Eight Pennsylvania stores are among 200 under the Mattress Firm umbrella that will close in the coming days after the Texas company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week.
Mattress Firm, the largest mattress specialty retailer now owned by South Africa-based Steinhoff International Holdings, announced in November 2015 it would acquire the Sleepy's chain for $780 million, according to the New York Post. It also bought Mattress Giant four years before that, and currently owns the Sleep Train Brand.
The company said it plans to close roughly 700 of its stores in total, and hopes to complete a prepackaged restructuring in coming months.
In Pennsylvania, no Lehigh Valley locations are being affected. Most of the former Sleepy's locations, including stores in Bethlehem Township, Palmer Township, Lower Nazareth Township, Whitehall Township, Upper Macungie Township and Allentown are now "Mattress Firm" stores.
In New Jersey, no Warren County locations are affected; the closures are all Sleepy's locations in East Windsor, Parsippany, Newark, Hammonton and Lawrence.
Across Pennsylvania, the closures are at these locations: 5110 Library Road, Bethel Park, Allegheny County; 445 West Dekalb Pike, King of Prussia, Montgomery County; 1256 Millersville Lancaster, Lancaster County;35 Willowdale Drive Lancaster, Lancaster County, 901 East Main Street Space No. 20, Palmyra, Lebanon County; 1619 Grant Avenue, Grant Plaza, Suite 1 Philadelphia; 3400 North 5th St., Reading, Berks County; and 472 Shrewsbury Commons Ave., Shrewsbury, York County.
Mattress Firm representatives stated in court records the company's previous management team had made several miscalculations as it rebranded more than 1,300 stores it had bought from competitors in the last two years. Currently, the retailer has more than 3,200 stores in 49 states.
"While these acquisitions allowed (Mattress Firm) to achieve ... presence in markets where they previously had little to no presence, they also led to 'cannibalization' of sales amongst stores in close proximity to each other," the company said. "As a result, many Mattress Firm stores are in direct competition with other Mattress Firm stores, resulting in disappointing sales."
The company, founded in 1986, has sales of more than $3 billion. But in court documents, the company said in fiscal year 2018, it is projected to lose about $150 million.
In 2016, Mattress Firm was acquired by Steinhoff International Holdings for $3.8 billion.
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.