MERCHANDISING AND STRATEGY CHANGES
A glance at retailers that are restrategizing
Posted September 2006
California-based Sleep Train acquires local Sleep Country USA
Sleep Country USA is being sold to California-based The Sleep Train Inc. for $55 million.
The deal includes the Sleep Country USA's 55 stores across Washington and Oregon. Once completed, the Kent retailer will be part of the West Coast's largest mattress retailer.
Sleep Country USA was owned by one of the world's largest mattress manufacturers, Atlanta-based Simmons. As part of the deal, Sleep Country USA and Sleep Train agreed to a multi-year contract to sell Simmons mattresses, expected to ring in sales of more than $300 million. The Sleep Train already is one of Simmons' largest bedding resellers.
The all-cash deal is expected to close by August 2006 with present management staying in place throughout the transition.
The Sleep Train is among the fastest growing chains in the furniture industry, adding 13 stores between 2004 and 2005; the Sacramento-area company has a total of 131 retail units. Other furniture stores operating in the Pacific Northwest that are rapidly adding to their store counts include Pier 1 Imports, Select Comfort, Design Within Reach and Bassett Furniture.
Tully's offering free Internet access for its wired customers
Tully's Coffee, founded in Seattle in 1992, is changing from a pay-as-you-go business model to an all-you-can-drink free model - for its wireless Internet services, that is.
In a move designed to win more customers as well as keep current patrons happy, the Seattle company is opening its Wi-Fi access to all. Many smaller coffeehouses have long made wireless Internet access available to encourage use as a gathering place or conduct business meetings. The move should prove to be popular in the Seattle area, ranked by Intel in 2005 as the country's most wireless-enabled metropolitan area based on the number of commercial and free Internet access points.
The service provides high-speed Internet access at 79 company-owned stores in Washington, California and Idaho, though not all franchised stores are expected to offer the service gratis.
Prior to the strategy change, Tully's charged $3.95 per day, $19.99 per month or allowed people to use the bandwidth through cooperative agreements with subscription services like Boingo Wireless or iPass.
Cross-town rival Starbucks charges $9.99 a day or $39.99 a month for its in-store wireless plans that it operates in conjunction with T-Mobile.
Forth and Towne debuting at Pacific Place and Alderwood
Seattle-area women are the target of Gap Inc.'s new apparel concept, Forth and Towne, that it started last August. By the end of this year, Gap will open stores in Seattle's Pacific Place and Lynnwood's Alderwood shopping center.
The clothing stores are aimed at women who appreciate fit and style and that wear sizes 2 - 20. Four distinct clothing lines include Allegory, Gap Edition, Prize and Vocabulary. Grand fitting salons are featured in each location. In addition, individual fitting rooms offer three-way mirrors, seating and adjustable lighting so women will know if the outfits look right, no matter the occasion.
The stores are part of a nationwide expansion for the apparel chain. With locations already in Chicago and New York and seven new markets and 14 locations on the way, the chain is really taking off. Among the areas on the expansion list are Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles and San Diego.
Plans call for grand openings at the Pacific Place location by October and the Alderwood location by November - just in time for the holiday shopping season.