The Sleep Train
Sleep Train is one of the top three mattress retailers in the United States and the largest on the West Coast.[1] It was founded by Dale Carlsen in June 1985. Sleep Train stores carry mattresses manufactured by Sealy, Stearns & Foster, Simmons, Vera Wang by Serta, and Tempur-Pedic. Sleep Train also carries headboards by Fashion Bed Group and Modus International, as well as a variety of bedding accessories. It is based in Rocklin, California. Since 2006, owner The Sleep Train Inc. has also owned the Sleep Country USA chain, in the Pacific Northwest, and Sleep Country USA, Inc., is a subsidiary of Sleep Train.[2]
History
In June 2000, Sleep Train sold 24 of its stores (mainly in Seattle and Portland), or about 30 percent of its business, to Fenway Partners,[3] a New York private-investment firm which had acquired Sleep Country USA, a competing chain established in 1991, three months earlier.[4][5] At the time, Sleep Train had 44 stores (of which 18 were in Washington) and Sleep Country USA 28.[4]
In 2002, Sleep Train Inc. announced plans to purchase 54 of Mattress Discounters' stores in California during that company's bankruptcy—which would more than double Sleep Train's size.[6] In 2003, Fenway Partners sold Sleep Country USA to the Atlanta-based Simmons Company,[5] and in August 2006, Sleep Train Inc. purchased the then-55-store Sleep Country USA chain from Simmons.[7]
In August 2007, Sleep Train was awarded the title of "Best Mattress/Bed Store" by a reader's poll conducted by the San Diego Union Tribune.[8]
Sleep Train is the corporate sponsor of the Sleep Train Pavilion and Sleep Train Amphitheater.
See also
References
- ^ Nancy Butler, Retail Road Trip - The selling scene, SleepSavvy January/February 2007 edition
- ^ "Company profile: Sleep Country USA, Inc.". Bloomberg Businessweek. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=107010. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
- ^ Johnson, Kelly (June 11, 2000). "Sleep Train sells off 24 stores for cash in Seattle, Portland". Sacramento Business Journal. http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2000/06/12/story8.html. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
- ^ a b Lee, Thomas (March 3, 2000). "N.Y. firm acquires Sleep Country". The Seattle Times. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20000303&slug=4008202. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
- ^ a b Levesque, John (August 9, 2009). "Sleep Country jingle has been waking up the Northwest for 18 years". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Sleep-Country-jingle-has-been-waking-up-the-1305868.php. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
- ^ Johnson, Kelly (October 23, 2002). "Sleep Train agrees to buy 54 stores". Sacramento Business Journal. http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2002/10/21/daily25.html. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
- ^ "Sleep Train purchases Sleep Country USA". Sacramento Business Journal. August 30, 2006. http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2006/08/28/daily22.html?surround=lfn. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
- ^ Readers' choices unveiled, San Diego Union Tribune, August 1, 2007
Additional references
- Nancy J. Kim, Sleep Train rumbles full steam into the heart of Sleep Country, Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle), May 16, 1997
- Kelly Johnson, Sleep Train zips into Bay Area, Sacramento Business Journal - February 20, 1998
- Kelly Johnson, Sleep Train chugs along with multi-city expansion, Sacramento Business Journal - August 21, 1998
- Shannon McMahon and David Washburn, Rain casts pall on trips to the mall, San Diego Union Tribune, February 22, 2005
- Mattress chain vaults the Sierra Nevada with latest expansion, Sacramento Business Journal, January 12, 2007
- Sacramento mattress mogul marks 25 years of Sleep Train, Darrell Smith, The Sacramento Bee, June 23, 2010
External links