Wayfair began as hundreds of small websites selling things like racks and bar stools. By 2014 it was one online store with millions of products, from sofas to light fixtures, most shipped straight from suppliers. People had long doubted that customers would buy bulky furniture without seeing it. When Wayfair filed to go public that year, its sales were growing fast. It was also spending heavily on advertising and losing money.

CSN Stores Becomes Wayfair

Niraj Shah and Steve Conine started the business in 2002 as CSN Stores. They ran hundreds of small websites, each selling a narrow kind of product. In 2011 they merged the sites under the Wayfair name. Their bet was that one giant online store for the home could beat furniture showrooms on choice and price. Suppliers would hold the stock and ship it.

Boom Years and Real Stores

Wayfair priced at $29 a share in October 2014 and rose on its first day. It built its own delivery network for large items. Sales soared during the 2020 pandemic as people fixed up their homes, then fell back. The company cut staff and opened its first large physical stores. Wayfair remains a public company led by its founders, with Niraj Shah as chief executive.

Cover: The Bedroom, Vincent van Gogh. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a furnished bedroom (home goods).