Bloomberg reports that “Crate & Barrel is cooking up a new business strategy to draw people to its home furnishings, opening a full-service restaurant this month inside a suburban Chicago store.” The story says that patrons “can have a meal on plates, chairs and tables, most of which are also for sale at the Oak Brook, Illinois, store. And if the concept performs well in terms of foot traffic and customer engagement, the company will consider bringing the eateries to more of its 100-plus stores.”
- KC's View:
-
Crate & Barrel is doing something that I think makes a lot of sense - it is working to put its products in context. Tables and chairs aren’t just furniture - they are part of our lives, things that help us create community.
And, as I like to say, becoming more than just a source of product, but serving as a different kind of resource for shoppers. In doing so, Crate & Barrel starts to create its own kind of community, which has to be good for business. (Assuming, of course, that the food is good.)
