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Simmons Bedding Company is a major manufacturer of mattresses and related bedding products. In business for over 125 years, they are also one of the oldest companies in the United States. Simmons' flagship brand is Beautyrest. According to a Simmons press release, net sales for 2005 were $855 million. ^[1]

[edit] History

• In 1870 Simmons was founded by Zalmon G. Simmons with its first factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Simmons started off by producing wooden insulators and cheese boxes. It is one of the oldest companies in the country.
• In 1876 started producing wire-woven mattresses.
• In 1916 Simmons began advertising nationally.
• By 1919 growth was fast. In response, Simmons acquired manufacturing plants in San Francisco, California; Los Angeles, California; Montreal, Quebec; Toronto, Ontario; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Vancouver, British Columbia; Elizabeth, New Jersey; Seattle, Washington; and Atlanta, Georgia.
• In 1925 Simmons' engineer, John Franklin Gail, invented a machine that could mass-produce the coils and insert them into fabric "encasements". This made mass-production of the previously luxury-only product possible.
• During World War II Simmons produced parachutes, bazooka rockets and 2700 other products for the US military.
• In 1975 Simmons moved to its present day headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
• In 1979, Simmons was purchased by Gulf+Western.
• In 1985, Gulf+Western sold Simmons to Wickes Corporation.
• In 1991, Merrill Lynch Capital Partners, Inc. acquired a majority interest in the company.
• In August 2006 Simmons sold its chain of retail stores to The Sleep Train of Citrus Heights, CA.^[2]
• In 2006, Simmons introduced the the NaturalCare latex line of mattresses.
• In 2007 Simmons launched the first mattresses with GEL Technology.
• In 2007 Simmons releases the ComforPedic by Simmons line.
• In 2009, Simmons introduced the ComforPedic Loft line. ^[3]

[edit] Bankruptcy

On September 25, 2009, Simmons announced a Chapter 11 restructuring plan and signed a purchase agreement with an investor group led by Ares Management LLC and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (TPC). ^[4] If approved by the bankruptcy court, the deal will reduce the total debt from about $1 billion to $450 million. The bankruptcy will not include subsidiaries in Canada and Puerto Rico, but those units will be included in the deal with Ares and TPC. ^[5]

Ares and TPC is also the owner of the Serta brand name under National Bedding Company LLC. They plan to operate Serta and Simmons Bedding as independent entities that will continue to compete with one another.

"The purchase agreement we have executed and the support we have secured from our noteholders for this restructuring plan underscore the strength of the Simmons brand, our strong performance in the marketplace, and the value of the strategic and operational investments we have made in our business, people and processes over the past several years,” said Stephen G. Fendrich. “Simmons Bedding is firmly positioned as an industry leader and under this plan will retain its own identity and operational structure, have a newly strengthened balance sheet, and will remain committed to bringing innovative bedding products to our customers."^[6]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Simmons' web site
• Simmons Company Records, 1892-2000
• Julie Creswell, Buyout Firms Profited as a Company’s Debt Soared, The New York Times, October 4, 2009