Pottery Barn Bed + Bath Goes Brick-and-Mortar
By Jennifer Marks -- Home Textiles Today, 11/13/2006
New York — Pottery Barn Bed + Bath is virtual no more. The six-year-old brand extension has moved beyond catalog and e-commerce into bricks and mortar with the opening of stores in Orlando and Manhattan. A third iteration of the concept will open later this week in Portland, Ore.
"We know that our customers value the tactile experience that a retail store provides," said Laura Alber, president of parent company Williams-Sonoma Inc. "Now they can sit on the furniture, feel the high-quality linens, and view the extensive line of bathroom fixtures."
The stores range in size from 5,500 to 9,500 square feet. The Portland Bed + Bath will be attached to an existing Pottery Barn at The Shops at NW 23rd Ave., with flow-through from one store to the other. The largest of the stores resides in Orlando's Mall at Millenia.
Roughly 70% of the merchandise in PB Bed + Bath stores is unique to the brand, with the remainder also offered through traditional Pottery Barn outlets.
The new concept includes the introduction of the Mix and Match Bedding Collection, consisting of duvets, sheet sets, bed skirts, quilts, and blankets in five coordinating patterns and colors. The in-store design center desk offers photos of the components in various mixtures. Store staff can also reference shoppers to coordinating upholstery fabric on a display nearby.
The Manhattan Bed + Bath has five dressed beds on the floor, with a total of 20 pattern choices altogether. The store also has more extensive quilt and drapery offerings that at Pottery Barn units.
Bath furnishings and hardware dominate the bath department, presented in vignette settings. The towel wall offers the retailer's core 800 gram bath towel in 11 colors along with coordinating bath rugs and shower curtains.
Interior designer Thomas O'Brien collaborated on store design for all three inaugural Bed + Bath stores. "We wanted the store to feel as if you were stepping into someone's home, by incorporating traditional residential elements throughout the space," he said.
