Innovative Mattress Solutions, a Kentucky-based mattress retailer, is the latest mattress company to declare bankruptcy. On Friday, Tempur Sealy International, announced it would provide $14 million debtor-in-assistance relief to IMS, pending approval from a bankruptcy court. IMS has long been a retailer for Tempur Sealy mattresses, including its well-known Tempur-Pedic brand.
Innovative Mattress Solutions operates 142 stores under the names Mattress King, Mattress Warehouse, and Sleep Outfitters, located mostly in the southeastern United States. The company’s chapter 11 bankruptcy process will likely be completed during the first half of 2019.
Tempur Sealy chairman and chief executive Scott Thompson said in a statement that his company believed that the mattress retailer’s “overextended retail footprint and thin capital structure were not designed to effectively respond to the competitive pressures of the recent retail environment.” He praised IMS for serving over one million customers since it was founded in 1983 and for building “equity for their and our brands in their markets.”
In recent years, the traditional mattress industry has been undergoing a serious wake-up call thanks to e-commerce startups including Casper cutting out the need for in-store visits. Sleep is big business nowadays, and the focus of new books and startups focused on everything from sleep-aiding apps to affordable luxury bedding.