Wickes Furniture Opens First Downtown Chicago Flagship Showroom

May 21, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on May 2007 Wickes Furniture Co. Inc., Wheeling Ill., will celebrate the opening of its downtown Chicago flagship store with a multi-day celebration that starts this Wednesday with a 9 a.m. ribbon-cutting and media tour, and a consumer grand opening event Saturday through Monday.

The two-story, 48,000-square-foot showroom at 2606 North Elston Ave. is the first Wickes location to carry “Urban Innovations,” a new line of furniture and accessories designed for stylish and comfortable living in smaller spaces, such as city condos and apartments.

“We’re proud to open our new flagship showroom in downtown Chicago with the debut of the Urban Innovations line,” said Wickes CEO John Disa. “This new product line was specifically designed to meet the special needs of our consumers living in a city environment.”

The ceremony will kickoff Wickes “Urban Innovations Challenge” with the unveiling of room vignettes designed by local media celebrities utilizing furniture and accessories from the new furniture line. Consumers can vote for their favorite celebrity-designed room in the showroom.

All celebrity participants will receive furniture to donate to the local charity of their choice, while the winner will receive an additional furniture package for their selected charity. The winning room in the challenge will be donated to an individual who recently moved out of Lathrop Homes, a residential Chicago public housing complex.

Michael Payne, host of HGTV’s “Designing For the Sexes,” will make in-store appearances on Saturday, May 26 and Monday, May 28, conducting design seminars on how to approach interior design when living in smaller spaces, and signing free copies of his book, Let’s Ask Michael. Payne has a licensed furniture collection with importer Powell Co.

Wickes has 37 showrooms nationwide located in Illinois, Indiana, Oregon and California, plus 5 distribution centers, and is owned by private investment firm Sun Capital Partners Inc., Boca Raton, Fla.