Although San Francisco-based The RealReal flat out denies it is expanding to Atlanta, the luxury consignment retailer has filed zoning verification paperwork with the city for a prime Buckhead space.
“We currently do not have plans to open a store in Atlanta,” a spokesperson for The RealReal recently told What Now Atlanta in an email.
The zoning verification, submitted by Erin Wilkinson alongside an official The RealReal email address, is for the corner space, at 3073 Peachtree Road NE, that cradles the high-end Buckhead Village District development.
Not to mention, the company is currently hiring at least eight positions for Atlanta including a “shop manager,” customer service manager, and valuation manager.
“The Shop Manager, Stores is responsible for managing a group of in-store Operations Specialist, Visual Merchandisers, and Facilities Team Members, while supporting our in- store Expert and Valuation team,” according to the hiring advert. “Based in a retail location, the Shop Manager is responsible for growth of new and existing customer and consignor relationships.”
The location also makes sense. The RealReal has long held a strategy of opening brick-and-mortar stores across the street or directly adjacent to the very same luxury retailers it carries second-hand and at steep discounts. Buckhead Village is littered with some of the most high-end retailers in the world including Canali, Hermès, and Theory, to name a few.
“The RealReal continues to execute on its retail strategy of opening smaller footprint neighborhood stores,” the company said in a press release in early-2021. “The RealReal plans to open approximately 10 neighborhood stores by the end of Q2 to deeply engage with the company’s most valuable customers and significantly unlock supply.”
According to leasing data, the Buckhead space is 6,254 square feet with two levels — almost exactly the same size as the company’s West Hollywood storefront.
