Happy Sleeper Mattress Hires Casey Powell, Director of Retail Development

Furniture World Magazine

Happy Sleeper Mattress and Sofa Factory Stores, a Midwestern furniture chain, recently hired Casey Powell as Director of Retail Development. Powell will be responsible for developing new licensee and corporate stores. Powell has broad experience within the furniture industry, serving as a managerial, marketing and promotional consultant. Happy Sleeper has embarked upon an ambitious expansion program. Because of the success of their licensee stores, the company plans to double the number of stores within three years. Happy Sleeper has two furniture factories in Wisconsin. Mattresses are manufactured in Eau Claire; upholstered furniture and futons are produced at their facility in Fort Atkinson. These products, along with other national brand furniture, are sold at Happy Sleeper home furnishing factory stores. Founded in 1895, Happy Sleeper has remained a privately held company, which until recently, has focused upon upgrading their present locations rather than adding new stores. "Every year throughout the 1990's, we received inquiries from furniture stores asking about rebranding to Happy Sleeper. In response to this interest, we decided in late 1997 to begin an aggressive expansion program beginning in 2000. In the meantime, we had to make certain the company was ready," Dan Leavitt, Happy Sleeper president, said. During the past few years, the firm has prepared for expansion through upgrading their operational structure and expanding manufacturing capacity. Plant square footage dedicated to producing mattresses, upholstered furniture and futons has increased from 55,000 to 120,000. The Happy Sleeper home office is located at 2110 Western Avenue in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.