Mattress Firm Sued In Wash. Over Unfair Pay, Declares Bankruptcy

BELLEVUE, WA - The Houston-based retailer Mattress Firm announced Friday it will close about 700 stores as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing. The announcement comes two days after a Washington man filed a class action lawsuit against Mattress Firm over wage violations.

The decision to close stores in certain markets was made because there are "too many locations in close proximity to each other," the company said in a news release. As many as 200 stores could close in the coming days. Specific locations were not announced Friday.

"We intend to use the additional liquidity from these actions to improve our product offering, provide greater value to our customers, open new stores in new markets, and strategically expand in existing markets where we see the greatest opportunities to serve our customers," Steve Stagner, president and CEO of Mattress Firm, said in the news release.

The lead plaintiff in the class action suit against Mattress Firm is Spencer McCulloh, who worked at a Bellevue store between 2017 and 2018. The suit alleges that Mattress Firm paid employees at a commission-based rate during times when they should have been paid a regular hourly wage - like during lunch breaks or for tasks like cleaning. There are at least 100 other employees that may have be part of the suit.

In another lawsuit, the company's former chairman and billionaire Christo Wiese is suing Mattress Firm parent company Steinhoff International Holdings NV, a South African holding company, for $4 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Mattress Firm was founded in 1986 and before today's news, had more than 3,000 stores, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Patch reporter Fernando Alfonso contributed to this report

Photo via Getty Images