First things first, you may have noticed a new look for the blog. I figured I should change it at least once every 4-5 years so here you go.  I have more wrinkles and less hair, but I do have more joy in my heart so all in all a net positive. In this picture my buddy Zac Jankovic from Cut To Create is interviewing me on set for a video we did together. (Check them out, they do great work.) Also a shout out to Carlos Arnavat at C5 for always looking out for me and making me update my stuff! I would like to tell you we had an extensive review of hundreds of photos and ended up with this one because it captured me in a good light doing what I love. Truth is, it was one of only a few photos I could find in landscape/high resolution and it sucked less than the others did.

Over the holiday I had several e-mails alerting me to the fact/complaining about Mattress Firm running the free adjustable bed base with the purchase of a queen over $500. “It kills average tickets. It drags the market down. They are taking a profitable product category and ruining it.” I understand this and if I were a retailer in their market I might not like it either. However, isn’t there something good that comes from this?

When someone as big as Mattress Firm drives a promotion this compelling with a significant amount of media, doesn’t that also shine a light on the mattress category and benefit other retailers at the same time? Does it drive traffic into the market and allow you to possibly introduce them to adjustable bases, maybe for the first time, and then sell them up to something with more features?

There has been a lot of criticism aimed at Mattress Firm this year about what they have been doing or not doing. Now that they are going big there are even more critics so we all know the reality. If you are the leader in a category you are going to draw fire so just be sure that whatever your strategy is, your tactics move you toward your ultimate goal.

In full disclosure, I do some consulting work for a company that sells adjustable bases to Mattress Firm so this is obviously a good thing from where I sit. But I also think that getting more consumers to sleep on adjustable beds is a very positive thing because most people that own an adjustable base absolutely LOVE THEM, and the more people we have out their LOVING their bed, the bedder. Right? (See what I did there.)

What do you think? Did Mattress Firm screw up the market or do us all a favor?