Retail economists are genuinely baffled by the sheer geographical density of Mattress Firm stores in the United States, a phenomenon that has sparked widespread, half-joking…

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Retail economists are genuinely baffled by the sheer geographical density of Mattress Firm stores in the United States, a phenomenon that has sparked widespread, half-joking conspiracy theories about massive corporate money laundering. At its absolute peak, the aggressive retailer operated thousands of physical locations, frequently opening massive brick-and-mortar stores directly across the street from their own existing storefronts. The official financial explanation is that mattresses have an astronomically high profit margin, so deeply oversaturating a local market with garish neon signs is a valid strategy to utterly crush regional competition and dominate consumer mindshare. Still, it is entirely impossible for an awake, functioning adult to drive past an intersection containing four completely empty, brightly lit mattress showrooms and not instinctively assume that an international drug cartel is somehow cooking the accounting books