Wayfair's first brick and mortar store, one year in
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After Wayfair’s first and so far only “in real life” store celebrated its first anniversary recently, both company officials and the village of Wilmette say they’re happy with the results.
Wayfair, a furniture and home decor retailer, had previously sold its products exclusively through e-commerce until it opened its first-in-the-nation brick and mortar store at Edens Plaza in Wilmette.
“The guiding principles that we went into the store with are still very true,” noted Liza Lefkowski, the vice president of merchandising and stores at Wayfair. “We want the store to be a manifestation of the brand and cover a lot of ground in terms of your home needs with really great and intentional choices with the category.”
The road to Wayfair’s opening goes back to 2018 when the Carson, Pirie Scott department store, which had been a fixture in Edens Plaza since the 1950s, shut down operations at the approximately 150,000 square foot building.
After sitting idle for several years, the village announced in January 2022 that WS Development purchased Edens Plaza and simultaneously, Wayfair would take over the Carson’s space, per previous reporting.
While the store’s opening was delayed from the initial projected start date, Wayfair eventually secured village approvals leading to a building renovation. Amid a lot of fanfare, the store opened in late May 2024.
The company is not disclosing specific sales results of the Wayfair store, but in a statement they listed some accomplishments including over 720,000 visitors since its opening, the creation of more than 120 local jobs and 50% of the store’s customers being new to the Wayfair brand.
“So we are introducing ourselves to a bunch of people that we weren’t accessing before. So the store itself is a giant billboard for the brand,” Lefkowski said.
Lefkowski believes the Wilmette store’s initial success is due to a market of consumers who still like to walk down store aisles.
“There are many people out there who want to experience products in person and they want someone to talk to,” she said.
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