Sit 'n Sleep is an American mattress store chain based in Gardena, California. As of 2024, it has 36 locations, all in Southern California.[4] It is one of the largest independent mattress retailers in the United States and is also known for its extensive advertising.[2]
Larry Miller, one of the co-founders of the company and the face of the brand, grew up in West Los Angeles. He had many odd jobs as a teenager and helped his dad, Phil, at his convertible bed store in Culver City.[5] In 1971, the Millers traveled to Tokyo. They saw a futon and wanted to find a manufacturer in California to make them. Futons became popular in the 1980s, so the Millers, father and son, opened their first store in 1980 in Culver City.[6] It was originally known as Rivera Convertible Sofas and in its first year of business, it made US$200,000.[1][2]
However, the futon trend quickly faded, and the store struggled. In 1982, Phil's friend, a radio station manager, suggested that, to up business, they buy an ad on the station for $25 per spot. This worked and business started slowly climbing again.[6] It experienced its first burst of popularity in the early 1990s, when it placed ads on The Howard Stern Show and television, doubling its profits.[2][6] As the company grew, Larry wanted to expand the stores' range, but Phil did not, resulting in Larry buying the company out in 1996. The late 2000s brought a great loss in revenue for the company, as there was a large sales reduction in the mattress industry. Sit 'n Sleep's revenue fell from US$99M in 2006 to US$79M in 2008.[1]
The company has placed advertisements since 1982.[1][2] Many of the advertisements feature Lary Miller and his imaginary accountant Irwin, inspired by his childhood friend and the company's actual accountant.[1] Some of his famous quotes are "Sit 'n Sleep will beat anyone's advertised price or your mattress is freeee!" and "You're killing me, Larry!"[6][7]
The company was sued in 2017 in a class action lawsuit alleging that the "mattress is free" advertisement is misleading because no other companies sell the same products. It also said that the mattresses are 9% smaller than the industry standard.[8]
In 2015, Sit 'n Sleep partnered with Tempur-Pedic to donate over 250 mattresses to fire departments in Southern California as a part of Fire Prevention Week. They had previously donated 140 mattresses in 2013.[9]
