Not a Sleep Train mattress. Probably. (Image: CHS)
With at least 700 new apartment units slated to open on Capitol Hill in 2016, the mattresses for all those bedrooms will need to come from somewhere.
West Coast mattress giant Sleep Train is hoping to corner that market with a shop at Broadway and Harrison.
A spokesperson for the company told CHS the store was supposed to open this month in the space long occupied by a state-owned liquor store, but that it will likely be pushed back.
Selling mattresses in the heart of parking scarce, efficiency unit loaded Capitol Hill would appear to present some tall hurdles for the company. A major part of Sleep Train’s urban strategy involves mattress delivery, setup, and removal services, a representative for the company said.
The Capitol Hill expansion is part of an ongoing growth plan for Sleep Train, which is planning to open 70 stores this year from Bellingham to San Diego. Sleep Train currently has locations in Northgate and Downtown. Last year, Sleep Country USA changed its name to Sleep Train, but essentially remained the same company.
The 400 Broadway E space has struggled to keep a longterm tenant since the state liquor store moved out in 2012. Afterward, the 3,400 square-foot space sat empty for nearly a year when the winning bidder in the state’s auction of rights to operate the liquor store backed out of the deal.
Bettie Page Clothing opened in spring 2013, but by the following summer the Las Vegas-based women’s fashion retailer was struggling with a significant legal setback — the loss of its name. Stripped of its right to invoke the spirit of the pin-up legend, the eight-year-old chain of just over a dozen stores changed its branding to honor founder Tatyana Khomyakova who started the company along with entrepreneur husband Jan Glaser. Tatyana Boutique then shuttered in September 2014. Glaser told CHS at the time that a lack of Broadway foot traffic was to blame. “From the beginning, traffic was an issue there. Even before the name change,” he said.
Why can’t we have more funky boutiques that sell overpriced shoes rather than a CHAIN retail store for beds. Who even uses a bed anymore, really?
The real question is will this last for more or less time than the ill-conceived Office Max.
“Who even uses a bed anymore, really?”
Exactly. Millennials sleep on their iPhone 6+’s. Those things are huge. And comfy.
As for the article, I’d be surprised if mattress stores had that many walk outs with actual mattresses, regardless of location. Most don’t store inventory on site (at least ones that aren’t based in warehouses), so I’m thinking it’s mostly deliveries.
But how will the store staff be able to differentiate the customers from the homeless?
It won’t last! It doesn’t fit in! The landlord is really stupid!
No, I don’t expect it to last. It’ll probably go the way of Office Max. But for how long the space has been vacant and how difficult the larger retail spaces can be to fill in the neighborhood I don’t think the landlord is stupid for taking the money.
What surprises me is that Urban Outfitters is still there.
Two trains arriving on Broadway in 2016, I see.
I remember when that space was Storables….
Yes, so do I! In fact, I am still using a kitchen shelving unit I purchased there many years ago. I also remember Keeg’s (sp?) — the furniture store, if memory serves me correctly.
Open and gone in a year. Another Broadway business that doesn’t research the area beforehand.
Seriously? You don’t sleep in a bed? I just bought a bed from this chain last year, had to go downtown next to Macy’s to get it. I’d have loved to be able to buy it on Broadway, add $$ to the Broadway economy, and have a dozen or so people on Capitol Hill have jobs. Put me down as thinking this store will actually last. I hope it does.
Must have been rough making the trek down the hill for a mattress.
Using that brilliantly insightful line of reasoning, we really don’t need ANY stores on Broadway, do we?
Here is an interesting article on a new dot com business trying to disrupt the mattress business. Ever buy a mattress? Its like buying a used car – horrible experience.
http://www.marketplace.org/2015/03/12/business/startup-mattress-companies-disrupt-stiff-business