Mattress Firm to close 200 stores

A Mattress Firm recently opened at the intersection of Rand and Dundee roads in Palatine. The company announced it is closing 200 underperforming stores, but hasn't said where. Daily Herald File Photo, July 2017

Houston-based retailer Mattress Firm announced plans to close about 200 underperforming stores.

The company would not say Wednesday which stores are closing. Local stores are found in a number of suburbs including Antioch, Arlington Heights, Aurora, Elmhurst, Palatine, Kildeer, Mundelein and Schaumburg.

"We will not be announcing specific stores at this time, however, optimizing our fleet has always been a part of our strategic road map and we continuously evaluate duplicative or underperforming stores with this intention," said Randy Carlin, chief real estate officer at Mattress Firm. "Any potential closures over the course of the next 18 months are a result of ongoing, case-by-case evaluations of stores and lease end dates and are not specific to any geographical market."

In addition, he said that new stores will continue to open. "We continue to open stores in under-penetrated and new markets so that we may best serve the local community and our employees."

The announcement to close stores came at a recent meeting following Mattress Firm's purchase a year ago by Steinhoff International Holdings NV for $3.8 billion.

Currently, Mattress Firm has about 3,400 stores across the U.S.

Mattress Firm generated about $2.6 billion in revenue from its stores for the nine months that ended June 30, according to its website.

Mattress Firm Chairman Steve Stagner said at a Dec. 19 lenders' meeting for Steinhoff International that the stores will close to help reach $4 billion in revenue over the next five years.