Jim McIngvale

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Not to be confused with Mattress Mick.

Jim McIngvale
2018 Houston Hurricane Harvey Disaster Recovery Visit, Day 1 (26787636577) (cropped).jpg
McIngvale in 2018
Born (1951-02-11) February 11, 1951 (age 72)
Starkville, Mississippi, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Other names"Mattress Mack"
OccupationBusinessman
Known forGallery Furniture
WebsiteGalleryFurniture.com
The main Gallery Furniture store in the Northside
Gallery Furniture store in Uptown

James Franklin McIngvale (born February 11, 1951), also known as "Mattress Mack", is an American businessman. He is known for owning and operating the Gallery Furniture retail chain.

Biography

McIngvale was born on February 11, 1951, in Starkville, Mississippi. He graduated from Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas and attended North Texas State University, now University of North Texas, in Denton where he played football.[1] He and his wife have four children.

McIngvale is best known for his energetic, fast-paced sales pitches, typically ending with some variant of his catchphrase "saves you money!" His distinctive sales style originated from an incident that occurred early on in Gallery Furniture's history. Faced with financial difficulties, McIngvale invested all his remaining money, approximately $10,000, in a television commercial to be aired on two Houston stations. While watching the commercial being produced, he became dissatisfied and ad-libbed a sales pitch, speaking rapidly because of the limited amount of time available. The commercial proved very effective, and his sales increased dramatically afterward.[2]

In 1992, Jim and his wife Linda were executive producers of the action-comedy film Sidekicks starring Chuck Norris and Jonathan Brandis;[3] and in return Norris did several television advertising commercials for Gallery Furniture, owned by Jim and Linda.

In 1999, McIngvale spoke to the British Deming Association annual conference about the influence of W. Edwards Deming on his business methods.[4]

In 2002, Jim McIngvale co-authored the book Always Think Big with Thomas Duening and John Ivancevich, which chronicles the ups and downs of McIngvale's entrepreneurial career.[5] He lives in the Northgate Forest community in an unincorporated area of Harris County, Texas. Ericka Mellon of the Houston Chronicle said that he was "one of Northgate's most recognizable residents."[6]

In May 2009, the Houston Chronicle reported that McIngvale refused to pay $48,000 in taxes to the Greater Northside Management District that was assessed from 2005 to 2007, he paid taxes to the district in 2008. His northside facility is within the district's boundary. McIngvale said the management district does not do enough to maintain the area, he described the management district's taxation policies as "taxation without representation." The district sued McIngvale to try to force him to pay the taxes and McIngvale said he's willing to dispute the charges in court.[7]

In August 2017, McIngvale opened his stores to people affected by Harvey, a hurricane that flooded the city.[8]

In June 2019, McIngvale suffered a possible transient ischemic attack.[9][10]

When Tropical Storm Imelda flooded Houston in 2019, McIngvale once again opened the doors of Gallery Furniture and partnered with Crisis Clean Up to provide free meals and shelter at the North Freeway location.[11]

During the 2021 Texas power crisis and winter storms, McIngvale allowed people to shelter from the cold and spend the night at Gallery Furniture.[12] Also in 2021, in the wake of evacuation and destruction due to Hurricane Ida which hit the Gulf Coast (and particularly Louisiana and New Orleans), McIngvale began to shelter Louisianan residents at Gallery Furniture as well as provide warm meals and amenities for free. He also organized a supply donation drive and caravan into south Louisiana to deliver supplies to the area.[13]

On February 3, 2022, McIngvale placed a $4.5 million wager on the Cincinnati Bengals to win Super Bowl LVI. It has officially set the record for the largest mobile wager in sports betting history.[citation needed]

Political views

In 2010, McIngvale supported the Tea Party movement.[14] He funded full-page ads for the Tea Party that appeared in the Houston Chronicle. He was a guest speaker along with many local conservative radio hosts for The North Houston Tea Party Patriots at Sam Houston Race Park.[15]

In the 2015 Houston mayor's race, McIngvale endorsed conservative candidate Bill King over Sylvester Turner.[16] Turner won the election.

In 2018, McIngvale endorsed the reelection of Republican U.S. Representative John Culberson and appeared in commercials supporting the congressman.[17] Culberson lost the election to Lizzie Fletcher.

In February 2020, after endorsing Bill King for mayor in 2015, McIngvale endorsed the reelection of Democrat mayor, Sylvester Turner.[citation needed] During the 2022 Texas Attorney General election, McIngvale backed unsuccessful challenger George P. Bush against incumbent Ken Paxton.[18]

In April 2020, Governor Greg Abbott named McIngvale to the Strike Force to Open Texas – a group "tasked with finding safe and effective ways to slowly reopen the state" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[19]

References

  1. ^ Pilkenton, Jenn. "Houston's Mattress Mack Uses His Success to Help Others". Philanthropy World Magazine. 12 (1). Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
  2. ^ "Mattress Mack". Free Enterprise Land. Archived from the original on August 23, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  3. ^ "James McIngvale (I) Producer". IMDB. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  4. ^ McIngvale, Jim (June 1, 2000). Mossman, Alan (ed.). "Presentation at BDA Forum 1999". UK Deming Newsletter. Transcribed by Henry Neave. ISSN 1470-5672. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2018 – via The Change Business Ltd.
  5. ^ Duening, Thomas; Ivancevich, John; McIngvale, Jim (2002). Always Think Big. Sydney, Australia: Kaplan Business. ISBN 0-7931-5375-1.
  6. ^ Mellon, Ericka. "SUBURBAN SECESSION / Neighbors petition to join Klein / Northgate Forest residents complain of lower property values and performance with Spring Archived March 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine." Houston Chronicle. Thursday April 5, 2007. B1 MetFront.
  7. ^ Patel, Purva (May 29, 2009). "McIngvale sued over unpaid taxes". Houston Chronicle. Houston, Texas: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  8. ^ Glen, Heidi. "Stores Full Of Furniture, 'Mattress Mack' Opens His Doors To Flood Victims". NPR. NPR. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  9. ^ "'Mattress Mack' released from hospital after stroke scare". KHOU. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  10. ^ Luna, Marcy de (June 25, 2019). "Jim 'Mattress Mack' McIngvale reportedly has 'ministroke'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  11. ^ "Imelda Relief". www.galleryfurniture.com. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  12. ^ Hauser, Christine (February 18, 2021). "A Houston furniture store opened its doors as a refuge. Thousands came for help". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  13. ^ report, Staff. "Houston's 'Mattress Mack' is sheltering Louisiana residents for free after Hurricane Ida". NOLA.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  14. ^ "Anonymous group targets McIngvale for supporting Tea Party". KHOU. May 26, 2010. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  15. ^ "Houston Tea Party, Boycott Sponsor Mattress Mack and Gallery Furniture." Rackjite.com. April 12, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  16. ^ "Houston business icon Jim 'Mattress Mack' McIngvale endorse Bill King for mayor in new TV ad". Bill King for Houston Mayor. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  17. ^ "Mattress Mack picks a side in close Congressional race". KHOU. October 2, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  18. ^ "Mattress Mack shoots ad endorsing George P. Bush for Texas AG". March 22, 2022.
  19. ^ "These are the experts, leaders working with Gov. Abbott's strike force to reopen Texas". khou.com. Retrieved April 21, 2020.

External links

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