Wayfair will go the brick-and-mortar route again with three stores featuring its specialty brands AllModern and Joss & Main, each located in its home state of Massachusetts and featuring furniture, home furnishings and housewares.
AllModern will open its first store at MarketStreet Lynnfield, MA, followed by a second location at Legacy Place in Dedham, MA, both open-air retail destinations owned and managed by WS Development. Joss & Main will open in a new lifestyle space at Burlington Mall, a Simon mall in Burlington, MA. The three openings will kick off a series of store debuts Wayfair plans over the next two years that will cover each of its five of brands in optimized formats, sizes and geographies, the company maintained. The additional stores will include larger store formats for Wayfair and its premium Perigold brand.
AllModern and Joss & Main stores will offer distinctive retail environments designed to bring each brand to life for consumers, Wayfair indicated. Store shoppers will have the ability to explore independently or get guidance from knowledgeable teams leveraging innovative tools and expertise to provide creative solutions for their homes. The stores will feature furniture, tabletop, bedding and bath, and seasonal items among other product categories. Shoppers will be able to immediately purchase products in-store or have orders placed for fast delivery to their homes.
The new stores represent the latest twist in Wayfair’s relationship with physical retailing. In 2018, Wayfair debuted a variety of pop-up shops, and, in 2019, the company opened a smaller format retail store at the Natick Mall that has since closed. It also opened an outlet store in Florence, KY, that is temporarily shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the company.
“At Wayfair, we are focused on creating the best possible experience for our customers,” said Karen McKibbin, Wayfair head of physical retail, in announcing the store openings. “That includes meeting them wherever they are on their shopping journey and delivering the exceptional value, selection, service and inspiration they enjoy from our entire family of brands. With our first-ever AllModern and Joss & Main retail stores, we are introducing a new kind of omnichannel shopping experience powered by the Wayfair platform, inviting our customers to engage with the brands they know and love in an innovative format that blends the best of in-store and online shopping.
“We are focused on building a premier portfolio of specialty concepts, helping all of our customers find the home solutions that are just right for them. We look forward to unveiling the next evolution of our specialty retail brands through this exciting new channel.”
In its 2020 letter to shareholders, Wayfair stated:
“We are focused on reinforcing that identity with every type of customer and building their awareness of the breadth of our platform. We will continue our outreach through an ROI-oriented lens, meeting our customers anywhere they interact with the category – whether that is on the phone or via email or chat, through emerging digital channels, or innovative new approaches in traditional channels like direct mail or physical retail.”
