French furniture manufacturer Gautier opened its first U.S. retail store on Nov. 15 in Paramus, N.J.

This new commercial direction is designed to increase the visibility of the brand, establish a direct relationship with its customers and better exhibit the collections in a dedicated, Gautier environment.

To date there are about 50 Gautier stores around the world and more than 200 are planned to open in the next four years with 10-20 of those being in major U.S. metro markets.

The Paramus store has a 4,200 square foot footprint with an edited product selection that will change each quarter. The product mix is about 40-50% youth. The typical size for Gautier stores is between 5,000-6,000 square feet.

Gautier supports the stores by guaranteeing an exclusive selling area, warehousing inventory, delivery services, POS materials, no royalties or turnover fees, training courses, and on-going business and technical support.

The store is set up with a Workshop as a central hub, complete with 3D room planning software, access to the entire Gautier line, even if it’s not on the floor, and a fashion-forward look with deep brown and green aesthetics, symbols of the company’s attachment to its roots and symbols of its use of materials.