Better Bedding focuses on roots
David Perry -- Furniture Today, March 27, 2005
East Hartford, Conn. — The "Bedding Brothers" at Better Bedding are products of their hometown who don't want to look too far afield for more growth.
John and Tom Wholley grew up in South Windsor, a town in the greater Hartford area. Their 18-store operation is based here, and the company has a strong presence in this market.
But Better Bedding has the professional look of a much bigger company. "A lot of people think we are much bigger than we are," said John Wholley, president. "We don't have a homemade-looking image. We have a very clean image."
The company's stores are concentrated in the central Connecticut corridor, and also reach up into Massachusetts. The Wholleys are looking for additional store locations, but want to stay true to their roots.
"Quite some time ago, we had thought about entering the Boston and Providence markets," Tom said. "But that was more than we were prepared to handle. Our wives knocked us upside our head and said they wanted to see us every night. It was a quality-of-life decision."
"Do we really want to take our eye off our backyard?" John said. "You can get too big."
Possible areas of expansion include western Massachusetts and Connecticut, "minus Fairfield County," he added.
Today the Wholleys live near where they both grew up. "This is home for us," John said. And it will be for a long time to come.
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