Sunday, July 19, 2009

LoveSac Alternative Furniture Co. Bringing Their Thousand Dollar "Sacs" To Atlanta

LoveSac Alternative Furniture Co. is preparing to make its southern debut with two stores opening in Atlanta this month. Coincidentally, both are in SIMON malls, the Mall of Georgia and Lenox Square, which begs the question: is SIMON offering incentives for multiple leases with a retailer, perhaps lease one, lease one for half price? The Lenox Square location is scheduled to open July 22 and the Mall of Georgia location is to open July 25. As Mall of Georgia is not exactly a regular destination for Repeat Atlanta, our main focus will be their Lenox Square location. Located on the upper level of the mall across from Hollister Co. in the old Select Comfort, the 701-square-foot space seems small if furniture is to be sold. The answer to this is that "Sacs" are sold in a compressed form, compressing the size of the item as a Food Saver condenses and compacts food. When removed from this packaging the foam within the sac expands and the sac fluffs up to its actual size. With prices ranging from $209 for the "KidSac" to $969 for "The Big One" and multiple thousands of dollars for the "Sactional", Repeat Atlanta is hesitant to bet on the success of this store. Founded in 1998 by Shawn D. Nelson, winner of Sir Richard Branson's "The Rebel Billionaire" reality show, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2006 but has since emerged with ambitious plans for future growth. With 25 stores open to date and another seven opening this fall, Mr. Nelson seems convinced that his luxury items will sell in the current economic climate. Repeat Atlanta!

What are your thoughts on this concept? Leave a comment and share your opinions and or experiences with the Repeat Atlanta community.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

If Ikea sells beanie-bags, Ill just go there and buy one for like 39$...

Anonymous said...

This sounds really, really dumb and no wonder the guy went bankrupt once. SIMON is really selecting the creme of the crop for their new tenets, not like they have a choice though.

Reactionary said...

There are apparently still people out there convinced that we can party like it's 2000. Who's going to pay $200, much less $1000, for a bean-bag chair? 'Value,' not 'luxury' is what this company should be shooting for. There aren't enough cash-rich a**holes out there plunking down this kind of scratch after the lease payments on the Porsche.

The US is headed for the same kind of social democratic stagnation that smothered Britain in the 60's and 70's. A lot of people are in for a real wake-up call.

jonathan said...

What a joke. Wasn't there a bean bag store along the same lines that tanked a few years ago?

Anonymous said...

We had a "Lovesac" store at West Town Mall in Knoxville. It lasted for a while, primarily because teenagers congregated there in droves. Good luck Lenox.

ProShop99 said...

To address Jonathan's comment, I'm not too sure of a concept like this that tank though I don't doubt something similar must have existed at Discover Mills or Northlake Mall at some point.

As for anon poster, I see you say "had" as in the store closed? I can't say I'm surprised given the fact that you said teenagers "congregated" there. Teens congregating in a place does not equal sales, rather instead it translates to loitering in most cases.

David said...

LoveSac products are actually excellent quality, super comfortable and the average Sac is probably about $300. I have their Sactionals in my house and couldn't be happier with them.

Plus, those are upscale malls, so I am sure there is still plenty of disposable income to be spent at a place like this.

- Dave G in Wisconsin

Mark M said...

While WAY to much money, the LoveSac is very comfortable.

Alex @ LoveSac said...

Thanks for mentioning our growing chain and its arrival in Atlanta. Sacs remain the soul of our company but Sactionals are driving growth. Sactionals are washable, changeable, extremely modular furniture and our customers choose Sactionals over standard sectionals found at Pottery Barn, West Elm, etc. Lenox Square will once again prove the LoveSac model that with >1,000/sf you can sell furniture at high volume. It's tough to describe how Sactionals work in a comment section - the design is patented and unlike anything you've seen - so please visit our Lenox Square location on Wednesday or Mall of Georgia on Saturday and see for yourself. Mention this article/comment and get a free gift. Have a question? Please e-mail me at Alex@lovesac.com. Check out our website at www.lovesac.com (lovesac.com is not a dirty website). Thanks! Alex @ LoveSac

Reactionary said...

Alex - I wish you the best bro. I actually looked for a couple of beanbag chairs to toss in front of the TV recently. I will check out the store, but seems a mite pricey. Again, best of luck.

Anonymous said...

The people who refer to a "Sac" as a bean bag or a beanie- bag are in for a surprise... The sac is a green product and consists of shredded durafoam and is guaranteed for life. Plus try washing your IKEA beanbag… LoveSac covers are machine washable and have a 3 year warrantee… But for those of you who think a Sac isn’t right… Try the Sactionals… I have kept up with LoveSac products for over 5 years and since my initial purchase of a SuperSac I have been back into my local Dallas store many times.
You speak about quality… I challenge any of you to look up the warrantee for your existing furniture or for any of the major furniture stores (look closely!) Find something that is even relatively close to the warrantee of a Sac or find a sectional or even a sofa at any of your large retail furniture stores, ask about the warrantee and then ask about the additional prices for shipping, fabric treatments, etc… You will not find something as durable or as functional as LoveSac furniture.
But don’t take my word for it… Its just an “overpriced beanbag” to you.

Anonymous said...

I am so excited by the arrival of LoveSac to the South! My husband and I are relocating to Mississippi soon and I will be driving through to Georgia (since it's the closest location) to pick up another LoveSac to join my MovieSac and some Sactionals to replace our old-fashioned single piece recliner sofa.
This is the best value for our furniture budget that we've found, and we've done a LOT of research!

Anonymous said...

To the naysayers these are not old fashioned bean bags. My brother had on in CA and it was so comfy and a nice love spot for you and your honey....

Unknown said...

Why don't you just show up at one of the LoveSac locations near you and judge for yourself. What? Afraid of comfort?

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