Ashley Furniture Industries to open 50 bedding stores

New York -- Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. plans to open about 50 bedding stores, under the Zzz's By Ashley banner, in 2012, according to Furniture Today. The sleep shops will average about 4,500 sq. ft. each, and will offer a wide selection of mattresses and sleep accessories.



“I think we can open several thousand in the next 10 years,” Ben Thorud, the Ashley executive who is heading the new initiative, told Furniture Today.



According to Thorud, the stores will be designed to provide a better type of mattress shopping experience for consumers, with a system that makes selecting a mattress informative and easy to understand.



The new initiative, which has been in the works for several years, will operate along similar lines used by the Ashley Furniture HomeStores, with both licensees and corporate-owned stores, the report said.