GALLERY FURNITURE SUPER BOWL PROMOTION PAYS OFF FOR ‘MATTRESS MACK’ AND MORE THAN 1,100 OF HIS CUSTOMERS

Houston’s Gallery Furniture store owner Jim ‘Mattress Mack” McIngvale bet on the Denver Broncos by offering to refund the money of customers who spent at least $6,000 on furniture during the two weeks prior to the Supper Bowl if the Seattle Seahawks won.

MATTRESS MACK REFUNDS MORE THAN $7 MILLION TO CUSTOMERS FOR LOST “SUPER BOWL BET” PROMOTION
The front page of the Gallery Furniture website Monday morning: CUSTOMERS WIN $7,000,000

By Jeff Balke

Houston Press Hair Balls
February 3, 2014

Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale has always been known for his over the top promotional ideas and guerrilla advertising techniques. Just two weeks ago, he rewarded customers who guessed correctly that Denver and Seattle would end up in the Super Bowl with nearly $700,000 in furniture. For the actual "big game" (he couldn't call it the "Super Bowl" in his ads thanks to NFL restrictions on such things), he took it further and it cost him 10 times more.

This wager involved folks who were willing to spend $6,000 or more before 5 p.m. Sunday at Gallery Furniture stores. If they did and Seattle won (which, of course, they did), he would refund the money to those customers. According to reports, more than 1100 people did and it cost the furniture store owner $7 million.

One might think this is a huge loss for Gallery Furniture, but this is a company that makes well over $100 million per year in annual revenue and is one of the most successful independent businesses in America according to Businesseweek.com. Try to imagine for a moment if 110 people in the span of a week were willing to drop $6,000 each on recliners, theater seating and mattresses (all without the frustrating "back, back, back order slip"), hundreds of additional customers no doubt spent under the mark required for the bet.

Let's be clear, Mack is no dummy. To some, he might appear to be crazy, but the guy is a marketing genius and this was yet another example of how he used a holiday or sporting event to bring customers in the front door. And it isn't like he handed them cash. The markup on his furniture probably runs anywhere from 50 to 200 percent or more depending on what it is. Even though he refunded $7 million, this did not cost him that much, and, more importantly, he brought in customers who will no doubt become repeat business for his stores.

Additionally, he turned a time where shopping is traditionally slower post-holidays into a sizable chunk of revenue. Not so crazy after all.