Casper’s Sleep Troubles
The pandemic has caused the digital mattress brand to cut staff and shutter its European operations, while also delaying customer orders. Even before that, the ‘Nike of sleep’ was experiencing growing pains, including product misfires and a lackluster public offering.
Hours after Casper Sleep executives rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange to inaugurate the mattress maker’s initial public offering in early February, the mood at the company’s downtown New York offices was celebratory.
CEO Philip Krim was jubilant, while Gregory Macfarlane, then Casper’s chief financial officer, invited employees to join him for a champagne toast, according to one person who was present. Some Casper employees were less upbeat about the IPO, though. The offering priced at the low end of its expected range, resulting in a market valuation less than half of the $1 billion private investors had given it the previous year. Skeptical employees skipped a lavish IPO party at a boutique Brooklyn hotel later that night, feeling it was in poor taste given Casper’s lackluster debut.