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Home Accents Today is proud to present to you 50 of the best and brightest home accessories retailers across the United States.
Sponsored by AmericasMart Atlanta, the Retail Stars list honors independent brick-and-mortar retailers of home accents and accessories. The list includes furniture stores, home décor boutiques and interior design retailers that are creative in their merchandising, contribute to their communities and distinguish themselves from the competition. This is not a ranking and is not based on sales volume.
This year’s group is as varied in as many ways as it’s consistent. They come from all over with sales figures ranging from around $1 million to a couple of hundreds of millions with differing views on selling online, what social media channel to participate in and whether or not to offer interior design services.
These Stars come from 26 states across the country with New York and Indiana leading the way with four selections each. Missouri, Oregon and Florida each have three Stars while two retailers were picked from Tennessee, Kansas, New Jersey, Minnesota, Washington, California, Michigan, Virginia, Illinois, Georgia, Texas and Arizona. Nevada, West Virginia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Utah, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Hawaii and Pennsylvania each have one Retail Star in the 2018 list.
While the majority of the Stars opened for business after the turn of the century, 18 of them have been in business since at least 19-something. Hildreth’s Home Goods of Southampton, N.Y., first opened its doors in 1842, before a handful of this year’s Stars’ homes were even states. Other notables include Indiana’s Garber’s Interior Design, in business since 1935; Minnesota’s HOM Furniture, which first began selling in 1971; and The Village Shoppes of Indiana, which got started in 1975.
While our list isn’t a ranking by sales, we like to take note of what stores are doing well there, and HOM Furniture leads the way in terms of overall sales volume. The Coon Rapids, Minn.-based operation reported an estimated $235 million in sales among its 15 stores. It’s also one of 12 Stars with multiple locations. Thirty-eight of our Stars only operate a single shop.
Online sales continue to be a proposition that vexes the brick-and-mortar retail industry, and our Stars are no exception. Of the 50, almost 70% (34 stores) report that they don’t sell online, compared to 16 stores that are willing to do business via their website. Of the stores that sell online, Michele Varian SoHo tops the list with 15% of sales made via the internet.
As inspirational imagery continues to show up everywhere, from TV to social media and elsewhere, the majority of our Stars say it’s important to offer interior design services. In fact, nearly 3 out of 4 respondents indicate that they offer design help of some sort for shoppers.
Despite its recent headaches and bad headlines, Facebook continues to be the standard bearer in terms of our Stars’ social media presences. The social network leads the way with 48 stores reporting that Facebook page is key among social media strategies. Instagram is nipping on its heels, though, with 45 Retail Stars active on the photo sharing site. You can also find several of our Stars on Pinterest (25), Twitter (18) and Houzz (16).
The Stars’ profiles can be found in our May issue, and we’ll take a deeper dive into some of their most successful strategies and ideas in next month’s Retail Recon. In July, Home Accents Today’s editors will present a lunch-and-learn panel discussion with Retail Stars past and present at the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market.
Here are your 2018 Retail Stars and their locations, in alphabetical order:
- Abode Fine Living, Phoenix
- Adelé, Lexington, Ky.
- Bedside Manor, Chicago
- Be Made, Hays, Kan.
- Blue Raccoon Home Furnishings, Lambertville, N.J.
- Claire Bell Home, Chamblee, Ga.
- Copper Pony, St. Cloud, Minn.
- Country Crossroads, Osage Beach, Mo.
- Dovecote, Westport, Conn.
- DS Garden Shop, Ramona, Calif.
- Enjole Interiors, Evansville, Ind.
- Folly, Charlottesville, Va.
- Foundry42, Port Jervis, N.Y.
- Garber’s Interior Design, Elkhart, Ind.
- Golden & Pine, Kansas City, Mo.
- Gypsy Lane Home, Stone Harbor, N.J.
- Hausful, Charleston, S.C.
- Hildreth’s Home Goods, Southampton, N.Y.
- HOM Furniture, Coon Rapids, Minn.
- Hub Modern Home + Gift, Las Vegas
- IBB Design Fine Furnishings, Frisco, Texas
- In Detail Interiors, Pensacola, Fla.
- INspiration Interiors, Honolulu
- Kuhl-Linscomb, Houston
- La Niche, Park City, Utah
- Leon & Lulu, Clawson, Mich.
- Living & Giving, Rome, Ga.
- M Collection, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Mallory-Fields, Johnson City, Tenn.
- Michele Varian SoHo, New York
- Modernique, Phoenix
- Moe’s Home Collection, Kent, Wash.
- The Nest Egg, Fairfax, Va.
- OAK Nashville, Nashville, Tenn.
- Peggy Sundays, Portland, Ore.
- Place & Gather, Charlestown, Mass.
- Red Door Home, Huntington, W.Va.
- Republic of Décor, Naples, Fla.
- Rugs As Art, Sarasota, Fla.
- The Schaefer House, Jefferson City, Mo.
- Sesame+Lilies, Cannon Beach, Ore.
- Share, Wilmette, Ill.
- Studio 882 Furniture + Design, Glen Mills, Pa.
- Therapy Stores, Campbell, Calif.
- Urban Loft, Plymouth, Mich.
- Urban Styles Furniture, Indianapolis
- The Village Shoppe, Yakima, Wash.
- The Village Shoppes, New Carlisle, Ind.
- Winfield House Home Furnishings, Lawrence, Kan.
- Wishbone Home & Design, Lake Oswego, Ore.
