Business & Tech

Size of Houses, Demographics Have Arhaus Considering Alpharetta

The upscale home furnishings retailer is in active discussions to open a store in Avalon.

Arhaus (our house), a home furnishings retailer with more than 40 store locations in the United States, hasn't quite signed on the dotted line to open a store in Alpharetta.

Greg Teed, COO for Arhaus, said they are in active discussions to open a second store in Georgia at Avalon, the North American Properties development planned at Old Milton Parkway and GA 400.

"We are very interested in the area," said Teed. "Our store that opened in October in Phipps Plaza is doing fantastic, and we think the Atlanta market is a really good fit for our brand."

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He said Arhaus is an upscale brand offering very unique items. They source a lot of product from the U.S., and he said it's much higher quality than most other companies offer. That makes it appeal to the higher end customer.

"We travel the world finding unique items that can't be found at any other furniture store," Teed said.

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While most stores get their products through middlemen, Arhaus has relations with vendors across the world, and designs its own products.

"And we find relics and antiques from across the world to bring in. We just feel we bring in a more unique perspective to the furniture business than anyone else out there," he said.

Why open stores now in Georgia?

"Atlanta went through what pretty much most of the country went through with regards to the housing bubble. That hit our company as well. But that was back in '08 and '09," Teed said.

Since 2010, Arhaus has been growing rapidly with sales in stores rising.

"While we are not back to pre-recession, pre-housing bubble numbers, we've hit double-digit numbers in our stores," he said.

The company felt it was time for the Atlanta market.

"While the market hasn't fully recovered, we still felt that it recovered enough that it could do very well in Phipps and now Alpharetta," Teed said.

Alpharetta was picked because of the size of the homes, its demographics and average household income.

"We do cater to a higher end customer. Our stuff is not cheap. It is very high quality, it's sourced from around the world.," he said.

There are very few cities where Arhaus would be able to add 10 stores. He said Atlanta is good for at least two stores.

What remains for the Alpharetta decision is a general review of the market, and of the other tenants that will be in Avalon.

"But we are very close," Teed said.

Other Arhaus store openings:

  • Raleigh, NC – February 2012
  • Hackensack, NJ – September 2012
  • Edina, MN – October 2012
  • King of Prussia, PA – November 2012


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