Sleepy's becomes Mattress Firm in Bethesda (Photos)

The Sleepy's name at 6950 Wisconsin Avenue has fallen victim to the almost-overnight mattress market takeover by Mattress Firm. An even-more classic name in bedding, Mattress Discounters, is going the way of Syms, Luskin's and Levitz. While these developments have been unfolding over the last couple of weeks, the process that brought them here has been in the works for many years.

Sleepy's bought the venerable Mattress Discounters for $11.9 million in 2012. Mattress Firm, in turn, acquired Sleepy's in November 2015 for $780 million. This gave Mattress Firm control of both brands.

Given that none of these stores are exactly targeting the ultra-rich, dropping a well-known brand like Mattress Discounters sounds like marketing suicide. Mattress Firm? Never heard of it. I guess we'll find out in a few years if it made sense. Oh, well, at least Belmont and Bill's Carpet are still around.