In a vanilla world, mattress retailers bring color and personality.
Unique retailers’ differentiators come from origin stories of can-do gumption, pursuit of strategic growth, and tapping into community spirit through charitable causes.
Here, we learn how to stand out from Kelly Charles of The Big Mattress Outlet (BMO); Mary Domito, aka “Mattress Mary,” of Taos Lifestyle; and Jerry Thomas of BlvdHome. They evolved through lessons learned, positioning their businesses as trusted, top-of-mind choices for customers eager for a better night’s sleep.
From the beginning
Charles started in retail clothing but developed a passion for sleep when a former boss recruited her to work for Simmons Bedding Co.—just a temporary waypoint, she thought.
After 13 successful years, she followed her heart and started her own store in Georgia. Leaning into relationships forged as operations manager responsible for liquidating Simmons’ excess mattresses and materials, she founded an outlet offering high-quality overstocks and closeouts.
As Charles and her husband, Joe, contemplated a name for their store, they realized they could play on the word “big”—big-name brands, big discounts, big sales. “The Big Mattress Outlet” created a memorable, searchable, and instantly recognizable marketing tool.
Domito made an early-career move from retail mattress sales to corporate manager, recognizing the noble nature of “helping people make a good decision about something that impacts so much of their lives.” Her life took a turn away from her native San Francisco when she fell in love with Taos, New Mexico.
There, she founded Sleep Sanctuary, an early sleep shop, in 2004, but people struggled to grasp the concept of sleep as a product. So, Domito conjured “Mattress Mary,” with help from her black lab Molly, as consistent mascots conveying recognizability and a warm welcome.
“Be provocative, and you’ll get their attention,” says Domito, whose Taos Lifestyle has evolved into a comprehensive home store offering mattresses, furniture, gifts, home goods, and appliances. “They’ll never forget that name, and you back it up with goodness and virtuousness. By making a really beautiful store that’s welcoming, perhaps people will stay just a little bit longer.”
In Utah and Nevada, BlvdHome emphasizes the frontier roots of Tony Wittwer, who joined three brothers to open a furniture store in 1974. The first generation remains involved, and second-generation family members are in the C-suite.
“People like buying from people, and so they like buying from a local family,” says Thomas, the director of stores.
All family members and employees model BlvdHome’s core values of honesty and integrity, respect for the individual, striving for excellence, old-fashioned work ethic, and community contribution.
“They don’t just say them,” says Thomas. “They live by them.”
BlvdHome stands out in mattress retailing through its investment in the SleepCast Mattress Fitting System, Thomas notes. Acquisition of the system in 2012 instantly boosted sales by 25% and reduced returns by 25%. Customers skip the mattress-shopping equivalent of musical chairs by lying down on a 1,600-sensor pad that assesses weight, sleep position, and body shape to provide support and comfort recommendations.
With showroom selections ranging from 46 to 72 mattresses, sleep specialists can guide shoppers directly to their customized options.
“It gives them a much better feeling when the salesperson takes them to a mattress and says, ‘Based on the technology, this is the mattress that is best for you and your sleep style,’ ” Thomas says.
BlvdHome’s position as the place for top names makes it the “go-to brand” for mattresses and drives 4.8-star Google ratings, he adds. It all derives from the company’s reputation as “a good place to shop and a good place to work.”
“When customers come in, they’re going to find what they need and want,” Thomas says. “We have a very high close rate because of that. We don’t care which brand they buy. We want to make sure they get what they need on the first visit. Profit is a byproduct of taking good care of the customer, but it’s not what we chase. It’s just what comes with it.”
“Be provocative, and you’ll get their attention.” — Mary Domito, aka “Mattress Mary,” Taos lifestyle
Careful growth
Charles and her husband, Joe, didn’t want to miss the football games and school volunteering that come along with parenting, so they postponed business growth until their children graduated from college. Then they researched their options and decided on franchising to cultivate and coach other entrepreneurs instead of the direct hiring and management demanded by opening additional stores.
“We wanted quality over quantity,” Charles says. “I would rather have five, 10, or 20 quality franchisees than 50 that don’t maintain the brand standard.”
BMO’s slow, manageable expansion concentrates on hyperlocal needs. A new store recently opened in a former CVS drugstore. At 13,000 square feet, the new shop is BMO’s largest, and it’s carefully laid out to help shoppers progress among their choices, from high-end to economical mattresses.
Domito also pursued strategic evolution. By 2022, she had sold several spin-off stores and, looking toward retirement, consolidated operations by renovating a historic, 24,000-square-foot former restaurant. Customers appreciate the salvaged historic elements such as the wood beams, and many point fondly to the spots where they got married or had birthday dinners.
“What more do you want?” says Domito. “That’s community. It’s listening to your community and respecting your community. And what corporate chain can do that?”
At that point, her local customer base was saturated after 18 years of assiduous marketing, so she recrafted the prime space into a tourist destination. Visitors first encounter a gift shop offering curated greeting cards, sustainably made tabletop fashions, and durable rugs.
“On paper, the gift shop makes a little bit of money, but the part you can’t measure is what it brings to the whole company,” says Domito. “We just know that it’s driving traffic and cross-selling opportunities.”
Domito also transformed the former six-lane bowling alley in the basement into a dance floor for Mary’s Place, an intimate venue for singer-songwriters, music acts, and book signings.
“You can’t change the fact that if you just sit back and watch things happen, the fewer door swings are only going to continue,” she says. “I found new ways to drive traffic.”
Meanwhile, BlvdHome has grown over the years from one small discount furniture store to five retail locations with more than 260,000 square feet combined. Offering mattresses in a complete home store presents cross-selling opportunities among customers who come in the door looking for sofas or appliances.
“Not a day goes by that we don’t sell a mattress to someone who had no intention of buying a mattress,” says Thomas. “It’s a big advantage having all the other product categories, because some people need a nudge to start shopping for mattresses.”
Welcoming environments
No-pressure sales is a BMO hallmark, especially when the biggest competition comes from online sellers appealing to buyers looking for easier transactions, says Charles. All BMO retail sales associates are Certified Sleep Science Coaches, educated “not to sell mattresses, but to solve sleep problems.”
Constant vigilance keeps the customer experience, in-store and during scripted, white-glove delivery, not just “good enough,” but so amazing and meticulous that people rush to tell their friends.
“If we take away the reasons why people didn’t want to come in the store in the first place—the high-pressure sales, the ‘I don’t know what I’m looking at, what if I make a buying mistake?’—then that’s the key to successful marketing,” Charles says.
Word of mouth spreads when customers can say, “These are real people. This is not a big corporate environment,” she adds. “These are people that actually care about my sleep and my experience.”
In 2021, Domito’s legacy of building trust paid off with her launch of Double-M Brand products, a versatile house brand of higher-quality, higher-margin goods. Double-M Brand mattresses, made by fourth-generation family-owned Diamond Mattress, are now the best sellers. Salespeople tell customers, “This is Mary’s brand,” and explain that she took her time finding a mattress good enough to put her name on.
“You know what they say?” Domito says. “‘I want her bed. I want that brand.’”
Educating customers is important at BlvdHome. In addition to mattresses available for online purchase, visitors to its website find helpful tips on bedding and sleep science on the BlvdHome blog.
“We try to help them feel like they’re informed and that if they come to our website, it’s not just a big sales pitch,” says Thomas. “It’s a way to learn about mattresses and sleep in general.”
Community focus
BMO Chief Sleep Officer Xavier Sparks, Kelly Charles’ son, overheard customers saying they were shopping for a bed for a foster child. When he stepped in to say, “We’re going to take care of this,” the family was moved to tears.
Children, notes Charles, are more focused when they get proper sleep. Her Big Dreams Bedding Foundation, launched in 2025, has given beds to 50 families in need, including foster families. Families identified by teachers and verified by guidance counselors as having a need can buy a twin mattress, platform, frame, mattress protector, sheets, and a pillow for $1.
“Of course, then you want to help everyone,” says Charles. “You want to help victims of fire. You want to donate to the fire department. As the foundation grows, so will the base of people that we’re able to assist.”
Through the “Buy a Bed, Give a Bed” package, every purchase of a Big Dreams Bedding mattress, made for BMO by King Koil, triggers BMO to donate the cost of a complete bed. Partnering sponsors make the donations possible by selling the products below wholesale.
“If somebody comes in here in Dalton, Georgia, and buys one of these Big Dreams Bedding mattresses, then they can rest assured that as a result of that purchase, a child here in Dalton got a new bed,” says Charles.
Around 2012, Domito stepped away from day-to-day floor sales, promoting a longtime employee—whose talents became evident after he was hired as a part-time delivery driver—to director of operations. Community pride is fierce in Taos, says Domito, and the change freed her to concentrate on creating marketing aligned with Taos’ mellow vibe, distinguishable from corporate marketing for a “downhome, neighborly, but elevated” feel.
Community involvement includes an in-store gallery for local artists operated by Domito’s husband, and longtime support for many local nonprofits, including an animal shelter and food banks.
Since 1992, BlvdHome has contributed more than $1 million to local schools. An annual Labor Day program donates a portion of sales to school districts around its stores for classroom or school needs, from sofas for teachers’ lounges to classroom electronics. BlvdHome also serves breakfast to about 600 people at some school districts on Labor Day, with the executive team doing all the cooking.
It’s Thomas’ favorite day of the year. One principal of a newly constructed school bought an outdoor statue of three children playing on a log. Installed by a stream near the entrance, it has become an iconic image of school pride.
“The important thing is: What do your customers need from you right now? And what are they going to need tomorrow? LEt’s start planning for that.” — Kelly Charles, The Big Mattress Outlet
Keeping up with change
Kmart. Sears. Blockbuster. Legacy brands can become obsolete almost overnight if they don’t change with the times, Charles says. For the last decade, she has pivoted BMO from a “smaller hole in the wall” to a respected source of great deals on premium brands, enhanced by a premium experience and a good story.
“Sometimes it drives the team nuts, because I’m constantly changing things,” Charles admits. “But it’s a mindset that keeps us from becoming stagnant and irrelevant.”
Her latest push is finding the expertise that puts BMO at the top of customers’ AI-driven queries. Every retailer struggling in today’s economy is “fighting for every door swing, fighting for every dollar,” she adds. “The important thing is: What do your customers need from you right now? And what are they going to need tomorrow? Let’s start planning for that.”
For Domito, independent mattress retailers can tap into community spirit for a buy-local advantage and a David versus Goliath story.
“It’s a really good time for independents to differentiate themselves,” she says.
At BlvdHome, Thomas and dozens of other staff members have decades of experience. That loyalty ensures customers get a consistent experience led by knowledgeable staff.
“It means that when a BlvdHome team member tells them something, they know what they’re talking about,” he says. “If I tell you I’ve been with BlvdHome for 38 years, it’s going to give you a pretty good feeling of security that you’re buying from a company that’s going to be here tomorrow.”
