Select Comfort to Establish Contact Center in Jefferson Parish
NEW ORLEANS – Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards and Select Comfort Corp. executive Melissa Barra announced the company will establish a technical support contact center in the Elmwood area of Jefferson Parish. Select Comfort will occupy an office building in the Elmwood business corridor near New Orleans, where employees will provide sales and support services for customers of the company’s Sleep Number® beds and accessory products.
The project will create 225 new direct jobs with a starting annual salary of $30,000, plus benefits, while Louisiana Economic Development estimates an additional 104 new indirect jobs will result from the project, for a total of more than 325 new jobs in the Southeast Region of Louisiana. Hiring is now underway, with Sleep Number planning to begin operation in August. Information about job openings may be found at LouisianaSleepNumberJobs.com.
“GNO Inc. is thrilled to welcome an outstanding publicly traded company to the greater New Orleans market,” said President and CEO Michael Hecht of Greater New Orleans Inc. “Business and government leaders from around the region and state worked in partnership to demonstrate to Select Comfort the unbeatable business case of Louisiana. Our combination of competitive costs and superior workforce will ensure great success for Select Comfort in Jefferson for years to come.”
“Select Comfort is an impressive, fast-growing company that is the innovation leader in the mattress industry,” Gov. Edwards said. “With our talented workforce and healthy business climate, Louisiana is a great fit for innovative consumer brands. We welcome Select Comfort’s support center to our business community.”
Select Comfort develops, manufactures, markets and supports Sleep Number adjustable-firmness beds and sleep-related accessory products in the U.S. Founded in 1987, the company is headquartered in Minneapolis and operates manufacturing facilities in South Carolina and Utah. Select Comfort employs 3,800 people and operates 550 company-owned Sleep Number® retail stores. Its annual revenue in 2016 exceeded $1.3 billion.
“At Sleep Number, delivering a strong customer experience is a top priority,” said Select Comfort’s Melissa Barra, senior vice president, and chief strategy and customer relationship officer. “To accommodate our growth, we are opening a new support center in New Orleans. Together with our existing center in Minneapolis, the New Orleans office will support our customers’ sales and service needs on the phone and via live chat. When fully staffed, we will employ approximately 225 new team members. We appreciate the partnership of LED and look forward to bringing this new facility online in August.”
LED began working with the company on a potential project in February 2017. To secure the project, LED offered Sleep Number a competitive incentive package that includes a flexible, performance-based grant of up to $800,000 to reimburse the company for lease assistance, infrastructure costs and relocation expenses. Sleep Number will receive the comprehensive solutions of LED FastStart®, the nation’s No. 1 state workforce training program. The company also is expected to utilize the state’s Quality Jobs Program. Louisiana won the Select Comfort project in competition with other states. The Select Comfort service center will be located at 1333 South Clearview Parkway in Elmwood.
“Along with the entire Parish Council, I am thrilled to welcome Select Comfort to Jefferson Parish,” Parish President Mike Yenni said. “After an intensive site selection process, the notable consumer brand chose our community because of Jefferson’s robust business climate and many assets, including the location in our thriving Elmwood corridor. We look forward to supporting Select Comfort as they create quality job opportunities for our residents.”
The company will lease more than 28,000 feet of commercial space in an existing Elmwood building for its new center, which will include support for SleepIQ® technology. Integrated into Sleep Number beds, SleepIQ tracks a person’s sleep to offer insights and make suggestions for better quality sleep. Sleep Number bed models will be featured in the center as personnel assist customers with product and service inquiries. Employees also will sell Sleep Number products via online chat.
“JEDCO is excited to welcome another national brand to our parish,” said President Jerry Bologna of the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission. “Jefferson’s proven ability to deliver a stable, quality workforce was a key element in Select Comfort’s decision-making process and we look forward to adhering to their aggressive hiring plan. Additionally, we look forward to creating a long-term relationship that will capture the company’s future growth in our area.”
About Select Comfort
Thirty years ago, Sleep Number transformed the mattress industry with the idea that “one size does not fit all’ when it comes to sleep. Today, the company is the leader in sleep innovation and ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Mattresses” by J.D. Power in 2015 and 2016. As the pioneer in biometric sleep tracking and adjustability, Sleep Number is proving the connection between quality sleep and health and wellbeing. Dedicated to individualizing sleep experiences, the company’s 3,800 employees are improving lives with innovative sleep solutions. To find better quality sleep visit one of the 550 Sleep Number® stores located in 49 states or SleepNumber.com. For more information, visit the company’s Newsroom and Investor Relations sites.
About Greater New Orleans, Inc.
GNO, Inc. is the regional economic development organization for Southeast Louisiana. The GNO, Inc.’s Mission is to create jobs and wealth in the Greater New Orleans community. The GNO, Inc. Vision is for the Greater New Orleans region to fulfill its potential as one of the best places in the country to grow a company, and raise a family.
More information can be found at www.gnoinc.org.
