Mattress Firm CEO and president to step down in March

Mattress Firm chairman Steve Stagner said in late December that the Houston-based bedding retailer planned to close 200 of its stores within the next 18 months in a bid to improve performance as parent company Steinhoff International grapples with a deepening financial scandal. The company, which has about 3,400 locations, including this one at 3845 Southwest Freeway in Houston, hasn't said which locations are on the chopping block. less Mattress Firm chairman Steve Stagner said in late December that the Houston-based bedding retailer planned to close 200 of its stores within the next 18 months in a bid to improve performance as parent ... more Photo: Bill Montgomery, Houston Chronicle Photo: Bill Montgomery, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Mattress Firm CEO and president to step down in March 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Mattress Firm CEO and president Ken Murphy will step down in March after two years at the helm, the company said Friday.

Executive chairman Steve Stagner, who served as the company's CEO from 2010 to 2016, will resume that role on March 1.

The release stated that the joint decision by Murphy and the board of directors "reflects the need for a singular voice of leadership" for the company.

"I am confident in the future of Mattress Firm, and bringing Steve back as CEO is the right thing to do for the next chapter of the business," Murphy said in a prepared statement. "It's bittersweet to step down, but I am incredibly proud of the success we have built together."

Mattress Firm declined to provide further comment or interviews with its executives.

The decision comes amid a sweeping accounting investigation of Mattress Firm's parent company, Steinhoff International. The South African retail conglomerate became embroiled in a financial scandal last month when it admitted to "account irregularities" that could affect some $7 billion in assets.

During Murphy's 20 years at the company, Mattress Firm grew from a small chain to the nation's largest mattress retailer. Murphy, in his executive role, guided the company's rapid expansion in recent years and oversaw its $3.8 billion acquisition by Steinhoff in September 2016.

From funeral homes to hatters, some of Houston area's oldest businesses have thrived and survived in the region for more than a century. Like the Humble Oil and Refining Company (a company filling station pictured above), an ancestor of Exxon, some of these businesses have undergone significant changes over the year.

>>>Take a look at the oldest businesses in the Greater Houston area ... less From funeral homes to hatters, some of Houston area's oldest businesses have thrived and survived in the region for more than a century. Like the Humble Oil and Refining Company (a company filling station ... more Photo: Houston Metropolitan Research Ce Photo: Houston Metropolitan Research Ce Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close Century-old businesses in the Houston area 1 / 38 Back to Gallery





