Anthropologie Opens in Garden City Center

Torrential rains didn’t put a damper on the opening of Anthropologie in Garden City Center yesterday. After months of anticipation, the store opened its doors and was immediately hit with a rush of customers.

“They [had] a fantastic opening and are extremely busy,” said Amanda Woodward, a company spokeswoman.

The store is the first in the state and the company is “thrilled to debut Anthropologie in Rhode Island,” Woodward said. “We are excited to bring the in-store experience to our longtime customers who have enjoyed shopping with us online and through our catalog for many years.”

Known for high-end fashions — and prices to match — Anthropologie tries to design each store to reflect the local environment. In Garden City, Woodward said the company is eager to contribute to the city’s “sophisticated mix of style and culture.”

The company calls its employees “artists,” who devote their talents to “conceiving and realizing innovative window and store displays that inspire our customers with their creativity and whimsy.”

The typical Anthropologie customer is sophisticated and cultured, Woodward said. She has an appreciation for other cultures and “aspires to experience beauty, meaning, adventure, creativity and connection.”

Anthropologie employees are put through a thorough hiring process in which they’re expected to understand the company’s design philosophy and be able to describe the typical Anthropologie shopper. Each store manager is given some liberty to design and stock their store according to local tastes and needs, which means two locations may be substantially different in layout from each other.

Real estate leasing, management and development firm The Wilder Companies, which manages Garden City Center, announced it had signed a lease with the retailer in September.

“Anthropologie is a valuable addition to [Garden City Center] and their customers reflect our core demographic,” said Maria Salvatore of The Wilder Companies’ retail leasing department.  “They are just one part in Wilder’s long term master plan to reinvigorate Rhode Island’s premier lifestyle shopping center.” 

The 12,000-square-foot store marks the beginning of a gradual upgrade of the shopping center. The Wilder Companies said it has plans to include more merchants “unique to the center and trade area” along with upgrades to building facades, better signage, smoothing out traffic flows and “increasing the synergy between the center’s three shopping areas.”

Mayor Allan W. Fung has referred to the opening of Anthropologie as an important part of the city’s effort to support the business community.

“The city of Cranston is pleased to support The Wilder Companies’ vision of a renewed Garden City Center. Attracting such a highly sought after merchant as Anthropologie is the first of what we understand to be many wonderful upgrades to an already very special place,” Fung said.