Jewelry retailer Kendra Scott recently announced its upcoming arrival to Augusta. The gift shop chain is planning to open its pop-up store inside a 1,981-square foot space in the Augusta Mall, just in time for Mother’s Day.
“We started hiring back in late March,” said Andrea Knight, regional marketing and philanthropic manager for Kendra Scott. Several positions for the new location including store manager and stylist are still showing up on jobsites such as LinkedIn and Indeed as of this writing.
The Austin, Texas-based Kendra Scott, founded in 2002 by the design entrepreneur after whom it was named, is a designer fashion accessory brand that has sold in luxury retailers such as Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s. It also has over 100 standalone stores nationwide, the closest to Augusta being in Columbia, S.C. Other Georgia locations include one in Savannah and two in the Atlanta area.
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As it will be a pop-up, the local store will be open temporarily. Knight says that there aren’t any plans just yet to open a permanent Kendra Scott location in Augusta. But while it’s here, it aims to leave its mark, with two community events on top of its grand opening at the end of this month.
The first opening will kick off the morning of April 29, catered with sweet treats by local custom baker Snickerdoodled.
The grand opening, called a Kendra Gives Back Party, will be on the following Thursday, May 5. The public charity gathering is coordinated in partnership with The Pinnacle Club, Augusta’s upscale dining club based in the former Wells Fargo building.
The party will be catered by Edgar’s Bakehouse, which, along with Pinnacle Club and other fellow Edgar’s Hospitality Group restaurants Edgar’s Grill and Edgar’s Above Broad, are all brand affiliates of Goodwill Industries. Knight says that 20 % of the event’s proceeds will go back to Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA.
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The next evening, Friday, May 6, Kendra Scott will partner with volunteer organization Junior League of Augusta to host another charity party, in which $100 spenders get a mini-bouquet of flowers from Southern Willow Market in Martinez.
“These events will be several of the more than 10,000 local giveback events held nationwide across Kendra Scott’s stores every year,” Knight said. “Kendra Scott looks forward to establishing relationships and connecting with the Augusta community.”
Knight says a date has not yet been determined with the temporary location will close.
For more information on the new Kendra Scott store in the Augusta Mall, or its events, visit www.kendrascott.com, https://ksaugusta.splashthat.com/ or https://thepinnacleclub.splashthat.com/.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering education in Columbia County and business-related topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
