Mattress Firm to shut 6 New Jersey stores

HOUSTON — Six stores in New Jersey will be among the first 200 Mattress Firm locations to close within the next few days following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

The company, the nation's largest mattress retailer, announced Friday it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and that 700 stores across the country will close in order "to strengthen its balance sheet and optimize its store footprint" in areas where where there are too many locations close to each other.

Mattress Firm has 104 locations in New Jersey.

The company acquired 1,000 Sleepy's locations in 2015, leaving it with multiple stores in the same market.

The New Jersey stores that will be closed:

• East Windsor: 557 Route 130 North
• Hammonton: 80 South Whitehorse
• Lawrence: 3231 Brunswick Pike
• Newark: 92 Ferry Street
• Parsippany: 745 Route 46
• Saddle Brook: 243 Route 46.

The company, founded in 1986, has sales of more than $3 billion. But in court documents, the company said in fiscal year 2018, it is projected to lose about $150 million.

According to court documents, Mattress Firm has more than $1 billion in liabilities and has more than 50,000 creditors. It owes its largest creditor, Atlanta-based mattress maker Simmons Manufacturing Co., nearly $65 million.

The closures are just the latest in a year that saw Sears, Kmart, Bon Ton, Annie Sez, Toys R Us, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, and Bertucci's all shut down locations in New Jersey.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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