Home goods giant Wayfair is expanding its physical footprint with a second large-format store. This time, the destination is Atlanta, set to open in 2026 inside The District at Howell Mill shopping center, situated at a prominent location on 1801 Howell Mill Road NW, which formerly housed Walmart. This was disclosed by the Boston-based retailer who recently leased the 150,000-square-foot space, planning to transform the area left vacant after a 2022 fire, according to Rough Draft Atlanta.
The store’s strategic placement near Wayfair's McDonough distribution center, the company remarks, will significantly cut down on delivery times for substantial items like sofas for regional customers. Notably, this follows the bullish performance of its first store in Wilmette, Illinois, which, as per details from FOX 5 Atlanta, experienced a 15% quicker sales growth in Illinois when compared to the national average in the latter half of 2024.
"The excitement around our first store in Wilmette exceeded expectations, and we can’t wait to bring that same energy to Atlanta," Liza Lefkowski, vice president of merchandising and stores at Wayfair, told Rough Draft Atlanta. The anticipation rides on the success of the Wilmette location, where shoppers eagerly filled their carts and even organized bus tours from neighboring states to visit. The Atlanta store intends to echo a similar offering, providing a diverse range of furniture tailored to suit varying styles and budgets.
Despite the susceptibility to financial headwinds, seeing a net loss of $492 million in 2024 on a revenue stream of $11.9 billion—an improvement on its previous year's performance, Wayfair continues to grow in retail stature. The expansion comes in contrast to a pattern of layoffs and downsizing that included, letting go of 1,650 staff earlier and shutting down its Technology Development Center in Austin, Texas also the cessation of its operations in Germany which affected roughly 750 employees as FOX 5 Atlanta reported. Yet, the retailer's brick-and-mortar portfolio swells, with a total of 10 stores across various brands like AllModern, Joss & Main, Birch Lane, and the first Wayfair store that debuted in Illinois.
The grand opening date for the new Atlanta store remains unannounced; however, the move reverberates Wayfair's dedication to reaching consumers wherever they shop, extending beyond their established online presence to offer a tangible in-store experience that aims to complement and integrate with online convenience.
