Although the name sounds out of this world, this Las Vegas retailer is surprisingly down to earth.
Although just a short, slightly southwest drive from the glittering lights of the Las Vegas Strip, Bedplanet’s showroom is miles away in atmosphere. Anchoring the corner of a quiet shopping strip, the store’s desert-colored exterior blends into the local arid terrain, save for its bright blue and red sign. The retailer shares its modest floorspace with another planetary entity, Massage Chair Planet, both owned by local entrepreneur Adam Gordon.
A Philadelphia native, Gordon finished his marketing degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and has called the Silver State home ever since. In 1995, Gordon started in the home furnishings industry when he opened his first store in Las Vegas. In 2000, with the advent of the dot-com boom, he began selling products online, predominantly on eBay, before expanding into furniture and bed frames. In 2003, he founded Bedplanet.com, the online predecessor to its Las Vegas showroom, which opened in 2022. “It’s funny,” Gordon says, as he reflects on the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey. “I’ve always been into health and wellness. I also love technology. I was selling computers and cellphones when they first were introduced to the consumer back in the mid-1980s. So when I had the opportunity to take my brick-and-mortar furniture store to an online level towards the end of the 1990s with eBay, I thrived with online sales and I took my interest in health and wellness to the categories of mattresses and massage chairs.”
The retailer’s sales channels now include the showroom at 6255 S. Durango Drive in Las Vegas, a nearby clearance center at 3025 E. Post Road and its longstanding website Bedplanet.com, which ships mattresses, adjustable bases and sleep accessories nationwide. Upon arrival at the showroom, Sleep Savvy editors got a warm greeting from Bedplanet’s store manager, Don Davidson, who invited us to take a seat on some of the retailer’s plush furniture, where he shared more about the company’s small-but-mighty strategy.
Soft sell
While accessories are an important part of any sleep ensemble (and often beneficial to retailers to boost tickets), at Bedplanet they are an integral part of the selling strategy. Here, accessories have a starring rather than a supporting role, with creative displays peppered throughout the showroom. Flanking either side of the store’s entrance are pillow assortments from Pillow Cube, Tempur-Pedic and Bedgear. Along the back wall, a towering, bookshelf-like visual merchandising display from Bedgear acts as a library of sleep accessories that houses pillows, mattress protectors and sheet sets. “I love sharing my knowledge with customers so that they can benefit from relaxation and a good night’s sleep,” Gordon says. “But even the smaller, lower priced items, such as sheets and mattress protectors play a big role in relaxation. You can have the best mattress in the world but if your sheets feel like sandpaper, you’re probably not going to sleep well.”
Davidson echoes Gordon’s sentiments. “A bed is only as good as its pillow and vice versa,” Davidson says. “That determines, essentially, how you’re going to sleep. If I tell you to lay down on the bed and you’re laying with your head flat on the mattress, you’re never going to feel comfortable.”
So, Davidson starts all conversations by discussing top-of-bed accessories, asking consumers questions about whether they’re back or side sleepers to help them choose the right pillow for rest-tests. Then, it’s time to try out some beds. He’ll ask if they have any established preferences for materials like memory foam or hybrid mattresses and go from there to guide them to the best fit for them.
For unsure customers, Davidson digs deeper. He’ll ask what kind of bed they currently have, their typical sleeping position and their sleeping habits. Health is always central to the conversation, and Davidson echoes the oft-cited statistic that humans spend approximately one-third of their total lifetimes asleep. “A lot of people don’t understand that you can’t get into the REM cycle if you’re tossing and turning all night,” he says. By helping his customers find the perfect pairing, Davidson puts them on the path to a great night’s sleep.
In-store, the retailer carries brands Bedgear, Dawn House, Ergomotion, Magniflex, Pillow Cube, Reverie, Sealy and Tempur-Pedic. Its selection ranges from boxed beds in the low hundreds to Tempur-Pedic on the high end in the several thousand-dollar range. However, he says the store’s sweet spot for queen-size mattress sales is in the $600 to $1,000 price range. “We try to have variety more than anything else,” Davidson adds. Another important accessory at Bedplanet is its selection of adjustable bases, one of the industry’s biggest trends. In store, the company carries models from Dawn House, Ergomotion, Magniflex, Reverie, Sealy and Tempur-Pedic.
Just one click
For online shoppers who visit Bedplanet.com, the retailer aims to create an effortless experience. The website offers similar variety that Bedplanet carries in-store with brands like Tempur-Pedic, Sealy, Stearns & Foster, Bedgear, Magniflex and Malouf, in addition to adjustable bases from Bedplanet’s private brand, Dawn House, Ergomotion, Reverie and Rize. Shoppers can sort by price levels (entry-level, good, better, best) or mattress type (innerspring, hybrid, memory foam). Those looking to round out their purchase can also shop mattress protectors, toppers, sheet sets, comforters, pillows, bed frames and headboards. According to Davidson, the retailer doesn’t have a warehouse of inventory and can drop ship items to its white-glove delivery service, which then takes them to the consumer.
In addition, shoppers are eligible for Bedplanet’s 110% price match guarantee, which will match the price of products if shoppers find them advertised lower elsewhere. The store will even pay consumers 10% of the difference. The retailer also offers several financing options through Synchrony Home, Snap Finance and Shop Pay to cater to a wider segment of consumers.
Keys to success
Davidson acknowledges that mattress stores are practically “on every corner,” but Bedplanet stands out due to its variety, a message the company promotes through local advertising campaigns. “We’re not just a mattress store; we can also get you furniture; we can also get you a massage chair. There’s a lot of different avenues we try to pull people in with,” he says.
When asked what he attributes Bedplanet’s success to, one thing immediately comes to mind. “Adam,” Davidson says without hesitation. “His personality, his drive. He’s in every meeting. He’s very, very hands-on, but in a positive way.” Even we noticed. Case in point: When we arrived in Las Vegas, we called the store to confirm this feature, and to our surprise, Gordon himself answered. “It’s not a huge company, but it’s very people-friendly,” Davidson says.
After several decades of entrepreneurship, Gordon reminisces on the companies he has built. “My favorite thing these days about being an entrepreneur is knowing that we survived the pandemic days, and my staff was still working the whole time,” he says. “I didn’t have to lay anyone off and they can still provide for their families. Being around for them keeps me motivated.”
Read another Retail Road Trip: Mattress Warehouse Success: The Winning Formula Behind the Second-Largest Independent Mattress Retailer.
