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Mattress Direct Connects With Its Customers, Peers

David Perry -- Furniture Today, August 25, 2011

Lee, left, and Kim Burns and Allyson and Ty Hingle celebrate 10 years of success at Mattress Direct.BATON ROUGE, La. - The soulful notes of Kermit Ruffins tap out a jazzy music jingle for Mattress Direct. This Gulf Coast mattress retailer is playing a growth tune.
     Ten years after the company was launched by Lee and Kim Burns, the company has grown to 26 stores in four states. It has opened three stores so far this year.
     The latest store opening was on Veterans Highway in New Orleans, and that punctuated the 10- year celebration led by the Burnses and by their partners Ty and Allyson Hingle.
     "We designed the new store to have a home feeling," Lee Burns said. "Customers try out mattresses in a bedroom setting for the full experience." It's working.
     The company has been enjoying double-digit sales gains of late, a significant achievement in an industry that still faces a challenging sales climate.
     Mattress Direct is part of the America's Mattress network of Serta-supported sleep shops, which ranks among the nation's largest sleep shop chains. The collegial spirit among those retailers is big plus, Burns said.
     "We were recently in Portland meeting with some friends who also have mattress stores to learn from one another," he said. "That is a great benefit of the America's Mattress program."
     Burns credits "a great relationship with Serta" with helping the business grow over the years.
     His stores, which carry the Mattress Direct and America's Mattress names, are located across the Gulf Coast. There is one store in Pensacola, Fla., five in south Alabama and six in Mississippi, with the balance in southern Louisiana.
     The retailer carries a full line of Serta mattresses, of course, and also includes memory foam leader Tempur-Pedic in the mix. "We have been blessed to be partnered with the top two mattress brands," Burns said.
     Serta's new iComfort line of gel memory foams is doing well for Mattress Direct these days, according to Burns.
     He and the Hingles focus on giving their customers a better night of sleep. "We are dedicated to supplying the public with as high a quality of life as possible," Burns said.
     The company's site - www.mdserta.com - and its Facebook page aim to provide consumers with a relaxed setting in which to learn more about the mattress choices that await them.
Retail Bedding Playbook is a regular feature about mattress retailers by David Perry, bedding editor. Ideas for future coverage can be shared with Dave at dperry@furnituretoday.com.

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