Sit 'n Sleep puts the 'super' in superstore

Gardena, Calif.— Sit 'n Sleep calls them superstores, and that's a claim that stands up to the toughest scrutiny.

The Los Angeles area-based bedding specialty retailer operates massive stores and cranks out equally massive sales numbers. Last year, the retailer generated total

No other leading bedding specialist comes remotely close to that lofty figure. And no other leading bedding retailer offers 12,000-square-foot showrooms packed with more than 100 beds.

The lineup is expansive: Simmons, Sealy, Serta, Spring Air, Miralux, Stearns & Foster, Chattam & Wells, Nature's Rest, Tempur-Pedic, Somma Air, E.S. Kluft and Aireloom.

As befits a company operating in the stratosphere of mattress retailing, Sit 'n Sleep recently completed its move into a big new headquarters and warehouse in this Los Angeles suburb. The 238,000-square-foot facility should meet the company's needs for the next seven to 10 years, said Nelson Bercier, vice president and a partner in the business.

Most of that space is devoted to the warehouse, which has 60 doors and is set up to allow cross-docking. Beds come in one door and go out at the doors on the far end of the warehouse. The spacious, sophisticated warehouse should enable the retailer to boost its turns by 20%, Bercier estimated. It also will reduce "shrinkage," thus helping the company improve its profitability.

Bercier and his partner, President Larry Miller, have offices right next to each other on the second floor of the building, with total office space of 25,000 square feet.

Miller, the face of the company in its heavy diet of TV commercials, said more superstores are on tap for the sprawling Los Angeles market, which is crisscrossed by a vast network of freeways. Most of the new stores will be freeway locations, he said.

Currently, the retailer operates 14 stores. The grid stretches from Santa Clarita and Palmdale in the north to Oxnard in the west, and from Laguna Hills in the southeast to Ontario in the northeastern corner of the market.

The company has picked out locations for the next three stores, and sees a few additional possibilities after that.

Asked how many stores Sit 'n Sleep ultimately might operate in greater Los Angeles, Miller responded, "Maybe 24."

The retailer likes to buy real estate for its stores and then develop the sites. Miller said those are "rock-solid financial moves."

The new stores will fall under the company's existing radio and TV advertising umbrella, he said.

Sit 'n Sleep, which has re-entered print media with ads in the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times, puts most of its ad dollars into TV advertising.

Once the chain completes its penetration of the Los Angeles market, it faces a tough decision: Should it expand beyond its roots?

"That's something we will tackle later," Miller said. For now, he's got plenty on his plate. Keeping those superstores humming is no easy task.