Hey there, grab your tinfoil hat, cue the x-flies soundtrack and settle into Conspiracy Corner; we're glad to have you. Join me as I dig into the world's most famous (or infamous) conspiracy theories.

New here? Here's how we roll. I'll start by giving you the lowdown on the theory itself - its core argument, history, and where the believers are today (and of course, we'll include all the fun facts that you never wanted to know). Then we’ll see if these theories have any valid points (spoiler alert, the answer is usually no) and digest why people believe.

Today's Conspiracy - what is really going on in all those Mattress Firms?

Buckle up - this one is a little complicated. If you type "Mattress Firm" into Google Maps, you may be surprised at the number of stores that appear, often within close proximity to each other. This abnormality has sparked a large Reddit conspiracy that accuses Mattress Firm of being a money laundering front.

I'll be honest, when I first heard about this phenomenon, I was not buying it. I figured that it was just people reading into something that wasn't there. However, once I gave it a second glance, I realized that there may be more to the story.

But are there really even that many?

Upon searching for mattress firms in the Bismarck area, I found no less than 3 franchise stores within 5 miles of each other. Additionally, down the road in Fargo, there are also 3 Mattress Firms within blocks of each other.

If you broaden the scope, in 2018, there were 16,000 mattress stores nationwide. To put this in perspective, there are only 14,000 Starbucks. Let's think about this. If we compare the frequency that we buy mattresses (every 7 to 10 years) and the frequency in which we buy coffee (every 7 to 10 hours), the fact that there are more mattress stores than Starbucks provides the basis for a rather convincing conspiracy theory.

How close is too close?

Die-hard Reddit conspiracy theorists have found that many stores appear to be on the same block, which they read as being the foundation for a money or drug laundering establishment that needs large locations near each other to run their operation. Though the theory may have a few missing facts, they are right about one thing, these stores are unusually close to each other. According to Mattress Firm location data, 42% of the franchise's stores are within one mile of each other. Yes . . . one mile.

But wait, there's more.

According to an NPR interview as well as an article by Business Insider, Mattress Firm has been going through some suspicious financial issues over the past few years. In 2018, a South African company, Steinhoff, bought Mattress Firm for 6.2 million dollars. This purchase was questioned by various financial experts because the amount is significantly high for a company that had been depleting in value due to the rise of other startup mattress companies. That same year, Steinhoff postponed publishing its yearly accounts because of irregularities, and the two top executives as well as the chair have since resigned. Even without thinking about how close the stores are to each other, these financial irregularities could launch a valid questioning of the motives of everyone's favorite mattress emporium.

Before you get out the pitchfork

Here's the deal: it's very clearly a fishy situation; however, the way mattresses are sold does have an impact on the amount and location of the stores in question. Mattresses are what is considered a "grudge purchase." What this means is that when you buy a mattress, it's a purchase that you have to live with and be happy with for a significant amount of time. If you buy a horrible mattress, you're not going to forget because you have to sleep on it every night. Because of this constant reminder of the choice, people take great care in buying the right mattress, which means they generally don't want to buy it online. The consumer wants to feel it, lay on it, and make sure that it's going to last them a long time. For this reason, they have to house their mattresses in the storefront location, and mattresses are large enough where multiple buildings are warranted.

Additionally, during the recession, Mattress Firm purchased several other mattress companies, and because these stores were built near each other (the mattress district you might say) it results in justification for the 3 Mattress Firms on the same block.

So . . . is it real or not?

All I'm saying is that I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Mattress Firm was a money-laundering front; however, the truth of the matter is that mattresses are sold and distributed differently than most other products, and it takes an understanding of the market to grasp the reasoning behind the suspicion.

That is all for this week's Conspiracy Corner. As usual, it has been a pleasure distracting you from your online biology lab.

Sources

https://media.thinknum.com/articles/mattress-firm-stores-proximity/

https://www.businessinsider.com/mattress-firm-conspiracy-grows-after-accounting-problems-2018-1

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/676543180