Room & Board opens SoHo store heavy on accessories

By Carole Sloan -- Home Accents Today, 4/1/2005

The newly opened Room & Board in the trendy SoHo section of Manhattan is merchandised "to adapt to the New York market," said John Gabbert, founder and president.

The Minneapolis-based home furnishings specialty retailer has long experience with New Yorkers' needs and preferences, he said, because of the extensive business it derives here from its catalog and on-line programs. The New York market, he pointed out, represents the biggest non-store market for the catalog, which is 25% of the company's total revenue.

Home textiles are given more presentation space here than in some of the eight other stores with bedding shown on beds throughout the store as well as in a separate department showing all styles and colors together.

Home accents — wall art, rugs, throws, decorative pillows and lighting — play key roles throughout the store. They are used in every vignette or room setting, well as in specific product outposts with signage giving the romance of collections such as wedding baskets and masks.

In general, accessories are presented more dramatically than in some of the company's other stores, Gabbert said. While the offer appears larger than in several of the other units, "we really didn't buy differently; it's more in the presentation."

The SoHo store follows the company's design credo: classic, simple designs with Room & Board focusing on 20th- and 21st- century style and Retrospect centering on 17th- to 19th-century designs, Gabbert said.

The SoHo store has a little more Retrospect with more of a "New York antique shop feeling."

Bedding, rugs and decorative pillows are picked to "work with the furniture," Gabbert said. "Our mission as a company is to make it easy for a customer to complete her home."

The bedding assortment is from Area and Dwell. The signage, both in vignettes throughout the store and in the bedding department, is clear and makes no mention of thread count. "We're not into the thread count game, we're selling quality," Gabbert emphasized.

The company took its experience in the New York market and its requirements into consideration throughout the three-level store. As an example, "we went for smaller scale" in merchandise presentations for sofas but larger sizes also are featured and are available in each style.

Kids furnishings are housed in a smaller space than in its Chicago store "but we expect this to be a strong category here," Gabbert said.

As for the design process "we build from what is working and closely monitor customer requests concerning things like size," Gabbert said. But outside influences also are important. "We follow fashion trends and also watch other home furnishings directions," he added. "Good design really lasts. A whole lot of our product is 10 years old or more."

At the end of April, the company will open a 48,000-sq.-ft. store in San Francisco, its first there, at 7th and Townsend. Both the Manhattan and San Francisco stores are in restored buildings, a former Knoll showroom and former warehouse, respectively.

The company had estimated sales of $112 million in 2003, and saw sales increase about 20% for 2004, Gabbert said. For 2005, sales are projected to grow by 30% with the addition of the two new units. "We are trying not to grow too fast," Gabbert emphasized.

The New York market produced about $4 million just from the catalog and on-line programs. The catalog is produced annually, and prices are firm from January through November in what the company calls "guaranteed lowest prices every day."

Decorative accessories are critical to the look of the store and a mask collection is one of the highlights. This vignette features the masks on one wall, decorative wall art on the other with furniture that sets the mood.

Rugs are shown in each vignette or room setting. They come together in a feature presentation on a wall with a chaise on a rug for impact.