Rival to Acquire Mattress Discounters

The second-largest U.S. mattress company yesterday announced plans to acquire Mattress Discounters, of Upper Marlboro, as part of a quest to become the nation's top bedding retailer.

Mattress Firm, of Houston, has in recent months acquired Phoenix-based Metropolitan Mattress and said it would bring on Bedtime Mattress, of Las Vegas. Both announcements follow Mattress Firm's sale to a Boston equity firm with designs on expanding the company's reach.

While retail mattress sales have grown over the past 25 years, the industry is still dominated by mom-and-pop retailers, a spokesman for Mattress Firm said yesterday.

"We believe we have an opportunity to bring a broader selection and better service in more of a specialty retail environment and to do that . . . coast to coast," said spokesman Jeff Lambert. The company's goal, he said, is to move into every major metropolitan market and then expand to second-tier cities.

By acquiring Mattress Discounters, Mattress Firm would have 500 retail mattress stores, the most in the United States, Lambert said. Its biggest competitor, Minneapolis-based Select Comfort, has 440.

Measured by annual sales compiled by the industry publication Furniture Today, Select Comfort is the largest U.S. bedding company, with $588 million in sales in 2005, compared with Mattress Firm's $328 million and Mattress Discounters with $100 million.

Mattress Firm's acquisition of Mattress Discounters would give it retail stores in Maryland, the District, Virginia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. All the stores will be rebranded as Mattress Firm stores once the acquisition is completed, officials said. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"It really is a nice piece of the puzzle they're adding to their portfolio, as Northeast is an extremely strong market, with all its major population centers," said David Perry, bedding editor of Furniture Today.

Both companies carry similar products and are known for their customer service, he said.

Company officials said that no layoffs are planned and that Mattress Firm wants to maintain all of its stores in 40 U.S. markets.

"I believe that this is a tremendous opportunity for the vast majority of our 500 employees," said Mattress Discounters chief executive Steve Newton. "It was very clear to us that Mattress Firm was an excellent cultural fit, and . . . I believe that our people and our company will continue to prosper and grow."