SORRY, NO MATTRESS STORE CAN SNEAK INTO HIGHLAND VILLAGE WITHOUT SOMEBODY NOTICING 
Here’s a piece of hot retail news the likes of which has not been encountered since . . . well, since Swamplot broke the story that the Walgreens near the corner of Westheimer and Weslayan will be moving across both streets to the former Fresh Market spot: A reader has ID’d a new neighbor moving into the former Rice Epicurean shopping center, next to said future Walgreens. It’ll be . . . wait for it . . . a Mattress Firm going into the 3743 Westheimer Rd. address, as evidenced by the familiar red sign now glowing brightly above the future front door shown above. Intriguing bonus tip, for all you Highland Village area store-opening watchers to chew over: “There were two vacant spots in the center when Fresh Market was there and it looks like the other one is leased as there’s a sign in the window for construction but does not identify who is moving in.” Photo: Swamplot inbox
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Cell phone store! Cell phone store!
i had high hopes that people would stop using “…wait for it…” in 2015.
But what about the Mattress Firm that snuck into the newly renovated storefront at W. Gray and Montrose? That drew a “wtf” from me the other day.
Payday lender! Gold buyer!
I thought Houston’s only zoning law stated that all strip malls and shopping centers must contain at least one nail salon, one martial arts (preferably Karate) studio, one cell phone store, and, if possible, a vape shop? Are any of the above missing from the property?
How many bloody store locations does one mattress retailer need? Are there really that many people buying new beds these days?
Cell phone store or nail salon or Subway sandwich shop.Because there’s just so few of those in Houston!
Zone D is relocating…
I don’t remember there being any live oaks in front of that center……excellent location for a Burger King or Wendy’s!!!!
I think there is something fishy going on with these mattress stores. Around Rice Village there are like a dozen of them and they are always empty. I never see a customer and never see an employee. Just an empty show room. A mattress store just opened up a couple blocks away from the pending Westheimer mattress store over at Weslayan and Richmond and it is empty. What could possibly be the deal here that all these stores are opening on top of each other?
I don’t care if 100 matress stores open right next to each other as it means there is a need being filled.
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My question is always why? I don’t get the demand for these stores that would cause their high quantity? The space didn’t have a higher economic use (thus wanted more by the public, voting with their spending) then a matress store?
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Again, don’t take this for the same old “I hate matress stores”. Rather I just find the economics behind this type of store being “chosen” to be oddly fascinating.
lhd: oops. Sorry to tag on with a similar question/comment
There must be a lot of profit in mattresses! think about it….a pine frame, springs/coils, cotton batting/stuffing, and a fabric covering stitched on….and then there is the one mattress company that started the idea that all mattresses need to be changed out after 8 years! Great marketing, but not true. While many mattress companies suggest replacing mattresses every 8 years, Consumer Reports says there is no time limit.
If you are waking up with aches and pains or are not sleeping through the night, those are some good signs you might need a new mattress.
I don’t know why I’ve never googled it before because I’ve always had the same question about the amount of stores. Turns out it is the profit – markup is 100-200%. Here’s an interesting little piece about the whole thing: http://boulter.com/blog/2008/08/20/the-mattress-industry-is-one-big-scam/
I have personally bought a mattress from one of these places. It was about 5 miles from my house, and I don’t think there are any others in that 5 mile radius. I wasn’t the only customer in there, either.
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But I’m also curious about the economics of it. It seems inefficient to build so many mattress stores. Banks, too. Who uses all these bank locations?
Don’t you know that your old mattress is full of SKIN CELLS. SKIN CELLS!!! Aaaaahhhh!!!! As if your whole body isn’t full of cells…. Marketing!
Even where there is not an extraordinarily high concentration of mattress stores, I had the exact same impression – – they always seem to be empty. People can’t be calling-in their purchases, because everyone knows you are supposed to lie on each one for 15 minutes before deciding…
I HATE mattress stores. The mattress market has to be pretty saturated in Houston, however, at the price of mattresses these days, these companies only have to sell 3-4 mattresses a month to turn a profit. Avg lifespan of a mattress is anywhere from 6-8 years on avg. So while you may not see the stores packed, if you sell a couple $3,000 mattresses, that’s close to rent for the entire month. Since people don’t buy them very often, the price point will remain high across the market. A mattress is something that everyone needs unfortunately. Wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper for everyone to sell these online and be delivered to homes so that we don’t have to see these eye sores or someone strapping a mattress down on top of their Honda Civic?
as others have alluded to, with the transportation and marketing costs involved with selling mattresses it’s not a big industry and can maintain a healthy sales margin (at least until you can start picking them up on a trip to walmart or target). like other high-margin businesses, such as banks, they don’t need a high traffic count. considering the employment growth and newcomers we’ve had in town I could see them having made a killing off mattresses the past couple years and wanting to quickly expand to grab more market share before it all disappears.
Sjh: Have you hugged an oak tree today?
We have a mattress store in Tanglewood @ Woodway and Chimney Rock.
It’s Corporate accounting shenanigans.
At least they could have put in a high quality sleep store, like Sleep Number instead of a low rent Mattress Firm store.