by Jahna Peloquin | Image: TJ Turner
After just two years of business, AlwaysMod is closing its doors. The modern home store, which has operated as an e-commerce site since 2007, opened when the brand’s parent company, Our World Shops, moved its headquarters from Glenwood Avenue in Minneapolis to Golden Valley, closing its longtime FinnStyle storefront in the process.
At double FinnStyle’s size, AlwaysMod expanded on its predecessor’s assortment of Finnish home goods while expanding its selection to include a range of products from the broader world of modern design, including furniture, lighting, bedding, and tabletop goods by names such as Alessi, Viskaform, Fritz Hansen, Georg Jensen, and two of FinnStyle’s most popular brands, Marimekko and Iittala.
Owner Ben Horn had hoped that FinnStyle’s loyal customers would shop the new store, but it appears that a combination of the name change and its move from Minneapolis to Golden Valley proved to be more of a challenge than he anticipated. He also says it’s a tough time for brick-and-mortar retail in general. “More and more people are shopping online,” he says. “It’s just hard to cover the costs that go into running a brick-and-mortar store and make a good return on investment.”
Horn says Our World Shops will be moving about half a mile away to a much smaller facility, as well as shuttering AlwaysMod.com and EllaUmbrella.com (which exclusively sells stylish umbrellas). Its biggest site, FinnStyle.com—one of the biggest sellers of Finnish home goods in the U.S., including Marimekko—will stay in operation. Our Worlds Shops will also maintain its two smaller, older sites, GlassBirds.com (dedicated to iittala’s mouth-blown glass collectible birds) and Aalto.com (a complete collection of home goods from famed architect and modern design master Alvar Aalto), which Horn says continue to be profitable.
AlwaysMod will host a closing sale beginning March 24 featuring more than $100,000 worth of inventory from the AlwaysMod store, AlwaysMod.com, and EllaUmbrella.com, including all backstock of the brands they’re discontinuing. The entire store, including pieces by Alessi, Tom Dixon, Riedel, Chilewich, Georg Jensen, Fritz Hansen furniture, floor models, lighting, and more, will be marked 30 to 80 percent off, with most items at 50 or 60 percent off. Store fixtures, shelving, and all display items will also be for sale. “We want everything to go, so the prices are amazing,” Horn says.
Sale starts Fri., March 24, continues through mid-April @ AlwaysMod, 905 Decatur Ave. N., Golden Valley, 763-746-5600, alwaysmod.com
