West Elm, a division of retail powerhouse Williams-Sonoma Inc. that is known for its cheap-chic home furnishings, will open its first store in Canada next fall, aiming for the "upper tier of the mass market."
Its modern, minimalist sofas and coffee tables have appeared on several home renovation shows, and its financial performance is described by analysts as among the best within the Williams-Sonoma group.
And while the parent company, which also owns the upscale Pottery Barn chain, has been struggling in a tough U.S. economy, West Elm has been expanding rapidly. There are 32 West Elm stores today, catering to hip, design-conscious consumers living in downtown condos and lofts. Industry observers say that it could have 200 or more outlets over the next several years.
"We really want to take on more of the mass market, below Pottery Barn, which is why West Elm was conceived," Dave DeMattei, group president at Williams-Sonoma, said from its head office in San Francisco. "We go after the upper tier of the mass market. We are a specialty version of IKEA."
West Elm's similarities to IKEA are evident. Both chains' stores display their products in fully accessorized room settings and keep merchandise readily available on store shelves. Because customers see how items fit with one another, they tend to buy more than one piece at a time.
Both retailers keep up with the latest trends, and use inexpensive materials such as particle board with wood veneers to keep costs - and prices - down. They design their own products, and pack much of the furniture in flat packages, which shaves distribution expenses. They leave some or all of furniture assembly to the customer.
"It's one of the best, if not the best, performing concepts within the Williams-Sonoma family of retail stores," said senior retailing analyst Vivian Ma at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York. "Generally, retail sales in Canada are doing much better than in the U.S. So putting a West Elm store, one of the most successful concepts, in Canada is going to help the whole company."
West Elm, which started as a catalogue in 2002 and opened its first store two years later, today accounts for only a small piece of Williams-Sonoma's roughly $4-billion (U.S.) in annual sales. The company doesn't break out West Elm's financial results, but analysts estimate that it represents less than 5 per cent of the total business.
And while West Elm is an engine of growth for the company, Williams-Sonoma as a whole saw its first-quarter same-store sales, a key industry indicator, drop 9 per cent - the worst showing in the company's history, said senior retail analyst Brian Postol at Jesup & Lamont in St. Louis. He's worried that West Elm has cannibalized some business from Pottery Barn.
Still, in the weakening economy, West Elm - like IKEA - is well positioned to profit from consumers' habit of "trading down" to more affordable merchants, Ms. Ma said. Williams-Sonoma already has 15 high-end stores in Canada, under its Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids banners. In all, it runs more than 600 outlets in North America and Puerto Rico.
And despite the parallels between West Elm and IKEA, there are differences, Mr. DeMattei said.
"We have a 20,000- to 25,000-square-foot box [store]" he said in a telephone interview. "They have a 150,000-square-foot box. We're not going after the $199 to $299 sofas. Our sofas are probably $799 to $1,200 in U.S. prices."
In fact, both West Elm and IKEA have evolved to carry a much wider range of merchandise at higher prices. West Elm still focuses on modern designs, but it has learned from its mistakes: While it initially carried only wood-framed furniture, it now incorporates upholstery into the pieces to make them softer and more comfortable. The added fabric and padding also adds to the price.
"At the beginning, we didn't sell upholstery - it was all low to the ground and wood framed," Mr. DeMattei said. "It was not comfortable. Then we got into sofas. They didn't sell as well. ... They were high on design value but probably low on comfort.
"People still like comfort, no matter what. I think that was a learning for our design team: Comfort needs to be always there, functionality always has to be there."
West Elm also distinguishes itself by concentrating on furnishings for small spaces. It caters to the growing number of people moving into downtown condos and lofts. Its products are compact or expandable, as space allows.
Sectional sofas are popular, for instance, because they can be reconfigured to fit an array of spaces, Mr. DeMattei said. Customers appreciate flexibility. "We used to do our dining tables for very small spaces. Then we went to expandable tables and they sold better."
As West Elm broadened its offerings, it also moved beyond what it initially defined as its target customer - young urban dwellers, he said.
George Whalin is an example of the widened demographic. An avid West Elm shopper, he's 64 and lives in a house in suburban San Diego. "We like contemporary furniture," said the president of Retail Management Consultants in Carlsbad, Calif. "We like simple, not overly designed furniture."
But West Elm faces fierce competition from IKEA, a well established retail force in North America, Mr. Whalin said. West Elm has an edge with its core customer by generally locating in downtown store fronts, he said. IKEA, in contrast, is a familiar suburban presence.
West Elm's first Canadian store is set to open in October in Toronto's burgeoning King Street West area, where lofts and condos abound. But IKEA is creeping closer: Later this week, it is launching a temporary "pop-up" showroom not too far away on King Street East.