Jacksonville, Florida, is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States, measuring 840 square miles. But its urban sprawl isn’t intimidating RJ “Vernon” Williams on his journey to become Jacksonville’s sleep destination with his company, Jacksonville Bedding, Mattresses, & More. In May, the retailer opened its second location.
“We want to make sure that we build our legacy and that we are positioning ourselves to be the local sleep shop for Northeast Florida,” Williams said.
In 2008, Williams and his business partner, Tara Day, opened their first store in a 3,200-square-foot location on Jacksonville’s San Jose Boulevard. Williams said that the store has been doing “tremendous business,” making expansion a natural next step, particularly amid what he describes as “substantial growth” in the local market over the last three years with the arrival of national competitors.
“We were going to have to grow if we wanted to establish ourselves as the place to shop and we still have a long way to go,” he said. “We knew that we had to get out ahead of it and make sure that we establish a footprint here in Jacksonville.”
After a year of searching, Williams and Day landed on a 2,400 square foot space in the affluent area of Fleming Island, just 15 miles from the first one. Though smaller than the original store, the Fleming Island location is less about square footage and more about expanding the retailer’s footprint. The space was previously home to a different mattress shop for 15 years, which, according to Williams, made it a “no-brainer” when selecting real estate.
In the new store, Beautyrest Black has been added to its lineup for the first time as a through-line to the previous mattress retailer that formerly occupied the space.
“We wanted to have something that old customers would still feel comfortable walking into and feel like they were walking into a whole new destination with some familiarity,” Williams explained.
As for something new, the store has a unique feature thanks to the retailer’s fruitful partnership with 3Z Brands (which owns and manufactures various brands, including Brooklyn Bedding and Helix Sleep). The second location features the country’s first custom Helix Sleep-branded wall. 3Z Brands sent installers to build the display, and Williams is proud of it.
“We’ve been with 3Z Brands for several years, and they’ve been an amazing partner to us here locally,” Williams added. “As we grow, they’re certainly a big part of our growth plans, and we’re really proud to be able to say that we’re the first retail store in the country to have this.”
Williams said consumers are still pushing for online brands, and direct-to-consumer brands continue to drive traffic into stores, as shoppers increasingly research products online before visiting showrooms.
“They’ve already kind of made up their mind that if they lay on this mattress and they enjoy the feel, that they are going to buy it,” Williams said. “It has been a secret weapon for us over the last few years.”
Williams also shared that the company is leaning into organic and natural mattresses, which he believes are the “fastest-growing sector of mattresses.” The store is the exclusive Avocado dealer for Northeast Florida, and also carries Naturepedic and King Koil Mattress Co.’s Natural line. Other key brands in the assortment include PranaSleep, Sealy and Tempur-Pedic.
Whether it’s a direct-to-consumer brand, an organic line or something else entirely, the retailer sells all mattresses in what Williams refers to as a “no-pressure environment.”
“Most mattress stores start with products,” he said. “We start with the people before discussing any brands, prices or promotions. The focus is always on understanding how someone sleeps. What hurts when they wake up, whether they like or dislike their current mattress? What is their temperature preference and budget? The goal, truly, is not to sell a mattress, it’s to solve a sleep problem.”
Despite the second store being shy of a month old, Williams already has plans to open additional stores.
“We’re focused on being a sleep destination. We’re focused on becoming Jacksonville’s local sleep shop that will take care of customers for generations to come.”
