Last fall, Minneapolis-based furniture company Room & Board sent 20,000 catalogs to Atlantans, and the results confirmed its plans to open a store here.
That store opens this weekend on Howell Mill Road, becoming Room & Board's ninth U.S. store and first in the Southeast.
The opening comes amid a slump for furniture chains, whose fortunes are closely tied to housing and consumer spending. Luxury retail watcher Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing, said in a recent report that the high-end furniture market has been hard-hit.
The industry saw a 13-percent drop in sales in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to the fourth quarter of 2007, she said, citing Commerce Department statistics.
Room & Board, a 29-year-old family run business that sells mostly American-made products, saw sales drop to $217 million last year from $230 million in 2007. But it has 2,800 mail-order Atlanta clients, enough of a customer base to open a store, said Jill Linville, a company spokeswoman.
Besides, said Ann Vick, the marketing director, "we heard it's a competitive shopping town."
Linville said reduced prices for retail real estate also made expansion appealing. The chain plans additional new stores in Washington, Boston, Seattle, Miami and Dallas.
In Atlanta, the company is leasing a 1910-era former slaughterhouse in a historic development called Westside Provisions, at 1170 Howell Mill Road, across a footbridge from Bacchanalia restaurant. The company spent $1.5 million retrofitting the three-story building.
Room & Board isn't the only home design store that has landed in the area west of the Downtown Connector near Georgia Tech.
Designer Jimmy Stanton chose to relocate his store from Edgewood to the Westside, instead of going to Miami Circle in Buckhead or other traditional design hubs. He'll open Stanton Home Furnishings on Huff Road this weekend.
He said it's a coup for the Westside to snag Room & Board. "They could have gone to Lenox or Miami Circle, but they are coming here."
Room & Board usually shies away from traditional malls, said Linville. The company's San Francisco and New York stores also are in offbeat, industrial areas. The company often buys or leases historic buildings. Its offerings range from sensible table lamps for $99 to ritzy sofas for $5,000.
The store will employ 20 people, with another 15 at a distribution center in Roswell.
Staff writer Katie Leslie contributed to this report.
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