Vintage + Unique = Shabby Chic
New concept based on the popular brand of Rachel Ashwell is hitting upscale centers and retail areas in the U.S.
Susan H. Fishman

Shabby Chic has plans to open 50 units over the next 4 years.

Rachel Ashwell has taken a passion for all things vintage and turned it into a retail empire that’s on the fast track with an aggressive growth schedule for the next 5 years. The home furnishings brand called “Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic” currently totals nine locations, and the company plans to add 10 more stores in 2008 and an additional 50 locations over the next 4 years. Ashwell opened her first store on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, California, and soon expanded to New York, Malibu, Newport Beach, San Francisco and Chicago. Last year, the company opened three additional stores, as part of its current expansion phase.

As the company grows, it focuses on areas where its customer — primarily the style-conscious woman in her 30s — lives. Shabby Chic’s products are at the premium level of the market. The furniture is of the finest construction in terms of slipcovered and upholstered items available, and the company manufactures its own bedding. Shabby Chic’s color offerings tend to be a faded, pastel palate of vintage-inspired textile patterns, but the store has been expanding its aesthetic to a richer color palate and has introduced new materials into its furniture line, such as leather. Last year, the company launched its collection furniture business, which includes dining tables and chairs, dressers, beds, coffee tables and cabinets.

Shabby Chic’s vintage-inspired items appeal to a style conscious consumer.

“One thing Rachel has always been famous for since her very first store opened is her vintage collection of furniture — that’s really her passion and what sets us apart,” says CEO Nancy Green. “She personally goes to various flea markets and antique shows all over the world to select our vintage furniture, some of which we restore here and some of which is all ready to go.”

Every Shabby Chic store has unique merchandise because of the vintage element of the brand. The company has also been expanding its collection to include vintage textiles for pillows and vintage fabrics for special chairs that Shabby Chic upholsters.

Rachel has also been collecting vintage prom dresses and restoring them with the Shabby Chic design team, who adds special details to the dresses to make them couture. It’s been a traveling art installation in several stores across the country culminating in New York City and Newport Beach, California.

“Because the vintage element is so important, and so many of our customers love vintage as much as we do, it’s a great way to showcase other things that Rachel is very passionate about,” Green says.

Shabby Chic has introduced its own line of furniture.

The store is always changing and evolving because of the vintage component. The design is very simple and elegant with old-world detail in the cabinetry. A minimal amount of fixtures is used because the store makes use of its vintage furniture and collection furniture to showcase product. The walls are white, and the floors are either concrete or wood and are generally laid out in three rooms or environments — a front, middle and back. A large bedding wall with old-world millwork and design features a rolling ladder, which is signature to Shabby Chic stores.

“No two stores are alike,” notes Green. “We look for special details to make each store unique. Some stores have tin ceilings and some have bead board. The chandeliers we sell hang from the ceiling so the lighting is very beautiful. In fact, that’s one thing we have heard over and over again from customers, mall developers and landlords — how beautiful the store is.”

Shabby Chic’s existing locations are in California (Santa Monica, Malibu, Newport Beach, San Francisco), New York City (SoHo) and Chicago. The newest stores, opened last year, are in Natick, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston) at Natick Collection, Lenox Square in Atlanta, and The Domain in Austin, Texas. An additional 10 stores planned for 2008 will primarily be concentrated in California, as well as the Northeast. The company has signed leases for stores in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Palm Desert, California, both of which will open this spring.

Shabby Chic will provide a unique, vintage feel in every location.

The strategy for the opening of 50 stores over the next 4 years will primarily focus on California and the Northeast but will also include Texas and the South, as well as the Northwest. Shabby Chic targets the top markets in the country and premium locations, whether it’s street locations in the city or lifestyle centers or malls across the country where there’s a strong premium co-tenancy mix, says Green.

“We have a real estate strategy team who identifies locations of similar customers who we have in our current customer base,” she says. “We also go and visit locations to see who is there. So we make sure we learn a lot about who our customer is.”

As a result of that customer research, Shabby Chic knows that its customers have a love and passion for the brand.

“The brand has been established for eighteen years and there’s an incredible following,” Green says. “Rachel also had a very successful television series and has a big following of the brand through her personality on TV, and she’s published several books about Shabby Chic and her philosophy on design. So all of that brings a premium customer to the mall and a level of beauty and elegance to what’s offered out there. And it’s unique.”