- Sleep Country Canada
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Sleep Country Canada Industry Retail Headquarters Toronto, Ontario, Canada Key people Steven Gunn, Christine Magee Products Mattresses, Bed frames, Headboards, Bed linens, Pillows Employees 674[1] Website www.sleepcountry.ca Sleep Country Canada is a major mattress retailer in Canada, with over 140 stores operating in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.
The company was ranked one of the top 50 companies to work for in Canada by the Globe and Mail. It is best known for its radio jingle, "Why buy a mattress anywhere else?"
Contents
History
In an interview with Business Edge News Magazine, Gordon Lownds describes the company's beginnings like this,
"My business partner Steve Gunn and I were involved in investment banking, and one of the transactions that we had done was the leveraged buyout of the Simmons Canada mattress company. We bought that company in 1990 with the financial backing of CIBC Wood Gundy and the Mannix family of Calgary. Through our involvement with that, we focused on the fact that the distribution channels to the consumer (for mattresses) were not particularly effective. So, we decided to sell out ownership in Simmons in 1994 and set up Sleep Country Canada."
Lownds went on to say,
"We had known Christine in her days as a banker at National Bank, where she was actually a lender for a couple of buyout transactions we had done. For a number of reasons, we were looking for a third partner who longer-term could take over and run the business on a permanent basis. She fit the bill on a number of fronts. I was convinced that she wasn't a lifelong banker because she had more entrepreneurial spirit than I would expect in a banker."
In 1994, the three partners Christine Magee, Steven Gunn and Gordon Lownds launched the first four Sleep Country locations in Vancouver. By 1996 the chain had expanded to Toronto with 19 new stores. Growth continued at quick rate. By 2001, the company had 72 stores in six regional markets and an estimated 40% of the market in regions where it operated. In 2003, Sleep Country converted in to an income trust. This raised nearly $130 million (C$) in an initial public offering.
In 2006 the company made two acquisitions. In January, it purchased Dormez-vous Sleep Centres Inc. with five stores in Montreal. In March, it added 32 stores in the US through the completion of an acquisition of Sleep America Inc., the leading mattress retailer in Arizona.
On August 14, 2008, The Canadian Press reported that two Toronto-based investment firms, Birch Hill Equity Partners Management Inc. and Westerkirk Capital Inc., made a friendly takeover offer worth $356 million (CAD) for all the units of the Sleep Country Canada Income Fund, the parent company of Sleep Country Canada.[2]
Awards
- 1997, 1998 ranked as one of the Top 50 Best Managed Companies based on a survey conducted by international consulting firm Hewitt Associates and co-sponsored by the Globe and Mail newspaper
- 2004, 2005, 2006, ranked amongst the "50 Best Employers in Canada" by international consulting firm Hewitt Associates and co-sponsored by the Globe and Mail newspaper.
- 2006 Christine Magee and Stephen Gunn were awarded the Henry Singer Award by the Canadian Institute of Retailing and Services (CIRAS).
Community service
Sleep Country supports numerous charities and community initiatives across Canada. Some of the programs in which they are involved include:
- Donated Bed Program - As part of their delivery service, Sleep Country Canada provides the removal of an old mattress. These mattresses are when possible donated to those in need, however not all mattresses can be reused, so Sleep Country also has a large number of mattresses that are disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. (Due to the high costs of recycling, Sleep Country now charges $10.00 for the recycling fee to all customers who request their old mattress to be removed.)
- Give a Kid a Coat Program - Sleep Country Canada accepts donated coats and assists in distributing them.
- Backpack for Kids - Aid the Calgary Police Association in providing school supplies for underprivileged children. Citizens of Calgary dropped off backpacks full of school supplies at local Sleep Country locations.
- Sponsor of 2010 Winter Olympics
- Supporter of SchoolBOX (http://www.schoolbox.ca)
References
- Mentor Program
- Wilfrid Laurier University News
- Interview with The Globe and Mail
- Live and Learn: Christine Magee
- UWO Alumni Gazette
- Completes The Acquisition of Sleep America
- Ex-mattress king enjoying new challenge
- Sleep Country Canada Income Fund Annual Report 2004
External links
Categories:- Companies established in 1994
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