Former Mattress Firm Executive Becomes Franchisee

Furniture World Magazine

Mattress Firm, Inc., one of the nation’s leading specialty mattress retailers, announced that it has agreed to terms with a new franchisee, Blue Ocean Waters, LLC. Blue Ocean Waters opened its first Mattress Firm location in the Colonial Promenade Shopping Center at 60 Colonial Promenade Parkway in Alabaster, Ala., a sprawling suburb of Birmingham, Ala., on July 20. The company has aggressive plans to open several additional locations throughout the Birmingham region over the coming months and years, including three additional stores before the end of 2007. This will mark Mattress Firm’s entrance into the state of Alabama, its 21st state. Blue Ocean Waters president Mike Shaw has a unique understanding of Mattress Firm as he previously served as the company’s director of marketing and advertising for five years. He left that role in 2006, but remained involved on a consulting basis. Prior to his time in the corporate office, Shaw was a Mattress Firm franchisee in Hartford, Conn. from 1999-2001, operating seven stores throughout the region. “I am extremely excited to once again be working with the Mattress Firm team in a full-time capacity, and to be a part of the company’s plans for future growth,” said Shaw. “As a former franchisee and from my previous role with corporate, I know the respect that the Mattress Firm brand commands in markets all across the country, and I am thrilled to be able to bring the company’s unique shopping experience to the Birmingham community.” “Given his industry knowledge and previous experience as both a franchisee and as a key member of our corporate team, we are confident that Mike will be an excellent representative of the Mattress Firm brand and will quickly achieve success in this new venture,” said Gary Fazio, CEO of Mattress Firm. The new Alabaster location will be a Mattress Firm SuperCenter location, offering a specially-merchandised Clearance Center which offers customers dramatic savings on an assortment of special buy and overstock mattresses, as well as a Value Center offering an assortment of value-priced bedding. The SuperCenter store features over 55 models of such leading brands as Sealy®, Simmons®, and Stearns & Foster® as well as the latest in pressure relieving sleep technology from Tempur-Pedic®. The design of the new store will incorporate the standard Mattress Firm layout which features a combination of wood flooring, ceramic tile and carpet throughout, along with artwork and natural wood fixtures accented by a warm color palette to create a comfortable, home-like look and feel. The “racetrack” floor plan allows customers to easily move throughout the store to browse and compare the different styles and brands, which are arranged by comfort level (pillowtop, plush, firm), features (memory foam, air, latex) and price. The new store will also offer the company’s “Red Carpet” same day delivery service along with comfort satisfaction and price guarantees. Store hours are from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday –Saturday and noon – 6 p.m. on Sunday. Mattress Firm currently operates 400 stores in 35 markets across 20 states. With this agreement and new store opening, Mattress Firm will expand to 36 markets in 21 states. The Birmingham market is the first new franchised market to open since 2004. Additional Mattress Firm franchise markets and number of locations include Denver, CO (14); Wichita, KS (3); Ft. Wayne, IN (3); Toledo, OH (5); Buffalo, NY (5); Albuquerque, NM (7); El Paso, TX (4), Corpus Christi, TX (2); McAllen, TX (2). About Mattress Firm Houston-based Mattress Firm (www.mattressfirm.com) is America’s preferred specialty mattress company and the nation’s largest specialty retailer of top-of-the-line Sealy products. Founded in 1986, Mattress Firm’s knowledgeable sales staff, broad product offering and competitive prices have fueled the company’s growth to more than 400 stores in 36 markets.