Casper Rival Purple Brings Its Mattresses to Chicago

Purple, an online mattress brand that competes with startups like Casper and Leesa, is bringing its beds to Mattress Firm locations across Chicago.

Purple announced Tuesday that its mattresses are now available in 30 Chicago-area Mattress Firm stores. The Chicago expansion is part of national distribution deal Purple has with Mattress firm. The company next plans to expand to Phoenix and the Bay Area.

Founded in 2015 in Alpine, Utah, Purple has become one of the state's biggest startup success stories. Even though it's received far less press than its mattress rivals, the company grew to around $180 million in revenue last year and merged with a New York shell company in a deal that valued Purple at $1.1 billion. The reverse merger allowed Purple to become a publicly traded company, and it trades on the Nasdaq under PRPL.

Purple rose to unicorn status without taking any venture capital, and its founders, brothers Tony and Terry Pearce, are estimated to have taken home $850 million from the deal. Casper has raised $240 million to date, and Leesa has raised $32 million.

Scaling a mattress startup is certainly different than scaling, say, a software company. Even as online shopping continues to dominate retail, many customers still want to test out a mattress before pulling the trigger, even with a 100-day return policy. That's why partnerships with companies like Mattress Firm can help upstarts expand their reach. 

“We’re excited to add more brick-and-mortar locations to our growing list and give Chicago the opportunity to experience Purple firsthand,” Terry Pearce, co-founder and CEO of Purple, said in a statement.

Here's a full list of the Mattress Firm locations in Chicagoland where Purple is available.