GARDENA, Calif. — A keen foresight to boost its inventory by 50% last spring gave 37-store Sit ‘n Sleep a leg up when consumers started investing in new mattresses and furniture during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns and subsequent product shortages.
The West Coast retail powerhouse took a gamble and went big with its orders to fill its warehouses to the brim, believing a supply chain issue was building. It took cash flow and forethought, both of which Sit ‘n Sleep had.
Non-essential businesses were shuttered the third week of March in California, and Sit ‘n Sleep reopened two day before Memorial Day, a key selling weekend for mattresses and home furnishings, with safety protocols in place in all of the stores. And upon opening, business went through the roof.
That was the signal Nelson Bercier, Sit ‘n Sleep president, needed to start filling the warehouse. He and the Sit ‘n Sleep team went to work placing orders with key vendors to ready for the onslaught.
“We stocked our warehouse to the max so that we had eight weeks’ worth of inventory on hand,” he said, adding that the retailer has worked diligently to hold fast at those levels. “We have a very healthy inventory, and we are filling in the back end of the train all of the time.”
The ability to secure such a depth of products speaks to the retailer’s financial strength and strong cash flow, as well as its fierce vendor partnerships that have been built over the years.
When other retailers were challenged in getting orders in to meet consumer demand, Sit ‘n Sleep had options available to meet the need. Both Bercier and Larry Miller, CEO and partner, credit their longtime partners with helping keep their stores well-stocked for the crush.
“Nelson’s foresight to increase our inventory levels helped immensely,” Miller said. “Fortunately, we had the financial strength to do it.”
Vendor partnerships
The retailer’s lineup includes Beautyrest, King Koil, Kingsdown, Sealy, Serta, Stearns & Foster, Tempurpedic and Classic Brands, as well as Nectar and Leesa.
“Just as we take care of our external and internal guests, our partners helped us weather the pandemic,” Miller said. “If you take good care of people and do the right thing, you will be OK. We’re going to be OK.”
As the largest family-owned mattress retailer in California, Sit ‘n Sleep was founded in 1979 by Miller and his father Phillip Miller. Today, the chain is run by Miller and Bercier who work in tandem to manage the day-to-day operations. Now, 41 years and counting, the company boasts 37 stores, a call center and e-commerce site.
“When I look back on it, if people had told me back then that we’d be doing what we are doing today, I would have had them carried away in a straitjacket,” Miller said.
Miller admits that going into the shutdown he was uncertain of what would happen to the 41-year-old company.
“2020 was a year of change and huge challenge,” he said. “When we closed down, I didn’t know if we were going to be able to reopen. We had concerns about how long the pandemic would last, concern for those we love and, of course, concern for our people.”
A message that resonates
In addition to ramping up its inventory levels, the company shifted its advertising message away for sales and savings to a more heartfelt message that resonated with what consumers were thinking and feeling.
Miller, who is the official spokesperson known throughout Southern California for the many television spots the company runs, took to the airwaves and shared consumers’ concerns.
“It was just me speaking from my heart out of concern for our community and our world,” Miller said. “It was less hype and more caring. We also changed up our media mix to include more online advertising to capture consumers where they were.”
That ethos of caring isn’t something that is new for the company. Sit ‘n Sleep is a strong support of its communities and is known for its ongoing contributions to a variety of organizations, including first responders, shelters and transition houses.
“It’s what being part of a community and giving back to the society. That’s part of our core,” Miller said. “All of that translates into being great to our internal team and treating them the way they want to be treated, which in turn goes over to our guests. It’s more than just making a sell; it’s about taking care of the customer after we’ve delivered.”
When the duo looks at the final tally for 2020, it looks like a great year in the accounting department.
“When we look at it from a management point of view, it was the most stressful year in our history,” Bercier said. “The fear factor was tremendous, but we made it. If you live your life without challenges, then you haven’t really lived.”
