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When Joey Benitah moved into his first apartment he decided to enlist his younger sister, Rachel, to help decorate.
However, during the shopping process the Benitah siblings noticed a gap in the housewares market that needed to be filled. “We realized that it was quite difficult to find a houseware store where Joey and I both liked the aesthetic design and quality of the products that were within an accessible price range,” said Rachel.
The result? WYRTH, a home goods store that sells modern, aesthetically pleasing products at accessible prices. Products range from primarily kitchenware to home decor with plans to eventually expand into furniture and other categories.
The 5,000 square foot retail space is located at 98 Orfus Road right in the heart of the Castlefield Design District, a burgeoning neighbourhood in the decor and design space.
Joey’s love for retail and entrepreneurship coupled with Rachel’s passion for interior design meant opening the store seemed like a natural next step. Rachel handles all of the buying and sourcing for the store, as well as the visual merchandising in-store, while Joey acts as Chief Operating Officer.
The WYRTH Experience
More than home goods, the WYRTH store is an interactive and memorable shopping experience. Tucked inside of the store is a nostalgic trip down taste bud memory lane, in the form of a sweets bar that features cereal-infused soft serve ice cream, bowls of cereal (Captain Crunch, Lucky Charms, and more), coffee and Espresso.
“We have built this concept as we want our customers to truly feel at home while shopping in our store, but we also wanted the WYRTH experience to be fun and unique,” said the Benitah siblings.
Inspired by the idea that nothing is better than good-old hospitality, shop for your home while enjoying a scoop of ice cream or sipping on an aromatic coffee.
“Everyone who has tried our cereal-infused ice cream or has come for a bowl of cereal has loved the experience and this has added that extra element of enjoyment for our customers, which is what we were aiming for,” said the Benitah siblings.
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[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”14268,14269,14270,14271,14272,14273,14274″ img_size=”large”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Discovery Process for Products
Naturally, the brother-sister team have been approaching the discovery process for WYRTH products based on what they would buy or want in their own homes. “We think, would we buy this? Would our friends? This has been really integral in helping us decide where we go as a business, what we sell, and what we’re looking to offer to our customers,” said the Benitah siblings.
Being under 30, the siblings have certainly felt in some ways though that their age provides them with an advantage. “As millennials, we are part of the consumer demographic who is largely responsible for the big changes in the retail landscape, and having this insight as consumers has been helpful for us when making decisions about the business,” said the Benitah siblings.
Beyond that, they’re listening to feedback from customers as well as paying attention to what is selling. Learning more about what their customers want, to better stock what they’re looking for.
The brother-sister team also attends home decor and gifting shows to discover new brands and products, so they can expand what they carry and are continuously on the lookout for new products to have in-store.
Also a hit with the design community, WYRTH offers a discount for registered interior designers, decorators, prop stylists and home stagers.
The Future of WYRTH
If you don’t live in the GTA, don’t fret, WYRTH will soon be entering the world of e-commerce. The e-commerce site will be launching this month (October) and will be shipping all over Canada.
Looking into the future, WYRTH also has plans to expand in the GTA, as well as throughout Ontario. Their long-term goal is to have stores across Canada.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
