Sephora CharlesRetailer of imported goods hopes to get customers in the store to offset shift to online shopping.
World Market, a specialty import retailer, is returning to South Florida with a planned store in Palm Beach Gardens.
The store is set to open in Prosperity Centre at PGA Boulevard and Prosperity Farms Road between TJ Maxx and the new Plum Market.
World Market recently obtained permits from the city and will begin interior construction shortly, said Chelsea DuDeVoire, a spokesperson for the shopping center’s owner, Regency Centers.
“We don’t have a confirmed opening date to share just yet, but we’re excited to welcome them to the center,” DuDeVoire said.
The 25,000-square-foot store will sell imported goods from around the world, including furniture, kitchen goods, decor, clothing, jewelry, beverages and international foods. The ever-changing merchandise gives shopping at World Market a treasure-hunt feel.
“We’re passionate about our mission to delight customers with a unique, ever-changing marketplace of products from around the world. Our assortment is curated with a focus on inspiring design, emerging trends, time-honored handicrafts and global flavors,” World Market writes on its website.
The chain, founded in 1958 as an import business on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, takes advantage of demand for unique items that draw people away from their laptops and into the store, said Dinesh Gauri, a marketing professor at the University of Buffalo.
The nationwide retailer, once known as Cost Plus World Market, is owned by Kingswood Capital Management, based in Los Angeles. Kingswood acquired the brand in 2021 from Bed Bath & Beyond.
World Market has 14 Florida locations.
The brand left the South Florida market in 2010 when its store closed in the Shoppes at Isla Verde on State Road 7 in Wellington.
World Market is moving into the Office Depot spot that closed in December, leaving the Jupiter Office Depot as the retailer’s only north county store.
The Office Depot closing followed the shutdown of Bed Bath & Beyond in the space now occupied by Plum Market, reflecting shrinking demand for once-popular specialty discount stores.
In recent years, online shopping has grabbed nearly one-fifth of the market for comparable, low-cost goods, Gauri said. Brick-and-mortar stores such as Office Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond have seen nationwide shutdowns because of their lack of a “unique proposition and a draw,” he said.
World Market, by contrast, is “offering some unique and distinct items that people can only buy at a certain place,” Gauri said. Shoppers may also prefer to visit the store rather than buy similar products online because they can gauge an item’s quality firsthand.
The new South Florida location could perform well because it offers “handicraft home goods” and “unique international products at affordable prices” that may appeal to a diverse customer base, Gauri said.
