Mattress Firm taps ex-TV chief as its CEO
Mattress Firm, the nation’s largest mattress retailer, has tapped former television executive John Eck as its new CEO.
The Houston company on Friday said it is confident the former Univision and NBCUniversal executive can set a new strategic course for the mattress giant, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November. Eck, who starts his new job next week, will be tasked with driving sales during the busy summer season, which kicks off with Memorial Day sales this weekend.
“This is the perfect time for John Eck to join Mattress Firm,” the company said in a statement released Friday. “He is a transformational leader who has a unique ability to navigate highly dynamic industries and unite teams around a common vision that modernizes the company.”
Eck replaces Mattress Firm veteran Steve Stagner, who resigned last month. The former chairman and chief executive’s rocky relationship with Tempur Sealy, one of Mattress Firm’s most lucrative suppliers, likely cost Stagner his job, according to Wall Street analysts. Since Mattress Firm’s bankruptcy, Tempur Sealy has been in talks with Mattress Firm to sell its high-end
Tempur-Pedic mattresses in Mattress Firm’s 2,500 stores nationwide, but no deal has been struck yet.
Eck brings years of media experience to Mattress Firm, a major media advertiser in Houston.
The Connecticut resident was most recently a senior adviser and consultant at Rockdale Partners, a New York financial advisory firm specializing in technology, media and telecommunications. He was previously chief local media officer for Univision, a Hispanic media company that operates 120 TV and radio stations nationally.
Eck previously spent 28 years at General Electric in its lighting, aviation, financial services and media divisions, and led the integration of NBC and Universal.
He was later named president of NBC’s television network.
Eck comes to Mattress Firm during a challenging time for the retailer, a subsidiary of Steinhoff International, a South African retail conglomerate mired in a financial accounting scandal. The parent company, which has been under investigation and audits, earlier this month reported a net loss of $4.5 billion in 2017, warning investors about its ability to operate as a going concern. There is “significant doubt upon the company and group’s ability to continue as a going concern beyond the foreseeable future,” Steinhoff said in its 2017 annual report released May 7. “The management board and operational management require sufficient time to stabilize the group and re-establish value at operational level.”
Mattress Firm, in a statement earlier this month, said it is focused on moving the company forward since its restructuring.
“The Board is pleased with the speed of sale recapture, profitability and liquidity improvement to date,” Sunni Goodman, a Mattress Firm spokeswoman, said in an email earlier this month. “The company is in a strong go-forward position.”
Eck, who did not return calls for comment Friday, said in a statement he plans to shape Mattress Firm into a customer-centric and innovative company.
“Mattress Firm has incredible brand equity, a strong network of stores and distribution centers and tremendous potential,” Eck said. “I look forward to working with the team and building a brand that customers look to first, last and always for a great night’s sleep.”