Mattress Firm files for bankruptcy, will close up to 700 stores

Mattress Firm, the largest bedding retailer in the country, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday and plans to close up to 700 underperforming stores.

The Houston-based company plans to stay in business but said it will close 200 stores immediately and make decisions on another 500 underperforming ones in an attempt to accelerate the restructuring of the company, CNN reported. Mattress Firm has about 3,300 locations nationwide.

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"We will continue to provide unmatched value to our customers by offering the best quality beds at prices that fit any budget today, tomorrow and into the future," CEO Steve Stagner told CNN.

The company said it plans to exit bankruptcy in two months.

The company has struggled with competitors as well as expansion, cannibalizing sales at its own stores. Mattress Firm bought Sleepy’s in 2016 and Mattress Giant in 2012, with many stores near one another.

Steinhold International, the South African-based retail conglomerate that owns Mattress Firm, will provide financing of the restructuring, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The struggling company was caught in an accounting scandal in December and its CEO resigned, The Wall Street Journal reported. The company reached a deal with its creditors in July to suspend payments on its debt for three years.

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