Bruising battle between Sleepy's and Dial finally ends
Now that Sleepy’s $25 million buyout bid has been approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Brooklyn, the battle for 1800mattress.com (formerly Dial-A-Mattress) is essentially over.
Of course, it will be months – possibly even years – before unsecured creditors of the bankrupt retailer see any of the money they are owed, but the question over the company’s ownership has its final answer.
Sleepy’s, the sleep shop behemoth that was ranked No. 11 on our latest Top 100 list, probably will close the last of 1800mattress.com’s brick-and-mortar stores in short order. But the company did tell the court it will maintain the lease on the former rival’s warehouse and call center in Long Island City.
We hope Sleepy’s will keep those facilities running well beyond the lease’s expiration in two years, but we have an uneasy feeling that won’t happen. We suspect Sleepy’s is paying $25 million to make sure a once-powerful competitor doesn’t re-emerge.
After all, they had been fierce competitors in the rough-and-tumble New York market for more than two decades. Sleepy’s executives often complained that 1800mattress.com’s telephone sales people routinely told consumers to find a mattress they like at Sleepy’s, and then call back to get a better price.
1800mattress.com, on the other hand, complained that Sleepy’s salespeople routinely called their famous toll-free number to ask for prices on certain models – and went back to their store and lowered them accordingly.
Naturally, each side always denied the other party’s allegations, but suffice it to say there was no love lost between the two.
As in any bankruptcy proceeding, there already have been a lot of losers in the 1800mattress.com case. But if Sleepy’s fails to keep 1800mattress.com’s telephone and Internet business alive, the mattress industry and New York-area consumers will be added to the list.
J. DUBOIS commented:
I recently went to a Sleepys in Woonsocket, RI and I had a great experience. I found the special machine very credible and helped me select a mattress for me and my wife. The store manager Eric was very knowledgeable and he showed a genuine concern for us finding something that would serve our needs. I really had a positive experience.
CATUS 7 commented:
sleepy s will be a 1 billion company with this merger you will see them doing 20% of there revenue from the internet and there new call center the way to buy a mattress is changing and they are changing with it
DURISIMO commented:
sleepys is the worse mattress company to shop
i prefer buy for someone else!!!!!!!
Tired commented:
Sleepys is the most expensive store I found. I went into Raymour and Flanagan and the price on the same Sealy was 1/3 lower. Same was true on some other mattresses from web retailers.
Plus, Sleepys does not honor its 20% or lower guarantee very readily. Unless the mattress is an exact duplicate, they simply say their mattress is an upgrade so all they will do is match the price in that case.
Jenn M. commented:
This is really quite sad as now Sleepy's has basically a complete control on the market in the NJ & NY area. They took out Rockaway bedding a couple years ago, and now 1-800-Mattress. So much for having options and no monopolies.
mel b. commented:
not with Sleepys. The store is the only way --they can put you on a bogus machine and overcharge you on a brand you can't shop.
catus commented:
correct Sleepy s will keep the call center and
turn it into a major way of doing business other
than the brick and mortar stores as the cost structure is a lot less and the future is the internet and chat The way of buying a mattress
is shifting
