Gardner White CEO Rachel Stewart speaks at the VIP event celebrating the opening of GW Home in downtown Detroit. Photo courtesy of Gardner White.
WARREN, Mich. — Top 100 retailer Gardner White‘s new home furnishings shopping concept in downtown Detroit is open.
The Warren, Mich.-based retailer held a grand opening on June 6 for GW Home, a boutique style store geared toward urban living and the brand’s 14th store overall. The concept was the brainchild of CEO Rachel Stewart, who told Furniture Today that the opening was gratifying for several reasons, including the time it took to see it come to fruition.
“It’s a new concept that I know will be successful and we did it in practically no time,” Stewart said. “Being able to execute is just as important as having a good idea.”
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The store encompasses three stories with 15,000 square feet of custom curated furniture, home décor, art, accessories and unique gifts including one-of-a-kind finds through local partnerships and collaborations at 1201 Woodward Ave., across from Hudson’s Detroit. Being part of the new, vibrant downtown Detroit isn’t lost on Stewart, who said having a store in the heart of the city was always an important goal for Gardner White.
“The thing is, spiritually and emotionally, we always wanted to be downtown because we’re Detroiters and you believe in your city,” she said. “Now with (Detroit’s) financial resurgence, it makes sense to be downtown.”
GW Home showcases brands including Bernhardt, Rowe, Vanguard, Drew & Jonathan Home, Tempur-Pedic, Aireloom, Kingsdown, locally manufactured Serta, and a dynamic collection of high-quality furnishings and locally sourced pieces. Stewart said the product mix and how it’s merchandised reflects Detroit.
“What I think differentiates this is we really focused on accessible luxury. It’s easy to make something beautiful if it’s all high priced,” she said. “That’s certainly not Detroit, so to get creative there was really satisfying.”
Stewart said the opening of GW Home is significant for Gardner White because retail has to keep evolving to stay relevant. With that in mind, she said the retailer will continue to pioneer as it looks for new avenues for growth.
“There’s always more. We’re in strategic, smart, absorbable growth mode,” Stewart said. “We’ll keep refining the concept. This shows we’re not afraid to try new things and we’ll keep doing that.”