Furniture retailer Wayfair drew lines of shoppers when it opened it's first store in Illinois earlier this year, and now, the company is planning to open its first outlet store in the state.
The 23,000-square-foot outlet store is expected to open in Naperville at the Westridge Court mall, 324 S. Route 59. It will be the company’s fifth outlet in the country.
The Naperville store will sell merchandise that's been returned as well as discounted items in good condition, a Wayfair spokesperson said. Products will only be available for purchase at the store but will be searchable online.
Wayfair opened its first brick-and-mortar location in Wilmette in May. At the grand opening, hundreds of customers flocked to the two-story, 150,000-square-foot shop at Edens Plaza, 3232 Lake Ave. The building also features a colorful mural by Chicago artist Alyssa Low.
Wayfair declined to comment on how business is going at the Wilmette store, where it hired more than 100 employees.
Adam Katz, head of physical retail at Wayfair, which has a fulfillment center in Romeoville, said during the store's opening that “greater Chicago is a wonderful market for us. Wilmette has a lot of young, growing families.”
Based in Boston, Wayfair has outlet stores in Florence, Kentucky; San Marcos, Texas; Deer Park, New York; and Greensboro, North Carolina.
The company’s portfolio includes brands AllModern, Birch Lane, Joss & Main, Perigold and Wayfair Professional.
On Thursday, Wayfair reported its second quarter net revenue dipped 1.7% to $54 million, compared to the same period a year ago. It's U.S. net revenue fell 2% year-over-year to $2.7 billion.
Niraj Shah, CEO and co-founder of Wayfair, said in its earnings statement: “Customers remain cautious in their spending on the home. Our credit card data suggests that the category correction now mirrors the magnitude of the peak to trough decline the home furnishing space experienced during the great financial crisis.”
Wayfair generated $12 billion in net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023.
