Last week, RH, the luxury furniture brand formerly known as Restoration Hardware, laid off approximately 440 employees.
According to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the layoffs were part of a restructuring effort that included the elimination of numerous leadership and other positions throughout the organization. According to the filing, the company’s workforce needed to be reduced in order to upgrade its organizational structure and streamline aspects of its business operations.
These layoffs come amid RH’s push to expand beyond furniture and open a number of new “design galleries” with high-end showrooms and restaurants. RH San Francisco, The Gallery, RH’s San Francisco design gallery, opened last year in the historic Bethlehem Steel building in the Dogpatch.
According to the SEC filing, RH intends to open design galleries in “iconic buildings and luxury retail shopping centers across North America, selecting locations based on proximity to affluent consumers. According to the San Francisco Business Times, a design gallery at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto is nearing completion and will open this year.
The company is also attempting to enter the hospitality industry. CEO Gary Friedman announced in September the purchase of an 857-acre property at the former site of Napa Soda Springs Resort, which RH intends to develop into a luxury destination with its own winery.
The SEC filing makes several references to incorporating elements of hospitality into new and existing design galleries, but no details on what this might entail are provided. RH did not respond to SFGATE’s request for comment by the deadline for publication.
