By Anonymous
When was the last time you have seen a human being inside of a Mattress Firm? The barren wasteland of soft bedding is a deceitful goldmine. People should change their mattresses every 6-8 years, which does not leave too much room for mattress store profit.
The amount of Mattress Firms in close proximity to one another is alarming, especially after buying out companies such as Sleepy’s and Mattress Giant. As a result of the conglomeration, there are currently over 2,600 Mattress Firms located across the United States. Mattress Firm filed for bankruptcy in 2018, forcing them to close about 700 stores. For example, on Moreland Avenue in Atlanta, there is one Mattress Firm on each side of the street. In Schererville, Indiana, there once were five Mattress Firms in a one-mile radius of each other. Business Insider states that ~42% of Mattress Firms are in a proximity of one mile apart from one another.
The apparent monopolization of Mattress Firm is a ploy for them to eventually take over other large corporations. While it may not be difficult to pay the electric bills, there is no way they can make enough money to open more stores. Mattresses can be expensive, but people only replace their mattresses about every 6-8 years. Therefore, there is no logical way for the company to pay its employees and make significant profit.
Enough about that, let’s unpack this…
This theory originated on Reddit, a social news forum, after a member suggested that the low demand for mattresses and the frequency in stores correlates to a money-laundering front. Mattresses are typically something that is not purchased as frequently as pillows, for example. The average mattress costs about $1,000, however, the markup on them, sometimes ranging from over 50% is what helps them to open more stores. Mattress Firm buying out other companies on popular intersections does make sense for them to publicize better. The more you see “Mattress Firm,” the more likely you are to think about the company when purchasing a mattress.
The majority of the money-laundering claims on Mattress Firm stem from the company’s association with South African company, Steinhoff International. When Steinhoff International bought Mattress Firm in 2016, it was speculated that Steinhoff was using the company to shuffle money, although there is nothing to support that. In 2018, the CEO of Mattress Firm, Ken Murphy, addressed the money laundering claims by denying that the company had nothing to do with it; two days later he announced his resignation. His resignation was claimed to have nothing to do with the claims, but rather improving the more collective leadership of the company moving forward. The company later filed for bankruptcy, but this was to restructure and ended up closing 700 stores that were under-performing. There is little to no evidence that Mattress Firm has even laundered money, but what is true is that their presence is saturated across the country.
