Cape mattress firm scores touchdown with Bears deal

smoyers

The Chicago Bears haven't won a Super Bowl since 1985, but if they bring home the Vince Lombardi trophy this year a Cape Girardeau business may have played a small part.

Campbell Mattress Co. at 100 S. Minnesota has landed a deal with the Chicago Bears football franchise to provide mattresses for the team's summer training facility at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

"If they win, Cape Girardeau will be responsible," joked owner Norman Wood, himself a Green Bay Packers fan. "If the players are comfortable while they're training, they'll play better later on."

Campbell Mattress, which has been in business since 1933, was selected by the team on the basis of quality and comfort, Wood said. He said 'Da Bears heard about Campbell Mattresses from company reps who contacted the team.

"We have reps out there that make contacts," Wood said. "We also do a lot of contract work throughout the country, too. We do dormitory beddings, a lot of the Big 12 conference teams. We also do a lot of motels across the country."

Campbell Mattress makes mattresses and box springs for several universities, including Southeast Missouri State, Washington University, University of Iowa and Kansas State.

While Wood wouldn't say how many of the mattresses the Bears ordered, of course the mattresses are big.

"They're all king-size," Wood said. "These are for some big guys."

Of course, if William "the Refrigerator" Perry were still on the team, it probably would have taken four mattresses.

Party on

Mark Kasten, the owner of Rental Land in Cape Girar-deau, has opened an offshoot business called Rental Land Special Events at 52 S. Plaza Way in the old Curtis Mathes building.

The business provides party-related accessories for rent and for sale, Kasten said. It was scheduled to open today and will be managed by Amy Kasten-Yates.

The 4,000 feet of showroom will have bridal items like candelabras, arches and other accessories.

"It will have any of the stuff you'll need for a special event," Kasten said.

No kidding

Kidd's is expanding again. The Cape Girardeau-based convenience store is branching out to Jackson, Mo. The store has bought the old Stogie's Texaco at 304 E. Jackson Blvd., and opened at the end of March, according to manager Adam Kidd.

There's a lot of construction going on at the store, which will have a new car wash, a new drive through and an improved inside. The car wash will probably open later this week, Kidd said.

Kidd operates two Cape Girardeau locations at 1325 Broadway and Kidd's II at 103 N. Kingshighway.

Concerned investors

The results of a recent survey confirm that corporate CEOs are losing investors' esteem amid all the reports of accounting irregularities. (We needed a survey for this?)

In the poll of 300 investors across the United States, 56 percent said they think America's chief executives are working to better their own economic prospects, rather than those of their companies or shareholders.

Three out of five investors polled said they're convinced companies are purposefully withholding information from the public to maintain their stock price, according to the survey by InsightExpress, an online market research firm. And 54 polled believe CEOs are aware of their companies' accounting and investment activities.

Seventy-five percent said a CEO's actions reflect directly on the company's operations and sincerity. Another 65 percent believe there will likely be more Enron-like situations within the Fortune 500 by the end of the year.

See ya

The number of chief executives leaving their companies reached a six-month high in May, a new report says.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., an outplacement firm that tracks job cuts at all levels, said the 80 departures in May were the highest figure since last October and a 48 percent increase over April's 54 departures.

In June, the announced departure number of chief executives totaled 44. Since November, 442 CEOs have stepped down from their jobs at a variety of companies, from small businesses with less than 500 workers to those that are part of the Fortune 1,000.

"Former CEOs sitting on the sidelines with their enough-for-a-lifetime severance and profit sharing packages do not need to work, and likely would not want to, in the current produce-or-else atmosphere," said John A. Challenger, Challenger's CEO. "Companies seeking to fill the top position may soon be forced to take a second-tier candidate -- someone eager to run a company and make his/her mark."

Increased scrutiny by directors, wary investors and government agencies in the seven months since the announcement of the Enron investigation may have resulted in a 21 percent rise in the percentage of chief executive officers leaving office for unspecified reasons.

Briefly

Gary's Cleaning Service has opened in Jackson at 732 Greensberry Road. The owner is Gary Fann. Fann said they mainly clean offices, but they do some residential.

Shear Madness in Jackson at 127 N. Main St. has been bought by Nicole White. White bought the beauty salon form Wendy Wright, who opened it last year. The salon features cuts, braids, extensions, etc.

Scott Moyers is the business editor for the Southeast Missourian. Send your comments, business news, information or questions to Biz Buzz, 301 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0699, e-mail smoyers@semissourian.com or call 335-6611, extension 137.