Shopping Centers Today

MAR 2015

Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

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the price-conscious shopper, accord- ing to Bird. "[We] take everybody's style and knock it off at great prices," he said. And "everybody" would mean rivals like Bed Bath & Beyond, Pottery Barn and Target. At Home has ditched an approach of purchasing merchandise from fac- tories, opting instead to handle its own product development. And that, according to Bird, has meant saying to its supply partners: " 'This is the look and style [we want],' " he said. " 'Can you make this for $199?' " To that end, the retailer doubled its merchandising staff and also moved its headquarters within Texas from Houston to Plano — where the retail- buying talent is, says Bird. Indeed, Penney and Neiman Marcus are now in the chain's backyard. Today the chain makes a variety of higher-end styles available, including some labeled "gracious living," "library luxe," "tribal chic" and the like — and all for a fraction of its competitors' prices: A 5-by-8 rug that would go for $699 at a higher-end retailer may be had for about $199 in an At Home store. The mix is about 85 percent private-label and 15 percent familiar national brands. Most At Home stores are in power centers, but the chain is nimble enough that it operates units also at neighbor- hood strip centers and in enclosed malls, in spaces measuring at least 85,000 square feet. At Home has taken over Kmart, Lowe's, Target, Walmart and department store spaces, says Bird. "We can lease, buy or build a box," he said. At Home has been able to benefit not only from nationwide retail clo- sures, but also from the physical down- sizing trend manifested in the likes of Walmart Express and TargetExpress, which has freed up space in big boxes. "The shift away from big-box stores has been good for us," he said. "We like big boxes." S C T For leasing, contact Dean Zurmely, vice president of real estate, at (972) 265-1304 or dzurmely@athome.com. r e T a i l i n g T o d a y M a r c h 2 0 1 5 / S C T 23 The chain is adding more merchandise to help carve out a larger slice of the $30 billion home- decor market.

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