Sterling Home's fully refurbished and reimagined Aberdeen store officially opens tomorrow, having benefited from a cash boost of over £2m.
The family-owned business (formerly Sterling Furniture) has welcomed an additional 15 new recruits to the Denmore Road store team.
Trading from the site since 1991, the store was closed for four months to undergo the transformation. The new 75,000 sqft "home of inspiration" store promises a "unique, forward-thinking" shopping experience for all interior home projects, offering a mix of furniture and homewares, states the retailer.
The store also features a Cook Shop, an upscaled Cobbs café, an extensive garden department, and a BoConcept concession spanning 4000 sqft and offering a complimentary 3D design service, eight room-themed studios and curated private zones in which to meet with design experts.
It offers brands such as Le Creuset, LSA, Laura Ashley, Timorous Beasties, Wax Lyrical, G-Plan, Natuzzi, Nicoletti, Xoon and Venjakob.
MD Gordon Mearns says: “We are delighted to be back, bringing our much-loved customers an entirely new and specially curated shopping experience. This is an exciting new chapter for our family-owned business.
“Furniture is still very much at our core, but we have reimagined our brand to also offer a much wider range of non-furniture products to suit all budgets."
The long-established furniture retailer introduced homewares to its store in Tillicoultry some 20 years ago, and the separate departments were more recently integrated to offer a more inspirational experience, says Gordon, who worked with a London-based design company to deliver a format that is "both functional and experiential", comprising flexible room settings and a host of extra attractions. The retailer's Glasgow store was the first to be transformed.
"It's a significant move in terms of look and feel," he continues, "and more in line with the digital presentation of our product."
With the recent closure of John Lewis, Debenhams and Frasers, Sterling Home's offer is set to be a welcome addition to Aberdeen's retail landscape.
An array of launch events, including design and culinary workshops, will accompany the opening. Sterling also plans to launch a new website this autumn.
