Mattress Warehouse & Sleep Outfitters of WV, OH, KY, IN

Company History

You can tell a lot about a company by its history

Less than a year after graduating from the University of Kentucky, insurance agent and Louisville native, Kim Brown Knopf answered an ad looking for people to sell mattresses. Her interest piqued, she began investigating the bedding business. Decisive and entrepreneurial, the 23-year-old chose Charleston, W.Va. as the place to open her own business. She moved there in August 1983 and opened her first store, Mattress Warehouse, in October in nearby South Charleston.

iMS Timeline
1983	Opened first store, in So. Charleston, W.Va.
1986	Opened corporate office in Winfield, W.Va.
1986	Built first distribution center, in Winfield, W.Va.
1993	Invested in GERS computerized retail point of sale system
1995	Kim selected as finalist for WV Entrepreneur of the Year
1995	Second distribution center is opened in Bridgeport, W.Va.
1996	IMS presented GERS Power User of the Year National Technology Award
1997	10th store opened, in Ashland, Ky.
1998	IMS profiled in Nation’s Business magazine
2003	Acquisition of Mattress Barn in Lexington, Ky.
2002	Sleep Outfitters brand launched
2004	Acquisition of Westco Group in Akron, Oh. providing IMS 10 stores in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky.
2004	Acquisition of Mattress Firm in Louisville, Ky (10 more stores)
2004	Third distribution center is opened, in Lexington, Ky.
2004	Opened 25th store (Columbus, Oh) and first Indiana store (Clarksville)
2006	Fourth and fifth distribution centers opened (Cleveland and Columbus)
2006	Opened 50th store, in Delaware, OhOpened 50th store, in Delaware, Oh
2008	Silver Anniversary Celebration – 25 successful years in business
2008	Opened 75th store, in Louisville, Ky.

Kim handled all facets of her budding business, from buying merchandise, to advertising and selling it, to finally delivering it. There were days when she wouldn’t see a single customer, but she persevered in the knowledge that hers was the first business of its kind in the state – a specialty sleep shop offering brand name mattresses, on-hand inventory, excellent service and the lowest prices, guaranteed.

Kim continued opening new Mattress Warehouse stores across West Virginia; however, licensing agreements dictated that the name could not be used outside the state. So, when the company wanted to expand into Kentucky in 2002, the Sleep Outfitters brand was born. Over the next two years, a series of acquisitions would double the company’s size. In 2004, the acquisition of Westco Group in Akron, Oh. and Mattress Firm in Louisville, Ky. added 15 stores to the chain, making it 30-stores strong. Now, with stores all over West Virginia, Lexington, Louisville, Cleveland and Cincinnati, Mattress Warehouse/Sleep Outfitters was on its way to becoming a regional force in the retail bedding business.

Today, Kim Knopf’s little mattress company, Innovative Mattress Solutions (IMS), is 85-stores strong and operates in four states (West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana) as Mattress Warehouse and Sleep Outfitters. Kim’s founding philosophy of providing the best products at the lowest prices continues to drive the company’s success.

You can tell a lot about a company by its history

iMS Timeline