Thursday evening, Greater Louisville Inc. officially cut the ribbon on GILT’s new, temporary pop-up boutique at Shelbyville Road Plaza on 4600 Shelbyville Road. The GILT Designer Outlet is a first for the New York-based online retailer known for selling designer goods for up to 60 percent off retail daily, having only held two-day events at their GILT City Warehouse Sales in the past. The outlet will be open beginning Friday, June 28 from 10 a.m. through Sunday, July 28 when the doors close at 6 p.m. The space being utilized is the former Borders site, located across from the former Circuit City store currently being renovated for the city’s first-ever Nordstrom Rack, the latter to open sometime this fall.
“We came in, and it was a totally empty space. We built it out to look like a real retail store, so we brought in all of our merchandise. And we created sections like you would find at any other store. We have accessories, furniture, clothing, shoes, dressing rooms… we made into what is now a real store,” said GILT City Events Manager Erica Schaffer during a brief moment between greeting guests at the front door.
Guests could partake of light appetizers and free alcoholic beverages while they shopped, selecting designer items from the likes of Zac Posen, Prada, Alejandro Ingelmo, Shine by S.H.O. and more, all for up to 90 percent off retail from the online retailer’s distribution center in Shepherdsville, Ky. and elsewhere.
“We’ve been here [in Louisville] for about three years now. We came out here back in 2010, and it’s our biggest distribution center for all of our merchandise. It just seemed [that] if we’re gonna do something like this, why not put it in a town that’s very close to where the product is, and where you already have several hundred employees and tons of family, and where we’re already corporate citizens, so it seemed like a good match,” explains GILT Chief Supply Chain Officer Chris Halkyard when asked why the online retailer chose the city for their first-ever pop-up boutique. He went on to tell Louisville.com about how the store came together with the help of the GILT City team, responsible for the two-day GILT City Warehouse Sales held every month in various major cities around the United States, comparing the effort in Louisville to a marathon in opposition to the sprints normally conducted by the online retailer.
The GILT Designer Outlet will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. beginning this morning, with Sunday hours from noon to 6 p.m. The doors will close one month later July 28 at 6 p.m. Items sold at the boutique can be found for up to 90 percent off, ranging from clothing to furniture and accessories.
Photos: Cameron Miquelon/Lousiville.com.
