I live in a small area and there are 3 of them in a town of 5,000 people

 

[JumpinJack]

I don't know if anyone else has this chain in their area but they have gone nuts in Tucson. In the past year of so they have popped up in this town like Walgreens. Hell, some intersections have a store on all four corners!

These aren't like convenience stores or anything. They sell mattresses. How many mattresses do people generally buy? It can't possibly be enough to warrant 12 stores on five miles of one road.

Anyway, nothing earth shaking in this but it sure is a weird phenomena.

Wow. How odd.

I haven't bought a mattress in many years. I had a really old mattress years ago. So old that as I aged, it became too firm for my tender joints. So I went looking for a good mattress. I had such trouble finding one that I liked for sure, at a good price, and comparison shopping the things, that I bought something temporary to get me by, while I cont'd shopping at some point in the future. What I bought were some inexpensive very thick foam pads from J C Penney's (not memory foam), a dense memory foam 2" layer on top of that, and coveredit all with a high quality thick mattress pad cover. Well, that ended up being SO comfortable that I never did buy a new mattress! It'd be hard to beat my put-together mattress set. It's the perfect softness. The only irritating thing about it is that the layers tend to slide away from each other, so each week I have to reposition the top layers to lay directly in line with and on top of the bottom layers. It was just a fluke, but the mattress set worked out for me.

I'll buy a new mattress eventually.

Mattress companies would go out of business if they relied on people like me.

 

[vesper]

We have a lot of mattress stores pop up around here. All offering something slightly different from Memory foam etc. etc. etc ..But those selling them cheap often offer "slightly used" from places like hotels. You know my bed is part of my sanctuary. Used, slightly used isn't acceptable.

 

[grip]

Since my back went out 16yrs ago it's been a Tempur-Pedic, 12 inches of pure foam for comfort. Now with arthritis it's the only mattress I can stand.

 

[Lutherf]

We have a lot of mattress stores pop up around here. All offering something slightly different from Memory foam etc. etc. etc ..But those selling them cheap often offer "slightly used" from places like hotels. You know my bed is part of my sanctuary. Used, slightly used isn't acceptable.

Yeah, a "slightly used" mattress (especially from a hotel) doesn't sound appealing in the least.

 

[vesper]

Yeah, a "slightly used" mattress (especially from a hotel) doesn't sound appealing in the least.

No it doesn't. And that is why I pay big bucks for one that no one has slept on before. Heck I wouldn't even agree to a floor model. I am a very frugal person but when it comes to my bed, no way. I spend 1/3 of my life in bed. It should be a place where no one has been before.

 

[JumpinJack]

Yeah, a "slightly used" mattress (especially from a hotel) doesn't sound appealing in the least.

Oh, God, no! I'd never buy a used mattress. Yuk.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Wow. How odd.

I haven't bought a mattress in many years. I had a really old mattress years ago. So old that as I aged, it became too firm for my tender joints. So I went looking for a good mattress. I had such trouble finding one that I liked for sure, at a good price, and comparison shopping the things, that I bought something temporary to get me by, while I cont'd shopping at some point in the future. What I bought were some inexpensive very thick foam pads from J C Penney's (not memory foam), a dense memory foam 2" layer on top of that, and coveredit all with a high quality thick mattress pad cover. Well, that ended up being SO comfortable that I never did buy a new mattress! It'd be hard to beat my put-together mattress set. It's the perfect softness. The only irritating thing about it is that the layers tend to slide away from each other, so each week I have to reposition the top layers to lay directly in line with and on top of the bottom layers. It was just a fluke, but the mattress set worked out for me.

I'll buy a new mattress eventually.

Mattress companies would go out of business if they relied on people like me.

I did that as well, but I found out those foam pads don't stand up too well if you are in a situation where there is some intimacy (my 6'4" frame probably didn't help either). My pad lasted about 8 months before it was worn out and I ended up getting a new mattress. I think those pads only work well in situations where their isn't a lot of movement I guess.

 

[JumpinJack]

I did that as well, but I found out those foam pads don't stand up too well if you are in a situation where there is some intimacy (my 6'4" frame probably didn't help either). My pad lasted about 8 months before it was worn out and I ended up getting a new mattress. I think those pads only work well in situations where their isn't a lot of movement I guess.

LOL! I get your drift.

I live alone. I guess my dogs don't move much. It's been years, now, and the bed is as comfortable now as when I put it together as a temporary measure. I'll be moving soon, so don't want to buy new right now.

I was having such a problem finding something I liked at reasonable price. I bought one, then returned it, after I found I could barely move the next morning from it being way too firm. I'm tempted to get a solid foam mattress, but I've heard they sag after a while. I'll decide later.