in 1976. In 1978 the first televised Sleepy's commercial starring President Harry Acker aired. In 2009, the company launched their e-commerce website. Acquisition by Mattress Firm and rebranding In December 2015, Sleepy's announced that it was being acquired by competitor Mattress Firm (MFRM) for $780 million. Sleepy's stores were slowly rebranded as Mattress Firm throughout 2016, the last of them completed this process by January 1, 2017. Until 2018, Sleepy's continued to exist as an online retailer. Mattress Firm eventually reused the Sleepy's name for their own brand of mattresses. On October 5, 2018, Mattress Firm filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection and announced to close up to 500-700 stores, which included former Sleepy's stores that are close proximity to a nearby Mattress Firm store. In November 2018, the company had emerged from bankruptcy. Business operations Sleepy's carried mattress brands including Sealy, Serta, Simmons, Beautyrest, Posturepedic, Tempur-Pedic, King Koil, and Stearns & Foster. Like other major retailers, Sleepy's carried mattress lines that were unique to the seller, so there was no way to compare prices with their competitors. Sleepy's stores were located primarily in the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest, including Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont, and West Virginia. Oftentimes, stores would be located close to or nearby of other Sleepy's stores. Nationwide delivery was available through their official website. In 2009, a trade publication labeled Sleepy's as the fastest-growing furniture retailer in the US and in 2014 ranked them 11th in growth. Complaints In 2004, Sleepy's resolved a lawsuit filed by the New Jersey division of consumer affairs. The lawsuit alleged that Sleepy's misled consumers regarding their exchange policy, customer refunds, and advertisements. There were also questions about delivery of faulty merchandise and failure of delivery. Sleepy's agreed to pay $750,000 in costs and restitution to reach settlement. In addition to the payment the company agreed to clearer advertising, issuing refunds more willingly and improving customer service. In 2007, Sleepy's agreed to pay $200,000 to resolve complaints and settle deceptive sales charges in New York. As part of the settlement, Sleepy's agreed to pay a total of $200,000, which includes restitution to consumers and penalties, as well as a commitment to new policies and procedures to achieve full compliance with local and state laws. The settlement marked a conclusion