Fernish steps into brick and mortar

Dive Brief:

Fernish, a direct-to-consumer furniture subscription service, has teamed up with Alliance Residential to create showrooms.
The company has already unveiled six showrooms, four in Los Angeles and two in Seattle, and has plans to open two to three additional ones in the next 10 days, Michael Barlow, the company's co-founder and CEO, told Retail Dive in an interview.
Fernish said it is looking to expand outside of its current markets, although no specific plans have been shared. But, Barlow confirmed in an email to Retail Dive that the partnership opens national opportunities because Alliance has "a presence in multiple metros across the US."

Dive Insight:

Fernish's latest announcement to move into brick and mortar may be taking a page from many direct-to-consumer brands' playbooks.

Casper in 2017 formed a partnership with Target to begin selling its products in stores, and a year later launched pop-ups in select Nordstrom stores. In February last year, the company opened its first standalone store in New York, and announced plans to open 200 stores across North America.

But perhaps Fernish's move more closely resembles that of Burrow, which in addition to its two standalone New York showrooms, Burrow House and The Local, has partnered with retail stores, coffee shops and co-working spaces to feature its furniture, according to the company's website.

"Showrooms are a win/win as they allow Fernish to utilize our expertise in digital marketing along with our growing young professional customer base — and pair that with our multifamily partners' physical spaces in their communities — to create a holistic potential customer and resident experience," Barlow said in an email to Retail Dive.

Partnering with real estate companies allows consumers to see what Fernish pieces would look like in a space that could potentially become a home. Fernish offers a number of brands through its subscription service, including Crate&Barrel, CB2, Floyd, Campaign and Alder & Tweed.

"Fernish Showrooms are a great example of how our service sits at the intersection of disruptive retail and real estate," Barlow said. "We're excited to continue working with our partners like Alliance Residential to continue to expand this feature."