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Each week, we find, curate and share the most relevant bedding and mattress news stories from across the web. Check out what we’re reading and writing about this week.

In The News

U.S. Retail Sales Grew 0.9% in April: Americans continued to pump money into the U.S. economy in April, with increased retail spending offering the latest sign consumers are driving demand at stores and manufacturers despite the pinch from high inflation.| Wall Street Journal

Retailers Just Sounded An Alarm On Inflation. It’s Worth Heeding: Despite the uptick in sales, both Target and Walmart shared earnings results this week that were flush with signs that the economy is entering a period of deep uncertainty. Experts says inflation is already causing consumers to pull back spending on some items as they look to cut expenses. | CNN

3 Takeaways From ‘A Wild 48 Hours In Retail’: Following the “brutal” earnings calls, many are coming to similar conclusions: consumers are being financially battered by inflation and the economy is slowing much quicker than Wall Street economists have factored into their 500-step multi-factor models. | Yahoo!Finance

Nationwide Marketing Group Distribution Network Expands To 200+ Warehouses: Today, Nationwide members can call on any one of Nationwide’s 18 distribution partners who collectively boast over 200 distribution centers and more than 5 million square feet of warehouse space. Those figures have nearly quadrupled since the start of the new year. | Sleep Retailer

Serta Simmons CCO Huet To Exit Company: Serta Simmons is shuffling its management reporting structure with the upcoming departure of Melanie Huet, the company’s chief commercial officer. The company has no plans to fill the soon-to-be vacant chief commercial officer seat, according to officials. | Furniture Today

Kingsdown Partners With Sleep Expert Dr. Angela Holliday-Bell For New Social Initiative: Kingsdown has partnered with physician, board certified sleep specialist and sleep coach Dr. Angela Holliday-Bell to bring the brand’s “Sleep to Live” message to life on social media. | Sleep Retailer

Retailers Can’t Hire Fast Enough, But Retail Startups Are Shedding Workers To Cut Costs: With consumers rushing back to stores, retailers with a heavy brick-and-mortar presence have no choice but to raise wages and offer incentives to keep their stores staffed—while many tech startups are slimming their workforces to show investors they have a path toward profitability. | eMarketer

Therapedic Calls For ‘Best Retail Ideas’ In New Contest: Therapedic International is calling on mattress retailers to submit their best retail ideas for a chance to win a trip to Las Vegas and a starring role in the company’s video series ‘Inside Track with Gerry Borreggine.’ | Sleep Retailer

Unionization Is Starting to Spread Across the Retail Sector: Inspired by the recent wave of union campaigns at Starbucks and Amazon, retail workers at major chains like Target are launching new organizing drives across the United States. | Jacobin

Precision Textiles Expands Operations With New Warehouse: Precision Textiles recently acquired a 100,000-square-foot warehouse in Star, NC, about 10 miles from its existing manufacturing facility in Troy, NC. With the addition of the new site, the company will have a total of 260,000 square feet of production, distribution and warehousing space in the region. | Sleep Retailer

Kohl’s Says Two Top Executives Are Leaving, As Company Seeks Buyer: Kohl’s said Wednesday that it is losing two of its top executives—its chief merchandising officer and chief marketing officer—as the retailer searches for a potential buyer amid pressure from activists to sell the business. | CNBC

Retail Gets Real To Mitigate Racial Bias In The Shopping Experience: A new charter aims to mitigate racial bias in retail by bringing retailers together to implement actions and create best practices that can address the issues prevalent in the shopping journey for many BIPOC customers and workers. | Forbes

Biden Signs Law Banning Infant Sleep Products Blamed For 200 Deaths: President Biden signed into law legislation that prohibits the manufacture and sale of crib bumpers or inclined sleepers blamed for more than 200 infant deaths. Manufacturers and retailers have 180 days to comply with the new law. | CBS News

Health, Wellness & The Science Of Sleep

Can a Night Owl Become an Early Bird?: While some people are genetically prone to staying up late, a new morning routine can help shift your sleep clock. | New York Times

Some COVID Long-Haulers Are Experiencing Sleep Issues: Many people who have recovered from COVID-19 are still dealing with long-term complications from the virus. Their symptoms are wide-ranging, but one of the more common issues reported involves difficulties with sleep. A sleep specialist explains and offers some advice. | Cleveland Clinic

Ask a Trainer: How Can I Sleep More Comfortably When I’m Injured?: Sleep is an important component of injury recovery – but how are you supposed to get shut-eye when your injury makes it hard to get comfortable? | Triathlete

How Sleep Helps To Process Emotions: Researchers at the Department of Neurology of the University of Bern and University Hospital Bern identified how the brain triages emotions during dream sleep to consolidate the storage of positive emotions while dampening the consolidation of negative ones. | Technology Networks