Beyond Liberty provides insight into some of the home furnishing purveyor's latest experiments within the home category at its Bed Bath & Beyond, which includes notable novelties such as a concierge desk and a 700-square-foot Safavieh boutique (read full story), comprised of area rugs, pillows, accent furniture, lighting and even a sofa.
A 700 square foot store-with-in-a-store at Bed Bath & Beyond gives Safavieh room to display not only rugs but home furnishings as well.
The property also includes Brooklyn's first World Market store, which offers local shoppers a selection of home furnishings and decor and food items in a bazaar-style setting. The new World Market offers one-of-a-kind and programmed area rugs displayed in vignettes throughout the store and in a distinct rug department.
Above, A modern vintage vignette, perfectly in keeping with the Beyond Liberty complex' early 1900s building's industrial beginnings, provides shoppers with plenty of inspiration at Cost Plus World Market's Brooklyn debut.
The bazaar-like atmosphere of Cost Plus World Market, Brooklyn's first, attracted many shoppers during the soft opening at the new Beyond Liberty mall in Sunset Park.
"With approximately 120,000 square feet, [the Beyond Liberty complex] is a unique shopping destination that puts a Bed Bath & Beyond, ByeBye Baby, Cost Plus World Market and Face Values all under one roof," said CEO Steven Temares. "For about two years now we have worked to help transform this historic industrial complex, constructed in the early 1900s into a vibrant retail space that showcases the products, services and solutions we have to offer today. We believe the rewards generated from this initial Beyond experience will be beneficial to us in many ways."
REWORKING HOME FURNISHINGS
The publicly traded company, has been rethinking its approach to home furnishings and using the category as a means to differentiate its offering from competitors. In fact, earlier this year the retailer acquired e-commerce companies One Kings Lane and PersonalizationMall.com to grow its offering in furniture and home decor.
Temares continued, "To showcase our expanded offerings, including our home d??cor and furniture categories, and our expertise for the home." BBB released its first-ever Welcome Home catalog in early October containing 84 pages of product inspiration for the home. It included lifestyle shots of rugs and furnishings by Safavieh, and rugs by Couristan, Kaleen and Momeni.
A spread in Bed Bath & Beyond's debut home furnishings catalog released in the fall of 2016 features rugs and furnishings by Safavieh and rugs by Couristan, Kaleen and Momeni.
"The home furnishings space provides tremendous opportunities to build a large curated assortment that includes unique and differentiated products that will engage with our customers in a meaningful way by providing inspiration, solution and services across various lifestyles," commented Temares. "Recently we introduced a new home d??cor feature: a drapery design gallery that is available in select stores and online at bedbathandbeyond.com. Customers can customize draperies at home by choosing from 250 fabrics three header styles and four lengths."
The new Bed Bath & Beyond store also includes a "Born in Brooklyn" display of our Brooklyn-based designers and their products; Scan for More which allows customers to scan products for images as well as product information and customer reviews; interactive catalogs that allow customers to view an expanded assortment of products, such as seasonal furniture and bed and bath products; and the dedicated The Beyond Room where customers can work with in-store experts and concierge services such as registry and soon-to-come decorating services. What's more, the Beyond Liberty complex also offers special services such as home delivery and installation.
"In addition to putting Bed Bath & Beyond, ByeBye Baby, Cost Plus World Market and Face Values together in one location under one roof, there are many features and services special to the Beyond venue," Temares continued. "They include an experiential environment where customers and their families can
participate in product demonstrations, how-to sessions and cooking classes in our event space called 71 & Beyond, named after the year Bed Bath & Beyond was founded."
The new Beyond Liberty Bed Bath & Beyond store incorporates many new features that the retailer is tinkering with including a dedicated living-room like Beyond Room, where customers can work with in-store experts, receive concierge services (such as shopping registries) and soon-to-come decorating services
TOUGH COMPETITION BREEDS NEW APPROACHES
The publicly traded company has faced stiff competition in the past several years not only from other retailers but also with increased competition coming from online e-tailers, notably Amazon.com.
In the third quarter of 2016, BBB reported net sales of approximately $2.955 billion, an increase of approximately 0.1 percent from the third quarter of fiscal 2015. Yet the company's comparable sales in the third quarter of fiscal year 2016 dropped by approximately 1.4 percent, compared with a decrease of approximately 0.4 percent a year earlier. However, the company's comp sales from customer-facing digital channels increased by more than 20 percent, while comparable sales from stores declined in the low single-digit percentage range during the third quarter of fiscal 2016.
As a result the company has been toying with fresh ideas to boost sales and increase customer loyalty including testing its new by-invitation-only Beyond+ membership service. For $29 a year, members get 20 percent off all purchases in Bed Bath & Beyond stores and online, and free shipping.
The entryway to the new Liberty Complex Bed Bath & Beyond store features a new curated "Best of New" display, pictured, which features products from BBB, Cost Plus World Market, ByeBye Baby and Face Values.
The new format of the Liberty Complex includes entertainment, eating and shopping features, designed to appeal to multiple lifestyles. It includes a "blow in blow out" bar where customers can make appointments with professional stylists for hair wash and blowouts and nail services. A unique food hall-style dining experience with a market style kitchen serves local cuisine as well as local craft beers and select wines.
"At the Brooklyn location you'll see some of the things that deliver for the customer and not everything is even open yet," Temares added. "These are the things we are trying to explain to the customer. The customer has to understand that you have them and you have to deliver on them. A lot of the things we are doing in Brooklyn were one off in other locations. But this is the first time they are all together in one store. We've taken what we learned and put it into one venue and on a big scale."