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Once again, it’s time for Home Furnishings Business to celebrate its Newsmaker of the Year (NOTY) issue, an annual feature that recognizes executives who have had the most impact on the industry over the previous 12 months.
This year’s Newsmakers—Mattress Firm CEO Gary Fazio and President and COO Steve Stagner—have changed the bedding landscape by adding nearly 200 stores across the country to become a nationally known bedding retailer with 530 stores. As it has expanded into new markets, Mattress Firm has gained a reputation for continually striving to upgrade the “sleep shop” experience.
In a field where under-financed operators can open a store for a few thousand dollars, the Mattress Firm invests nearly 50 percent more than most sleep chains to build impressive stores on heavily traveled corners, and it invests even more in training employees, to help take the confusion out of a mattress-buying process that has become even more complicated with the rise of specialty bedding and other alternatives to traditional mattresses.
A new initiative, “Comfort by Color,” injects a dose of color to mattress stores that had been dominated by shades of white, while giving customers the power—and the knowledge—to guide themselves through the selection process, with help when it’s needed.
NOTY is a tradition that started six years ago with InFurniture Magazine, which HFB acquired in 2006. Fazio and Stagner join a short and exclusive list of NOTY recipients. Previous Newsmakers have included Neil, Michael and Steven Goldberg of Raymour & Flanigan (2007); Ron and Todd Wanek of Ashley Furniture (2006); Keith Koenig of City Furniture (2005); Vaughan Bassett CEO John Bassett III (2003); and the late Laurence “Larry” Moh of Fine Furniture (2002).
Positive Discontent
A sense of never being satisfied, even when things are going well, has been a force behind the strong growth of Mattress Firm. After opening more than 180 stores in two years, Mattress Firm has established itself as the only multi-brand mattress chain with a presence across all four time zones, and it is poised to become the first national retail brand in its category as it rapidly closes in on $1 billion in annual sales.
What sets Mattress Firm apart from its rivals is what CEO Gary Fazio calls “a positive sense of discontent.”
Even in a year in which the Houston-based chain reached 530 stores after opening 68 locations (on top of building and acquiring 115 in 2007), Fazio said neither he nor President Steve Stagner are entirely satisfied. “We always just want it to be a little bit better,” Fazio told Home Furnishings Business in an interview at the company’s headquarters. “It’s not unhappiness, but you also have to always be careful that you don’t pat yourself on the back too hard” over past accomplishments.
This year’s Newsmakers—Mattress Firm CEO Gary Fazio and President and COO Steve Stagner—have changed the bedding landscape by adding nearly 200 stores across the country to become a nationally known bedding retailer with 530 stores. As it has expanded into new markets, Mattress Firm has gained a reputation for continually striving to upgrade the “sleep shop” experience.
In a field where under-financed operators can open a store for a few thousand dollars, the Mattress Firm invests nearly 50 percent more than most sleep chains to build impressive stores on heavily traveled corners, and it invests even more in training employees, to help take the confusion out of a mattress-buying process that has become even more complicated with the rise of specialty bedding and other alternatives to traditional mattresses.
A new initiative, “Comfort by Color,” injects a dose of color to mattress stores that had been dominated by shades of white, while giving customers the power—and the knowledge—to guide themselves through the selection process, with help when it’s needed.
NOTY is a tradition that started six years ago with InFurniture Magazine, which HFB acquired in 2006. Fazio and Stagner join a short and exclusive list of NOTY recipients. Previous Newsmakers have included Neil, Michael and Steven Goldberg of Raymour & Flanigan (2007); Ron and Todd Wanek of Ashley Furniture (2006); Keith Koenig of City Furniture (2005); Vaughan Bassett CEO John Bassett III (2003); and the late Laurence “Larry” Moh of Fine Furniture (2002).
Positive Discontent
A sense of never being satisfied, even when things are going well, has been a force behind the strong growth of Mattress Firm. After opening more than 180 stores in two years, Mattress Firm has established itself as the only multi-brand mattress chain with a presence across all four time zones, and it is poised to become the first national retail brand in its category as it rapidly closes in on $1 billion in annual sales.
What sets Mattress Firm apart from its rivals is what CEO Gary Fazio calls “a positive sense of discontent.”
Even in a year in which the Houston-based chain reached 530 stores after opening 68 locations (on top of building and acquiring 115 in 2007), Fazio said neither he nor President Steve Stagner are entirely satisfied. “We always just want it to be a little bit better,” Fazio told Home Furnishings Business in an interview at the company’s headquarters. “It’s not unhappiness, but you also have to always be careful that you don’t pat yourself on the back too hard” over past accomplishments.
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