How do you create an unforgettable shopping experience? Bradley Odom has a few ideas | Home Accents Today

Meet Bradley Odom, owner of Dixon Rye in Atlanta, one of Home Accents Today’s 2024 Retail Stars. Odom grew up in Mississippi, worked in his grandfather’s upholstery shop, directed visuals for international apparel and home furnishings brands, and then went back to school to study interior design at Savannah College of Art and Design. In 2015, he launched both Bradley Odom Interior Design and Dixon Rye, which is housed in the Westside Ironworks building in Atlanta’s Design District.

Odom spoke with us about how he buys, how he sells, how his two businesses feed off one another, and what keeps him up at night.

Your website landing page prominently states: Better, Fewer Things. Has this always been your mantra? How does it inform your buying decisions?

Yes, “Better, Fewer Things” has always been the mantra, even before Dixon Rye existed. This mindset was shaped during my time in fast fashion and furnishings, where I saw how quickly products ended up as waste. At Dixon Rye, we’re committed to sourcing and representing high-quality, lasting goods crafted with care. We carefully select products that meet our standards for quality and craftsmanship. Our focus is on forming relationships with artisans who share our values. This mantra guides all our buying decisions, ensuring we offer items that are not just beautiful but also sustainable and worthy of investment.

You’ve been credited for doing a great job selling online. This is an area that many independent brick-and-mortar retailers shy away from. What is your online strategy and how do you integrate that with your in-store merchandising and selling objectives?

Our online strategy focuses on making most products available to reach a wider audience outside of Atlanta while keeping some exclusive items for in-store shoppers. We work hard to quickly photograph and list our products online to replicate the experience of visiting our store. This way, people from Atlanta and beyond can engage with Dixon Rye. I personally believe you do not need to have 150 stores to have a strong retail presence, as long as you have a good online offering and marketing plan for people outside of Atlanta to know about and love it, you can be successful.

On the flip side, what is your approach to in-store merchandising? What are your strongest-selling categories?

Our approach to in-store merchandising is centered around creating an inspirational and immersive experience for every visitor. From the moment customers step through our front door, with the playlist we have playing, the scents we have burning, the ambiance is carefully curated. You’re greeted at the front door and offered a glass of water, champagne or coffee, setting the stage for a memorable visit. At Dixon Rye, we pride ourselves on offering unique and exclusive items that customers can’t easily find elsewhere. Our best-selling categories often feature products that we produce ourselves, such as our upholstery manufactured in High Point, N.C., and our pottery sourced directly from Morocco. These distinctive pieces, including sought-after brands like Astier De Villatte, are what set us apart and resonate most with our clientele. We believe in providing not just products, but a truly unforgettable shopping experience that leaves customers inspired and eager to return.

How do you line up your design business with your retail business?

Dixon Rye is always the first stop for Bradley Odom Interiors. We’re of course going to buy from Dixon Rye if we can, but it also helps me as a buyer for the store know if we need more or less of something. When I do my project installs, and I can’t find a product I want for a space (whether it be book ends, furniture, candle holders, etc.) we’re then buying more of those for the store.

How do you interact with your local community?

We are always attending local events that are design-oriented, and participate in our local commerce meetings for the West Side of Atlanta to keep up with what’s going on in our neighborhood. When new buildings or communities come into our side of town, we love to check them out, introduce ourselves, and invite them to come experience Dixon Rye (and even offer them a discount on their first purchase to welcome them into the neighborhood!)

What about your business keeps you up at night?

What truly keeps me up at night is probably my own neurosis around being a visionary who is already always thinking 5-10 years out and knowing I have to constantly reel myself back into the moment and the “now,” and focus on the things that have to be done to get there.