Before the days of online retailers, there were mattress stores. A lot of them. Right across the street from each other. Often empty. Usually owned by the same company.
Why were there so many Mattress Firms? Why were they so close to one another? Could the stores be a front for an illicit money laundering scheme?
Was it just a weird marketing strategy, or was there something more sinister behind it?
Sources:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7s36ub/what_conspiracy_theory_do_you_100_buy_into_and_why/dt215gv/
https://thenextweb.com/distract/2018/01/22/this-mysterious-conspiracy-theory-about-mattresses-is-everything-we-love-about-reddit/
http://www.berkshirepartners.com/mattress-firm-announces-proposed-changes-to-its-board-of-directors
https://www.vault.com/company-profiles/retail/mattress-firm#:~:text=Company%20Background,11%20bankruptcy%20in%20late%202018.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattress_Firm
https://kfor.com/news/why-are-there-so-many-mattress-stores-and-how-do-they-stay-in-business/
http://www.berkshirepartners.com/steinhoff-completes-tender-offer-for-outstanding-shares-of-mattress-firm
https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-chicago-mattress-stores-0717-biz-20160715-story.html
https://boisedev.com/news/2016/6/21/boise-dev-mattress-firm-retail/
https://www.businessinsider.com/mattress-firm-conspiracy-grows-after-accounting-problems-2018-1
https://www.businessinsider.com/mattress-firm-closes-stores-conspiracy-theory-2018-10
https://media.thinknum.com/articles/mattress-firm-stores-proximity/
https://www.scribd.com/document/389077330/Mattress-Firm-lawsuit-against-Levy-Vinson-Deitch-et-al
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/mattress-store-bubble/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7s36ub/what_conspiracy_theory_do_you_100_buy_into_and_why/dt215gv/
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/06/business/mattress-firm-bankruptcy-casper/index.html
https://qz.com/1416087/mattress-firm-bankruptcy-shows-americans-hate-mattress-shopping/
https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/why-there-are-so-many-mattress-stores-everywhere-in-texas/
https://www.chron.com/business/retail/article/Mattress-Firm-sues-bed-in-a-box-competitor-for-12285703.php
https://www.steinhoffinternational.com/who-we-are-and-what-we-do.php
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-steinhoff-intln-accounts/pwc-investigation-finds-7-4-billion-accounting-fraud-at-steinhoff-company-says-idUSKCN1QW2C2
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/insights/steinhoff/2018/06/28/steinhoff-rise-fall/
https://www.accountingtoday.com/articles/steinhoff-pays-for-pwc-to-help-south-african-police-graft-probe
https://www.steinhoffinternational.com/downloads/2018/Restatement-of-financial-statements-of-subsidiary-companies-2Jan2018.pdf
https://www.news24.com/fin24/Companies/Retail/a-steinhoff-guide-for-dummies-20171208
