Verlo Mattress Welcomes New Madison Store Owners Carmen Strum and Cory Cunningham

The stores, located at 2713 W Beltline Hwy and 4100 E Washington Ave in Madison, WI, have been purchased from Chad Franklin by Carmen Strum and Cory Cunningham, of C&C Mattress Factory, LLC.

New ownership details

Strum said she was attracted to Verlo Mattress because of the high quality of its products, the “Lifetime Comfort Guarantee” on its mattresses, and its reputation for community involvement.

“I like that Verlo Mattress is so unique from other mattress companies,” Strum said. “They make the mattresses right there, not overseas. I also like that it’s always been a family business. Verlo Mattress represents the highest quality of mattresses, and I am happy to provide my community with the great night’s sleep they deserve. I’m really excited to be part of the Verlo Mattress family.”

The Verlo Mattress franchises will be Strum and Cunningham’s first. But Strum has been a long-time businesswoman in the Madison area and is the daughter of Phil Woodman, president of Woodman’s Markets. She said she wants to make the Madison Verlo Mattress stores better than ever.

“I learned a lot from my parents,” she said. “I like to take something and make it beautiful and kind of put my stamp on it. I want to be as hands-on as possible. There is no job too small for the owner of a business. I want to know what every employee is doing and how they do it. I want to create a fun environment. But I will be the first person to help a customer.”

Strum also said she is also excited to engage in community involvement, especially helping families in need in the Madison area.

Verlo mattress history

Franklin has a long history with Verlo Mattress. Dale Williams and Guy Day founded Verlo Mattress, and Dave Williams (Dale's son) opened Verlo Mattress of Madison in 1986. Dave Williams sold it to Chad Franklin's family in 1991.

Chad Franklin started working for Verlo Mattress of Madison in May of 1991 in production and delivery. He purchased the business from his family and took over as the sole owner-operator in 1997. Cory Cunningham started working for Verlo Mattress of Madison in August of 1990, right out of high school when he was 18 years old.

"There is a lot of room for Verlo Mattress to grow in Madison, and I could not think of anyone better suited to carry on the legacy of Verlo Mattress in Madison than Cory and Carmen,” Franklin said.

Verlo Mattress is unique in that it offers sleep technology and a variety of sleep products designed for the individual customer. The Madison stores will continue to offer the same high-quality hand-made custom mattresses, pillows, adjustable bases, and other sleep technology products that have made Verlo Mattress famous.

"Verlo Mattress is known for making better mattresses and selling them for less, a lot less!” Cleveland said.