Mattress World, the longtime Portland company with the advertising jingle most likely to stick in your head, will jingle no more.



The 15-year-old company is closing seven of its stores except two -- in Canby and Northeast Portland -- that owner Sherri Hiner said were considered a part of her company but are independently operated.



Hiner said her company collapsed under the one-two punch of the recession and an unexpected $2 million tax bill from the state of Washington. Hiner, who had been featured in her company's commercials through the years along with her family, began a series of liquidation sales in mid-November but maintained through early December that she was simply holding an aggressive sale to help her business get back on track.



Hiner said she was dinged by the state of Washington for selling and delivering mattresses to Washington residents without collecting sales taxes. Hiner, who said the state audited her files back to 2003, said she wasn't aware she had to collect sales taxes if she didn't have a physical store in that state.



"We are at full operation and all our stores will remain open," Hiner said in mid-November. "We just had to take a breather over this Washington state thing and we're getting back to care about our customers again."



But on Dec. 30, Hiner posted a cryptic letter to her web site saying, "I believe in being responsible for my choices...



"I would like everyone to understand that no one at Mattress World is responsible but me, Sherri Hiner," she wrote. "The staff and family members were not given enough information to take care of you in the manner of which we pride ourselves."



Mattress World racked up 10 consumer complaints with the Oregon Attorney General's Office within the past two months. Overall, the company has a total of 21 complaints dating back to 2008.



-- Laura Gunderson

