Mattress Firm, that ubiquitous dealer of sleeping surfaces, announced Friday that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it embarks on a corporate restructuring that could see it close up to 700 stores across the United States.
The Houston-based company, which markets itself as the nation’s leading specialty mattress retailer, currently operates thousands of stores across the country, including more than 65 in Colorado. A bloated real estate portfolio was tagged as one reason the business is entering into a court-supervised restructuring process.
“Leading up to the holiday shopping season, we will exit up to 700 stores in certain markets where we have too many locations in close proximity to each other,” Mattress Firm CEO Steve Stagner said in a statement.
The money saved through those closures will be put toward upgrading product offerings, opening new stores in new markets and expanding in places where the company is profitable, Stagner said.
Mattress Firm has filed motions asking the bankruptcy court for permission to close 209 locations in the coming days, according to court records. Eight of those are in Colorado.
They include stores at:
— 10398 Reed St. in Westminster
— 10460 W. Colfax Ave. in Lakewood
— 7205 W. Colfax Ave. in Lakewood
— 2525 Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder
— 570 Zang St. in Broomfield
— 1785 E. Cheyenne Mountain Blvd. in Colorado Springs
— 356 E. Harmony Road in Fort Collins
— 990 Airport Road in Rifle
Mattress Firm has stores in 29 Colorado cities and towns from Montrose to Fort Collins. A look at its 20 metro-area locations illustrates Stagner’s concern about having too many stores too close to one another. The company operates three stores along a half-mile stretch of Colorado Boulevard south of Cherry Creek. In Parker, it has two stores within a few blocks of each other.
In addition to internal challenges, Mattress Firm has seen its market share challenged by more nimble, tech-focused startups such as Casper, which delivers online-ordered mattresses direct to consumers’ doors. Some of those businesses have moved into the brick-and-mortar realm — such as Amerisleep, which opened a location in the Park Meadows mall this summer — but their physical footprint remains much smaller than legacy competition.
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Mattress Firm has vowed to ensure mattress deliveries continue on time and aims to continue honoring warranties and paying its suppliers and contractors as it navigates bankruptcy. It has secured commitments for $250 million in financing to support ongoing operations, company officials said. Another $525 million is waiting once the company completes it restructuring process, which is expected to take 45 to 60 days.
“Mattress Firm is the nation’s leading specialty mattress retailer, and we will continue to provide unmatched value to our customers by offering the best quality beds at prices that fit any budget today, tomorrow and into the future,” Stagner said in his statement.
