From The Ethical Mattress Company:
The Ethical Mattress Company, a specialty sleep store located on Millburn Avenue and featuring mattresses, pillows and bedding made from certified organic and natural materials, is celebrating its first full year in business this month. According to Bryan Umiker, the owner and a long-time Maplewood resident, the omni-channel retailer has shipped and delivered over 400 mattresses since opening last December.
“We’re thrilled with how the MapSo community has embraced our store. I like to tell people that we’re MapSo’s best mattress store not technically located in MapSo,” Umiker says with a laugh. “Our core values of natural, organic and toxin-free mattresses, all made locally here in New Jersey, combined with affordable everyday low prices and great service has really resonated with residents in Maplewood, South Orange, West Orange, and on up to Montclair. Over 70% of our local deliveries have been to those communities, and we couldn’t be more grateful for their support!”
While area residents are the retailer’s primary focus, the Ethical Mattress has also built a thriving online business. “Our ecommerce business is growing at an amazing clip,” says Umiker. “People from all across the country are finding our website and selecting our products. We’ve shipped mattresses to 40 states, from Maine to Hawaii, with California being our second biggest state for orders after New Jersey. We’ve even shipped mattresses to Puerto Rico.”
Umiker says the Ethical Mattress strives to provide every customer with a level of personalized service unmatched by other retailers, and that customers have taken note. “When you read our reviews, the thing that really stands out for people, and the thing I’m the most proud of, is our commitment to service. I tell our team, our goal isn’t to make a sale. Our goal is to help our customers solve their problem. That starts by listening closely to their needs and using our knowledge and experience to help them find the right solution.”
While it’s difficult to provide online shoppers in other states with the same level of service, that doesn’t stop the Ethical Mattress from building a personal connection, Umiker says. “For every ecomm order we ship, I put a handwritten thank you card in the box along with my contact information, and I let the customer know they can call me directly if they have any concerns.”
A twenty-year veteran of the mattress business and former vice president for both Casper and Bloomingdale’s, Umiker has been a member of the community since 2001. He and his wife, April Heeren, have been active parents in the school district, and in 2016 Umiker worked with Kate Schmidt at the South Orange Rec Department to found the youth SOMA Flag Football League.
“Opening this store has been a dream of mine since I started out in retail, and I was thrilled to be able to open our first location right next door to our community. With the things we’re doing – selling natural and sustainable products made locally, helping people get amazing and toxin-free sleep for themselves or their children, and also working to get our customers’ old mattresses recycled – well, like our mission statement says, together we can change the world, one mattress at a time.”
