Mattress Firm has filed for bankruptcy

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

Mattress Firm's large fleet of stores has come under scrutiny in recent years.

• Mattress Firm has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, it said in a press release Friday.
• It is the largest specialty mattress retailer in the United States, with around 3,400 stores. Mattress Firm has increasingly come under pressure as new startups such as Casper innovate the experience of mattress shopping and take market share.
• Last October, Mattress Firm filed a lawsuit against two former employees, a broker, and a group of developers, accusing them of conspiring to push the company to aggressively expand.

Mattress Firm has filed for bankruptcy, it said in a press release Friday.

It has been an eventful few months for the company. In the span of a year, it has been accused by internet sleuths of running a money-laundering operation, announced it would be closing almost 200 stores, and watched on as its parent company's business practices have been investigated.

With 3,400 stores, it is the largest specialty mattress retailer in the US and has increasingly come under pressure as new startups such as Casper innovate the experience of mattress shopping and take market share.

Last October, Mattress Firm filed a lawsuit against two former employees, a broker, and a group of developers, accusing them of conspiring to push the company to aggressively expand and open stores.

Reports that the mattress retailer was considering filing for bankruptcy surfaced in August.