ACWORTH, Ga.-- The completion of Phase 1 of Jaipur Living's $22.3 Million expansion program was celebrated on August 25 with the ribbon cutting and official grand opening of the award-winning global lifestyle company's new headquarters and warehouse complex here.
"Today reminds me of 11 years ago, when Asha and I started this company in a 180-square-foot office space," said Archana Chaudhary, chief operating officer of Jaipur Living, shortly before the ribbon cutting. "Now we stand in front of our new 180,000-square-foot building."
Archana Chaudhary, COO, and Asha Chaudhary, CEO welcome guests at the grand opening celebration of the new Jaipur Living corporate headquarters.
Surveying a crowd of employees, retail customers, government officials and international suppliers gathered before her outside the new facility in Cherokee 75 Corporate Park, she added, "Back then, we were at the podium, ready with speeches, but no one was in the audience." Added her sister, chief executive officer, Asha Chaudhary, "It feels like it's just the beginning for us. We're looking forward with optimism as we begin the next part of our journey."
The clean-lined, modern Jaipur Living headquarters and state of the art warehouse facility in Acworth, Ga. are part of a $22.3 million expansion plan.
After the Chaudhary sisters and executives from the Cherokee County Office of Economic Development cut the ribbon at the entrance to the brand-new facility, visitors were invited to tour the open, light-filled space. Soaring ceilings, light-colored wood, and enormous windows gave the office area an open feel, inviting collaboration in numerous windowed conference rooms (each named after a type of bird) or huddle areas throughout the space. A wellness room has wooden flooring and space for yoga classes or exercise equipment.
Steve Holcomb, vice chairman of the Cherokee County Office of Economic Development, tells visitors the new Jaipur Living headquarters is "one of the best things that has ever happened to Cherokee County."
There's even a dimly lit sleeping nook with a comfortable bed, perfect for sleeping off jetlag from an overseas flight from India. Standing desks, a spacious central area called "Town Center" with seating and kitchen facilities for lunches and celebrations; and flexible work areas round out the staff amenities.
Employees described the office space as a far cry from their former digs in Norcross, Ga., where the offices were located on two floors and the warehouse was awkwardly split between two buildings several miles apart.
The new building consolidates all Jaipur Living warehouse space under one roof, is 40 percent larger than previous facilities combined, and higher to allow for vertical stacked storage.
STATE OF THE ART WAREHOUSE
In the Acworth building, the warehouse is all under one roof and about 40 percent larger, while also higher, allowing for vertical stacked storage. What's more, the spacious warehouse building has room for three to four working photography sets for shooting products for Jaipur's ecommerce clients. The previous facility only had one set. The company is implementing a new warehouse management system that incorporates bar coding, which - along with the facility's layout -- will help organize products better and get them shipped out to customers more quickly.
"Our goal is to make sure the customer experience gets better and better," says Asha Chaudhary.
At the podium, Asha Chaudhary tells guests that expansion plans and the new facility mark the beginning of a new journey for Jaipur Living.
PLANS TO DOUBLE IN PHASE 2
The new building sits on 27 acres of land, a parcel purposefully large enough to expand yet again when needed. Chaudhary said the 180,000-square-foot building is only the first phase of Jaipur Living's growth and expansion plan. Phase two, anticipated to be completed by 2020, will add more than 150,000 additional square feet in offices and warehousing on the property. When completed, the entire project is expected to total $22.3 million.
The light-filled office of Jaipur Living's CEO Asha Chaudhary.
AMENITY-RICH INTERIOR DESIGN
The staff moved into the new space in June, shortly before the summer markets. Asha Chaudhary says she has already noticed small changes within the company. "People seem happier, they seemed to be really enjoying the new space," she said. "There is also a lot more cross-function dialog going on now" thanks to the open floor plan and intermingled departments. Over the past two years, anticipating the larger office space, the company has added about 30 jobs, and currently has 12 new positions open for hiring. She anticipates that the staff will grow by between 20 to 30 percent over the next few years.
Asha says her favorite new feature is the Town Center, a large seating area near the front entrance, where employees come together for lunch and coffee breaks, or to celebrate a birthday. "As CEO it's sometimes very hard to interact with everyone," said Asha. "The Town Center allows me to interact with more people, whether it's grabbing a coffee or lunch."
Jaipur Living broke ground for the new headquarters a year ago on August 23, 2017 at the site, which is located at 1800 Cherokee Parkway in Acworth (
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FIRST LOOK AT INTERIOR SPACES
Join RugNews.com as we tour the interiors of the new Jaipur Living headquarters, which are brimming with innovative spaces and amenities for employees.
Open plan offices invite collaboration among Jaipur Living employees.
Creative freedom abounds in designer's spaces at the new Jaipur Living facility.
Huddle spaces encourage small, impromptu meetings at Jaipur Living.
One of four new photography sets at the new Jaipur Living headquarters.
Conference rooms like "Swallow" above are all named after types of birds at the new Jaipur Living headquarters.
Jaipur Living provides a dimly-lit sleeping nook at its new Acworth, Ga.offices.