Biz Buzz: Mattress retailer steps out on his own

In some ways, James Mullins is like a lot of people who dream of quitting their jobs and starting their own business.

Unlike many, though, Mullins has done it.

"I always wanted to do this. I wanted to be out on my own," said Mullins, who owns the independent Mattress America Sleep Outlet, a bed retailer at 7601 W. Broad St. in Henrico County.

He opened the shop last fall after almost a decade selling mattresses for local furniture retailers and then four years with a national mattress chain.

Mullins, who is the only full-time employee at the West Broad store, literally fell into mattress sales.

Right after high school, he took a job in the delivery department at a local furniture store. One day about four months into the job, he fell off a truck and broke his arm.

The company moved him onto the sales floor.

Mullins said he was terrified but "did well enough that they thought I was better at sales than as a delivery guy."

More important, he loved what he was doing.

"I tell people I fell into the best job of my life," Mullins said.

He spent eight years working in sales at two furniture stores in the Richmond area.

His big break came in 2006 when a national chain recruited him. He spent five years there, rising to the level of regional manager.

Mattress America Sleep Outlet, he said, was started using the best practices he learned from his years in the business.

Because the mattress industry is so competitive — there are about eight other shops within 2 miles of his store — Mullins tries to differentiate himself by only selling American-made products ranging from $500 to $10,000.

The shop also serves as an outlet for some mattress makers.

Mullins thinks that specializing in these products and keeping expenses razor thin allow him to compete pricewise against better-established shops.

"We all have mattresses. What I can offer is an American-made product and the customer service that our parents and grandparents talked about."

Beer shop closing

Wine and Beer Westpark, which has operated for more than 20 years, is closing at the end of next month.

"While it's no secret that the past few years have proven a challenging time for every business, I've been particularly struck because of the personal nature of owning an independent store," owner Matt Lake wrote to customers in an email.

Lake said the decision to close the store in the Westpark Shopping Center on West Broad Street was largely based on the expiration of his lease, which ends Feb. 29, as well as for personal matters.

"While we considered alternatives like moving to a different location, ultimately the attraction of starting a family far outweighed starting anew," said Lake, who has owned the store for about seven years.

Beyond the economy and the lease expiring, Lake also faced a challenge since Martin's Food Markets acquired Ukrop's in 2010. Martin's operates in the same shopping center, and the grocer ended Ukrop's long-standing policy prohibiting the sale of beer and wine.

"You know, Martin's changed the way that we looked at our business, but their wine and beer sales didn't play a large role in our decision. There just wasn't a ton of crossover products between the stores," Lake said.

Big Apple bound

Longwood University has a contingent in New York City this week for the National Retail Federation's annual meeting.

This is the second year the school has sent representatives to the conference, which began Sunday.

Among those attending the conference will be business school dean Paul Barrett; marketing, retailing and business education professor John Gaskins; and assistant dean and MBA program director Abigail O'Connor. They made the trip to help promote Longwood's MBA and other business school programs to attendees.

Yours truly also made the trip for the four-day conference. I'm covering developments in the retail industry and getting a peek at what's coming this year — and in years to come. Look for my stories over the next few days — and weeks.