Better Prices Are The Reason Why People Drive From St. Charles, West County, and Fairview Heights to Buy From STL Beds

Check out our series on why small retail furniture and mattress stores beat the big stores every time.
More industry knowledge about bedroom furniture and mattresses makes it worth the drive
There is more mattress variety selection at giant mattress stores so why-buy from a small family owned company

What separates St. Louis Missouri mom and pop mattress stores like STL Beds from the big corporations that sell mattresses and bedroom furniture? This 3-part blog will give you a glimpse at what the attraction is and why people drive from virtually anywhere to support small retail stores.

How can smaller furniture and mattress stores have better prices?

Many consumers say that small retail stores are not privy to the massive wholesale discounts that are usually available to larger retailers who make their purchases in greater volume. That mindset is unfortunate for small stores like STL  Beds and other small retailers. This is because for most people the general consensus is that by purchasing larger quanties on items like mattresses and bedroom furniture, that larger stores have more buying power and therefore will save the consumer more money. Consumers have told us that they feel the bigger box stores and furniture and mattress chains leverage better pricing on the things we all buy, saving them more money at the cash register. We are sorry to say that this notion misleads people to believe that stores like STL Beds cannot compete with the big companies on items like mattresses and bedroom furniture, but also that they can not save money unless they make their purchase at a big chain or box store who have more buying power. Really?

What seems more likely?
a.)    A large retail mattress corporation saves money by purchasing in large volume and then passes the saving along to their customers?
b.)    A large retail mattress store takes advantage of the volume discounts by pocketing the savings and maximizing the profits for their owners and stockholders?

I think we all know the answer is (b).
It is true that small stores don’t get those nice volume discounts? However where small retail mattress stores like STL Beds fall short in discount purchasing they more than make up for it in other aspects of doing business like location? Yes it’s location, location, and location. Specialty sleep stores like STL Beds choose not to locate in the high rent districts. Examples high rent districts where monthly rent and mortgages astronomical include areas like Manchester Rd. in West County, Chesterfield Valley, Lindbergh Blvd in South County or even St. Peters & St. Charles.  Large retail stores love to locate in these high dollar settings knowing that a combination of proximity to other successful companies and that these areas are seen by the consumer as shopping Mecca’s. These two things do not necessarily make for cheaper prices at the register for the consumer. These companies have to make up for the prices they pay in rent and mortgages by increasing the cost of their mattresses and bedroom furniture. The consumer is the loser since they are the ones who ultimately have to pay for those higher expenses or overhead.

Advertising dollars

Another way large mattress and furniture companies fail to save you money is with their huge marketing budgets. Furniture and mattress stores spend extremely large amounts on a regular basis toward their advertising budget; this is to establish brand identity. The first brand they want you to identify with is their company name. My guess is that you could probably name at least one furniture or mattress store in the St. Louis Metro area with out having to think about it very long. I would even go so far to say you could name at least one brand name mattress or line of brand name furniture without trying very hard. Why is that?

Here is why. The hope is that by flooding the market with their company name, slogan, or catchy jingle that their company and their brand names will become a household name. Television, radio, newsprint ads, and sponsorships are very expensive and usually fall short of replenishing the advertising dollars these companies spend.  To offset those costs large furniture and mattress stores incorporate higher margins to get back their return on investment.

Who pays for this stuff? You do.

Continue reading about how the small mom pop store beat the big box stores and retail chains.