Mattress Firm Implements Senior Management Transition

February 11, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on February 12, 2010 Houston-based Mattress Firm has made a number of changes in its management team, including in the senior management office where the company is following a succession plan put into place in 2007.

Steve Stagner has been named president and chief executive officer, and Gary Fazio has been named chairman of the board of directors. Stagner had been chief operating officer, and Fazio had been chief executive officer. Both changes were effective Feb. 3, the kickoff of the company's fiscal year. With the changes, Stagner assumes direct leadership of the day-to-day operations of Mattress Firm, while Fazio will focus on strategic growth opportunities.

Fazio joined Mattress Firm in 2001 and led the retailer from a regional player to the nation€™s leading multi-brand mattress retailer, more than tripling store count. Mattress Firm now has more than $500 million in sales. Many of Fazio€™s initiatives launched nine years ago are now part of Mattress Firm€™s differentiating concept such as the company€™s innovative store design, expanded merchandise assortment, luxury product leadership position, Red Carpet delivery service and warehouse and delivery system.

€œIn January 2007, we began a process designed to empower our key leaders to accelerate Mattress Firm€™s growth objectives and move the company into a leadership position in the industry,€ Fazio said. €œThat aggressive approach has allowed us to grow quickly yet strategically and establish ourselves as an industry leader. We have a strong foundation, a proven retail model, and a great team for future growth and Steve is the perfect leader to execute on this opportunity.€

Stagner has been with Mattress Firm since 2005 when his franchise group, Mattress Firm Elite, was acquired by Mattress Firm corporate. Named President in 2006, Stagner€™s leadership role has included operations, merchandising, sales and marketing and training, as well as real estate, where he led the creation of a proprietary, metrics-base decision making program that has become a model in the specialty retail industry. Stagner began his career on the manufacturing side of the bedding industry prior to opening his first Mattress Firm franchise store in 1996 in Atlanta. He and his team built the franchise group to become the company€™s largest with 50 stores in six markets and more than $60 million in sales making it an attractive acquisition for Mattress Firm.

€œIn the last three years we have made six acquisitions, opened five new markets, and opened more than 200 stores under the Mattress Firm banner,€ Stagner said. €œWe gained market share during the downturn. I am looking forward to my expanded role with Mattress Firm and to the challenges of maintaining an aggressive growth strategy while also continuing to provide our customers with the unmatched shopping experience that has defined Mattress Firm. I have never been more excited about our potential.€

In other personnel moves, the company has named Dave Brummett vice president of product development, a new position with the retailer, and Craig McAndrews vice president of merchandising.

In his role, Brummett oversees the development of product strategy and the overall direction of product, price, promotion and placement on a national level.

"Dave is a seasoned veteran with 21 years of experience in the furniture and bedding industry," Stagner said. "He has been instrumental in creating a phenomenal merchandising line up and building vendor relationships. His innovative approach to product selection will help our organization develop and create a truly differentiated product strategy that will drive traffic, conversion, margin and ticket."

 Brummett joined Mattress Firm in 2007 as vice president of emerging markets. In that role, he was responsible for managing Mattress Firm€™s entry into new markets and coordinating the activities related to expanding into new territories. Later that year, Brummett was named vice president of merchandising and oversaw the planning and execution of the company€™s merchandising efforts and vendor relationships.

Prior to joining Mattress Firm, Brummett served as regional vice president and general manager for Mattress Giant, a buyer for Sears Homelife Furniture, and vice president of business development for Simmons.

McAndrews succeeds Brummett as vice president of merchandising and is responsible for strategic merchandising planning, growth of vendor relations and executive analysis of merchandising performance.

"Craig provides a tremendous amount of industry experience for our organization," Stagner said. "He has seen all sides of the business from owning a franchise to retail consulting. Drawing from his vast industry experience, Craig will help build on our current merchandising platform by developing competitive strategies around data-driven insights."

McAndrews' first interaction with Mattress Firm was in 1992 as a sale representative for Stearns & Foster and Sealy. In 1996, he began working with Simmons as a sales representative and later as vice president of sales for the Southeast region. In 1999, he moved to Phoenix to open the market as a Mattress Firm franchisee and built the company to 18 stores before Mattress Firm, Inc. acquired the business.

In 2003, McAndrews and his business partner co-founded the Innovative Retail Group, a provider of retail solutions and training programs designed for the bedding industry. After his time with Innovative Retail Group, McAndrews started a new venture, The Retail Institute, a consumer research and sales education company committed to studying consumer buying behaviors. Through McAndrew€™s research and consultation, several sales education and leadership development programs were created at Mattress Firm.

McAndrews returned to Mattress Firm in February 2009 as the east regional sales manager and reengaged into the Mattress Firm culture. Drawing on his previous relationship with Mattress Firm, as well as his research and development expertise, McAndrews created several innovative tools around strategic market-level direction and individual development plans.