Wayfair.com, an online retailer of home goods, has doubled its warehouse space by adding a total of 200,000 sq. ft. to its facilities in Hebron, KY, and Ogden, UT in preparation for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
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Wayfair.com CEO Niraj Shah said in an email that 150,000 sq. ft. was added to the Hebron, KY facility while 50,000 sq. ft. was added to the Ogden UT facility. Shah said Wayfair’s total distribution network is now 400,000 sq. ft. About 30 new employees were added to the Kentucky facility and 10 new employees were added in Utah.
Shah said Wayfair.com expanded warehouse space and employees to keep pace with the growth of the business and to grow its two-day delivery program.
Shah said the additional space in the Kentucky warehouse opened in July and the new space in the Utah facility just opened on Oct. 31. Besides the new employees added to both facilities, about 25 seasonal workers will be added in Kentucky and 10 in Utah. Warehouse employees fill roles ranging from customer support, order processing, and fulfillment, Shah said.
Shah said Wayfair.com stocks the same items in each warehouse to allow for fast delivery to both coasts. Those items include a wide range of furniture, accent and décor items, housewares, and other home goods.
Shah said the company is on track to exceed $500 million in total sales this year, but declined to share his estimated amount.
In the past year Shah said Wayfair.com has added 400 employees at its locations in Boston, Kentucky, and Utah. “We anticipate hiring at a rapid pace to accommodate our growth.”
Wayfair.com has grown through its three brands — Wayfair.com, AllModern.com, and JossAndMain.com – with a larger product selection, repeat business, and market share, Shah said.
Wayfair.com is offering two-day shipping on 20,000 products over the holidays, a 500% increase over last year, Shah said. The company is emphasizing in-demand holiday gifts such as mirrors, barstools, air hockey tables, kayaks, chicken coops, children’s recliners, gaming chairs, and trampolines.
Shah said Wayfair.com’s largest sales day last year was $4 million on Cyber Monday.
According to its Home for the Holidays survey results – 1,200 people surveyed — Wayfair.com says 63% plan to shop the day after Thanksgiving – and 80% of those respondents indicated they would shop exclusively online. For Wayfair.com, marketing around Black Friday and Cyber Monday will include several sale events, Shah said, and throughout the entire holiday season.
Shah said online shopping offers better customer service along with the same or better deals and discounts than brick-and-mortar retailers. Shah said Wayfair.com tries to make shopping online easy for its customers via its three retail brands – Wayfair.com, AllModern.com and JossAndMain.com.
Shah said at Wayfair.com the online focus for customers is a large selection and “making it easy for you to narrow down your choices between our 1,500 bedroom sets.”
At AllModern.com, the focus is on having the best selection of modern design including “having products from up and coming designers you don’t know about,” Shah said. And at Joss & Main, “we curate seven great sale events a day that only last 72 hours each.”
Jim Tierney (jim.tierney@penton.com) is a senior writer for Multichannel Merchant. You can connect with him on Twitter (TierneyMCM) and LinkedIn, or call him at 203-358-4265.
