West Elm to open in Wayland Square

West Elm, a subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma Inc., will open its first retail store in Rhode Island in Wayland Square in Providence. / PBN PHOTO MARY MACDONALD
West Elm, a subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma Inc., will open its first retail store in Rhode Island in Wayland Square in Providence. / PBN PHOTO MARY MACDONALD

PROVIDENCE – West Elm, a subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma Inc., will open its first retail store in Rhode Island in Wayland Square. The building, now under renovation, is at 179 Wayland Ave.
The company anticipates a September opening, according to a spokeswoman. It is now hiring, and expects to create 30 positions at the store, to be called West Elm Providence.
The retailer has stores in 30 states, as well as the District of Columbia, but is better known for its online sales. In New England, it has two stores in Massachusetts, as well as two locations in Connecticut, according to its website.
The company is known for higher-end contemporary furnishings and home décor, as well as housewares.
Why Rhode Island?
“We’re always looking for new and special locations to introduce the West End brand and meet customers who may have been shopping with us online, right in their hometowns,” said company President Jim Brett, in a statement. “On the most practical level, we look to put new stores where we have a proven base of West Elm online shoppers. But we are also drawn to Rhode Island’s reputation for independent, industrial design, both in its storied heritage and in the diversity of its contemporary makers.”
The neighborhood, Wayland Square, was chosen because it has a mix of residential, shopping and entertainment venues, the company said. “Wayland Square has that interesting mix of residential architectural style and community-focused businesses we look for in a neighborhood, and we are excited to become part of the local landscape in Providence, where industrial art and design have always played such an important part of the city’s culture,” Brett said.
The Wayland Square neighborhood is among the most affluent in Providence. It had a median household income of $66,770 in 2010, according to the U.S. Census, compared to $37,514 for the city as a whole.
The space West Elm will occupy was previously home to several small businesses, including the Walking Company, Reliable Gold and Wendy Brown Home, which have relocated to other commercial sites in the neighborhood following flooding of the building in 2014.

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2 COMMENTS

  1. West Elm is not opening anything in RI, it selected PROVIDENCE. Just like GE Tech, Providence is the destination – Rhode Island is irrelevant. That is why Providence is growing in population and business, not the suburbs.

    People – Rhode Island and southeastern MA are part of the Providence Metro Area.

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