Mattress Firm prepping bankruptcy filing: Report
Fox Business Outlook: The largest mattress retailer in the country exploring its money options and reportedly sees bankruptcy as a way to get out of costly leases and shut down some locations.
Mattress Firm, the nation’s largest mattress retailer, could file for bankruptcy by as soon as this week in a bid to escape expensive store leases amid the rise of e-commerce competitors.
Once initiated, the bankruptcy process would likely be completed within a few months and result in an undetermined number of store closures, Reuters reported, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter. Mattress Firm is said to be confident that it will repay its vendors in full.
Mattress Firm and its parent company, Steinhoff International Holdings, have yet to publicly comment on the report.
Mattress Firm, which has about 3,000 stores in the U.S., is one of many domestic retailers who have struggled to grow sales and maintain store traffic amid the rise of e-commerce. New competitors such as Casper Sleep and Leesa Mattresses have embraced a digital-first, direct-to-consumer sales model.
E-commerce giant Amazon recently began selling mattresses on its AmazonBasics platform.
Casper said in August that it would open about 200 brick-and-mortar store locations at top-tier malls around the country. The company has raised more than $240 million in total private funding and amassed more than $600 million in sales since its founding.
Mattress Firm would join more than 20 other retailers that have filed for bankruptcy since 2017, including Toys “R” Us.