
Photo by Jay Paul
Upscale women’s apparel, home décor and beauty product retailer Soft Surroundings already had a customer base in Richmond through its catalog and online sales before opening its first brick-and-mortar location here on Aug. 29. “Richmond has always been on our radar,” says Danny Boddy, vice president of retail. The St. Louis-based retailer signed a 10-year lease for a 4,700-square-foot space on Short Pump Town Center’s lower level in April. It is the company’s first Virginia location and the first in a six-store national expansion planned by the end of the year.