Broad River Retail is moving their flagship store to a new location later this month, increasing the showroom size by 20% and introducing the first side-by-side Ashley HomeStore and Outlet.
While the company has been in it’s Augusta, GA location since 2009, Broad River CEO Charlie Malouf says one of the reasons for the move is that the company has seen a great return on investment when remodeling and updating their stores. He also adds that retailers need to reinvent themselves every 10-15 years, and now it’s Broad River’s time.
However, those aren’t the only reasons.
“We know that remodeling a store while it’s open is really tough to do,” Malouf explains. “We’ve done it, and our preference wasn’t to do that because it hurts morale, can be dusty and noisey, and is not an environment conducive to shopping.”
That, plus the recent uptick in two-in-one Ashley Homestores and Outlets, all created a compelling case for a new location.
The move will take the company just two miles down the road to a new 48,000-square-foot showroom off the interstate and near the Augusta Regional Mall.
And while the goal is to soft open on May 21, Malouf says they will likely wait until Labor Day to grand-open the store.
“We will have a grand-opening party eventually, but we’re waiting to see how social distancing, COVID and vaccines manifest,” Malouf says. “What we’ve heard in the age of COVID is that there is a longer lead time from soft opening to grand opening. We just want to be as safe as possible and work out all the kinks first, so Labor Day would be a great time to do it.”
