Mattress Firm, which operates three stores in the immediate area including at Colesville Road and Fenton Street, has filed for bankruptcy, the company announced today.
“Leading up to the holiday shopping season, we will exit up to 700 stores in certain markets where we have too many locations in close proximity to each other,” said Steve Stagner, executive chairman, president and CEO of Mattress Firm.
The company said it intends to close about 200 stores, “in the next few days. Decisions about additional store closings will be made in the next few weeks.”
Today’s announcement of a Chapter 11 filing did not detail which stores would be closing. In addition to the downtown Silver Spring location, Mattress Firm operates stores in the Burnt Mills Shopping Center and in White Oak, both of which previously had been Sleepy’s stores.
In November 2015, the company agreed to acquire all outstanding equity interest in the holding company of Sleepy’s for about $780 million, according to company documents, and rebranded those locations.
Mattress Firm was then acquired for $3.8 billion in September 2016 by Steinhoff International, an integrated retailer that manufactures, sources and retails furniture, household goods and general merchandise worldwide.
Mattress Firm has about 3,500 stores nationwide, making it the largest mattress specialty retailer in the country, but has been facing increasing competition from online outlets such as Casper, and an accounting scandal involving its corporate parent.
Photo of Mattress Firm in downtown Silver Spring by Mike Diegel.