Sleep Country Canada

Sleep Country Canada

Industry	Retail
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Key people	Stephen K. Gunn, Christine Magee, David Friesma
Products	Mattresses, Bed frames, Headboards, Bed linens, Pillows
Number of employees	1,200
Website	www.sleepcountry.ca

Sleep Country Canada is a major mattress retailer in Canada, with over 185 stores operating in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia.

The company was ranked one of the top 50 companies to work for in Canada by the Globe and Mail. It is best known for its radio jingle, "Why buy a mattress anywhere else? Ding!"

Sleep Country USA, an unaffiliated company, uses the same jingle.

In 1994, the three partners Christine Magee, Stephen K. Gunn and Gordon Lownds launched the first four Sleep Country locations in Vancouver. By 1996, the chain had expanded to Toronto with 19 new stores. Growth continued at quick rate. By 2001, the company had 72 stores in six regional markets and an estimated 40% of the market in regions where it operated. In 2003, Sleep Country converted into an income trust. This raised nearly $130 million (C$) in an initial public offering. Sleep Country went public in July 2015 and is listed on the TSX under the stock ticker "ZZZ".

In January 2006 the company Dormez-vous Sleep Centres Inc. with five stores in Montreal. In March 2006 it added 32 stores in the US through an acquisition of Sleep America Inc., a mattress retailer in Arizona.

On August 14, 2008, The Canadian Press reported that two Toronto-based investment firms, Birch Hill Equity Partners Management Inc. and Westerkirk Capital Inc., made a friendly takeover offer worth $356 million (CAD) for all the units of the Sleep Country Canada Income Fund, the parent company of Sleep Country Canada.