Wayfair Continues Brick and Mortar Expansion: Explore the Newest Joss & Main Store with Us!

The second Joss & Main store recently opened in the Chicago suburbs in a former RH location.  The store’s high traffic placement within the Oakbrook Center mall is a brand building opportunity for Joss & Main that enables customers to directly experience the product and compare offerings from other leading home furnishing and accessories retailers.

The Wayfair “Recipe” Comes to Life at Joss & Main

The Wayfair executive team describes their recipe for success as “great availability, fast delivery, great retail prices coupled with all the things we’re known for around customer service, an emotive shopping experience and product discovery tailored for home with a proprietary delivery advantage on heavy bulky items”.  These elements are highlighted in the store through signage and a well-trained and knowledgeable team of associates.

The Joss & Main Shopping Experience

This latest location in Oakbrook Center mall is situated next to Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams and near Arhaus, West Elm and Ballard Designs – enabling consumers to make clear comparisons across these retailers on product design, quality, pricing and availability.  A subset of Joss & Main’s full catalog of products are on display in the store, including furniture, lighting and accessories.  Many of these products are available for free delivery within 2 days. Furniture is tagged with an ESL that displays the price as well as a QR Code that links to a website for additional product information and options.  The store associates are equipped with tablets to help customers access product information or find similar and complementary items.

Photo Credit: McMillanDoolittle

The Joss & Main Value Difference

A quick comparison of a velvet sofa, available for delivery within 1-2 weeks for $1,360, indicated this item was $1,000 cheaper and with quicker delivery relative to competing offerings in nearby stores. One key area for improvement is the overall store design – the store is bare bones and has a temporary feel – there are no design elements that are unique to the Joss & Main brand, and the store lacks both warmth and excitement that you would expect in a contemporary yet classic retail environment that is focused on the home.

What’s Next for Wayfair’s Emerging Store Presence

Wayfair plans to continue build out of physical stores for Joss & Main as well as its other brands like All Modern to deliver a portfolio of specialty concepts.  The company has built an internal team to focus on this expansion that brought together experienced retail talent from outside the company with internal Wayfair team members.

In our POV, this cross-functional approach is a critical success factor for brands and digital retailers that are moving into brick and mortar.  If you’re looking for support to successfully bring your brand to consumers in new channels, contact us for a complimentary consultation.