Business - Business News

POSTED: Monday, Jun. 15, 2009

Fairhaven business treats customers to relaxing atmosphere

Each week The Bellingham Herald takes a closer look at a business or a construction project. This week: Northwest Sleep Solutions.

Surviving the recession: Scott Caseria, owner of Northwest Sleep Solutions, said he likes that customers call him "the bed guy." Caseria has worked in the mattress business in Whatcom County for 20 years. He and his wife, LeAnn, opened Northwest Sleep Solutions in Fairhaven 14 months ago. Business friends told them they would turn a profit in two years, but the store started making profits in its third month - and then the economy tanked. Caseria said he was surprised how much his business was affected by the national market

"The day the market crashed we didn't get anyone in the store for two weeks," Caseria said.

Caseria attributes his store's survival partly to advertising. In a down economy, a lot of small business owners save costs by cutting advertising, but that only hurts the business more, he said.

"The guy who keeps his name out there will end up with a piece of the pie," Caseria said.

What it does: The store carries three brands of mattresses: Beautyrest, Tempur-Pedic and Englander. The store sells a number of other smaller products including towels, soaps and candles.

Ownership: Scott and LeAnn Caseria.

Marketplace: Northwest Sleep Solutions has customers throughout Whatcom County, and even a few in Skagit. At first, customers were mostly from Fairhaven, but the store soon received orders from as far as Maple Falls and Mount Vernon, Caseria said.

Employees: Five. Northwest Sleep Solutions is family owned and operated aside from one part-time employee who is not related.

Claim to fame: A little known fact is most foam within mattresses is made from petroleum, he said. "We need to get off of that," he said. "Once people know they are sleeping on all this petroleum, they realize they don't want it." Northwest Sleep Solutions carries a brand of mattresses made with more durable, soy-based foam.

One of Caseria's goals in opening his store was to create a relaxing shopping atmosphere. Upon entering the store, customers can hear the sound of crickets playing softly over the store's speakers and breathe in the aroma of soaps and scented candles. Caseria said he wants to change people's perceptions about buying a mattress.

"I've heard people saying it's like buying a used car, and it shouldn't be - it's a bed, for crying out loud," he said.

Because of its Fairhaven location, people may think the mattresses at Northwest Sleep Solutions are expensive, but Caseria said the store offers some of the lowest prices in town.

"I'm a guy on a mission," he said. "I want to keep it reasonable so people can afford to buy a nice bed."

NORTHWEST SLEEP SOLUTIONS

1440 10th St. Suite 103

Bellingham, WA 98225

360-734-6977