Room & Board coming to Atlanta
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, October 6, 2008
ATLANTA — Room & Board will open a 34,000-square-foot store here in March, expanding into yet another new market with its take on classic contemporary home furnishings.
The nine-store Top 100 company, known for its sustainability practices, said the three-level store on Howell Mill Road will be part of a mixed-use development that includes the reuse of a 1910-era meatpacking plant as well as new construction.
With leasehold improvements included, Room & Board will invest about $1.5 million in the project, and hopes to do about $10 million in sales during its first abbreviated year here, said Chief Financial Officer Mark Miller.
As usual, the company doesn't plan to do much advertising. “We invite our customers and prospects, open quietly and let word of mouth build business kind of gradually,” Miller said.
On annualized basis, the store will probably do about $15 million, he said, but added, “That depends a lot on the economy.”
The Minneapolis-based retailer said its Atlanta location in the city's Provisions district “was the ideal choice because of its similar specialty boutiques and restaurants, and the historic neighborhood's pedestrian-friendly retail core.”
In May, Room & Board confirmed that it planned to open a two-level showroom in Culver City, Calif., its second in Southern California, now expected to open in March 2010.
The retailer, which has built a customer base in many markets through its phone and online business, had indicated earlier that it was scouting locations for new stores in several large metro areas around the country, including Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Austin, Texas, Miami and Ann Arbor, Mich.
But it might be a while before a 12th store opens.
“At this point we're going to wait and see what happens with the credit markets and the economy before we make any other decisions,” Miller said.
The company was one of the stars on Furniture/Today's latest Top 100 report with estimated 2007 sales up 10.6% to $230 million. It is expecting sales to be flat to down 1% this year, Miller said.
