Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Wayfair on Track to Hire 1,000 Workers in Maine
May 31,
2016 by in Business Strategy, Industry 
The online home goods retailer Wayfair (W) is making progress toward hiring 1,000 workers for its operations opening this summer in Maine, according to a company executive.
Liz Graham, the company’s Vice President for sales and service, said Wayfair is on track to open its sales and customer service operation at Brunswick Landing in Brunswick in June and another operation in Bangor in July.
The company sells products ranging from furniture to flooring, lighting, plumbing and appliances. Its newest feature will allow customer to use a tablet to “place” a 3-D rendering of furniture in their home to see how it will look.
Graham said Wayfair is happy with the qualifications of the job candidates interviewed so far and has extended offers to many. She also said the pace is strong enough for the company’s plans.
According to Graham, the jobs are mainly in sales and customer service, and the jobs offer good salaries and benefits. The offices will feature open floor plans and a “very Silicon Valley” job culture, meaning there are no offices, employees are empowered and a “high-energy, tech and data-driven culture” is encouraged.
Founded in 2002, Wayfair is based in the U.S., but expanded to the United Kingdom in 2008, the rest of Europe in 2009 and to Canada this year. Because of Maine’s proximity to Canada, she said the company expects to hire some local employees who speak French to handle calls from French-speaking Canadians.
Graham said Maine was attractive to the company because of its loyal employees and a stable workforce along with a strong customer service culture. She added, “We see a lot of opportunity there for future growth”.
Wayfair projects net revenues of $2.6 billion this year and growth in direct retail sales were up 93 percent in the first quarter this year.