Wayfair
Encyclopedia
Wayfair
Wayfair
Wayfair is a U.S.-based multinational e-commerce company. The company—formerly known as CSN Stores—began in 2002 selling furniture online, and now sells many other home goods, luggage, toys, shoes, and jewelry...

 is a U.S.-based multinational e-commerce company. The company—formerly known as CSN Stores—began in 2002 selling furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...

 online, and now sells many other home goods, luggage
Luggage
Baggage is any number of bags, cases and containers which hold a traveller's articles during transit.Luggage is more or less the same concept as "baggage", but is normally used in relation to the personal luggage of a specific person or persons Baggage is any number of bags, cases and containers...

, toys
Toys
Toys is a 1992 comedy film directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robin Williams, Michael Gambon, Joan Cusack, Robin Wright, LL Cool J, and introducing Jamie Foxx as Baker. The film failed at the box office at the time of its release, despite its impressive cast and lavish filmmaking. Levinson was...

, shoes, and jewelry. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Wayfair also has warehouse and corporate locations elsewhere in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

History

2002 to 2006:

Entrepreneurs Niraj Shah and Steve Conine founded Wayfair in August 2002 – then as just a two-person company with a makeshift headquarters in Conine’s nursery in Boston, Massachusetts. Both Shah and Conine hold Bachelor of Science degrees from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

. The pair had run two previous companies, Simplify Mobile and iXL, a global consulting firm, before starting Wayfair
Wayfair
Wayfair is a U.S.-based multinational e-commerce company. The company—formerly known as CSN Stores—began in 2002 selling furniture online, and now sells many other home goods, luggage, toys, shoes, and jewelry...

.

Today Shah is the Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

 of the company, and Conine is the Chairman and Chief Technology Officer.

Originally known as CSN Stores (the name deriving from a fusion of Shah and Conine’s initials), the company began with a single website, racksandstands.com, which sold media stands and storage furniture.

In 2003, the company added patio and garden goods suppliers along with three online stores and over a dozen employees and relocated the headquarters out of Conine’s house and into an office on Newbury Street, in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

.

Over the next two years, the company expanded its catalogue to include home décor, office
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...

, institutional, and kitchen
Kitchen
A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation.In the West, a modern residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a refrigerator and kitchen cabinets arranged according to a modular design. Many households have a...

 and dining furniture and materials, home improvement
Home improvement
Home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home.-Types of home improvement:...

 goods, bed and bath materials, luggage
Luggage
Baggage is any number of bags, cases and containers which hold a traveller's articles during transit.Luggage is more or less the same concept as "baggage", but is normally used in relation to the personal luggage of a specific person or persons Baggage is any number of bags, cases and containers...

, and lighting
Lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight...

. In 2006, the company earned $100 million in sales for the first time.
2007 to 2010:

For the next four years, the company expanded aggressively and exponentially both in the U.S. and in international markets.

In 2008, CSN Stores began shipping to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and selling in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, and opened an office in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. In the same year, the Boston Business Journal ranked the company the #1 fastest growing private ecommerce company in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, and the #4 fastest growing private company overall.

In 2009, the company expanded to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

In 2010, the company relocated to its current headquarters, occupying 10 floors of 177 Huntington Avenue. At the end of that year, the company launched Joss & Main, a members’ only private sales online store.
2011 to Present:

By 2011, CSN Stores owned over 200 online shops, largely niche shops for specific products, like racksandstands.com, strollers.com, and everyatomicclock.com. In an effort to scale, to direct traffic to a single site, and to unify the aesthetic of the company, Shah and Conine decided to rebrand CSN Stores as Wayfair
Wayfair
Wayfair is a U.S.-based multinational e-commerce company. The company—formerly known as CSN Stores—began in 2002 selling furniture online, and now sells many other home goods, luggage, toys, shoes, and jewelry...

.

To market the new brand and to increase is expansion, the company raised $165 million funding from four investment firms, Battery Ventures
Battery Ventures
Battery Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests principally in technology markets including: Internet & Digital Media; Financial & Information Services; Cleantech; Software; Semiconductors & Components; Infrastructure Technologies; Communication Services; and Industrial Technologies.The...

, Great Hill Partners, HarbourVest Partners
HarbourVest Partners
HarbourVest Partners is a private equity fund of funds and one of the largest private equity investment managers globally. The firm invests in all types of private equity funds, including venture capital and leveraged buyout funds, and also directly in operating companies...

, and Spark Capital in June 2011.

Wayfair.com launched on September 1, 2011.

As more customers reach Wayfair directly, the brand will gradually consume all niche sites, directing all traffic to Wayfair.com, except allmodern.com and jossandmain.com.

As of today, Wayfair is the second largest online house ware and furnishing retailer in the United States, and the 51st largest online retailer in the United States. The company earned $380 million in revenue in 2010, and expects to earn over $500 million in 2011.

Current Stores and Services

Wayfair

Wayfair sells the entire catalogue of all former niche sites of CSN stores. This includes furniture, home décor, kitchen and dining products, bed and bath products, patio and garden goods, home improvement products, recreational goods, and baby and children’s toys and furniture.
AllModern

AllModern sells modern furniture and modern home goods, which opened in 2007. Products sold at AllModern are from many top designer companies, including Missoni
Missoni
Missoni is an Italian fashion house based in Varese. It is famous for its unique knitwear, made from a variety of fabrics in colourful patterns. The company was founded by Ottavio and Rosita Missoni in 1953.-Brands:...

, Herman Miller
Herman Miller
Herman Miller may refer to:*Herman Miller , U.S. manufacturer of office furniture and equipment*Herman Miller , Hollywood writer and producer...

, Knoll, Philippe Stark, Vitra
Vitra
Vitra can refer to:* Vitra : a Swiss manufacturer of designer furniture. Vitra is the European manufacturer and retailer of the works of many internationally renowned furniture designers....

, and Steelcase
Steelcase
Steelcase is an international office furniture company founded in 1912 in Grand Rapids, Michigan — as The Metal Office Furniture Company. The company at the time specialized in file cabinets and safes. Today, the company sells products related to interior architecture, furniture and technology...

.
Joss & Main

Opened in 2010, Joss & Main offers limited-time sales on a variety of products. Shoppers must be members of Joss & Main in order to view events and make purchases. Sales are released, typically from three brands a day, at 11 a.m. ET each day, and usually last for 72 hours.

Awards & Accolades

2011
  • Named "Private Company of the Year" by Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council.
  • Ranked No. 51 of 500 on the Internet Retailer 500 by Internet Retailer magazine
  • Named to Boston Business Journal's Pacesetters list of the fastest-growing private companies in Massachusetts


2010
  • Ranked No. 61 of 500 on the Internet Retailer 500 by Internet Retailer magazine


2009
  • Ranked No. 63 of 500 on the Internet Retailer 500 by Internet Retailer magazine


2008
  • Named to the 2009 Hot 100 by Internet Retailer magazine
  • Ranked No. 492 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies in the United States
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

     by Inc. magazine
  • Ranked No. 69 of 500 on the Internet Retailer 500 by Internet Retailer magazine
  • Ranked No. 4 in Top 60 Pacesetters for the fastest-growing private companies in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal


2007
  • Ranked No. 147 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies in the United States
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

    by Inc. magazine
  • Ranked No. 107 of 500 on the Internet Retailer 500 by Internet Retailer magazine
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